The 2026 NMJL Card review

The 2026 NMJL card has been released! After an initial peek at the card, several things stand out to me on this year’s card: flowers in larger melds, consecutive pungs and kongs throughout the card and winds are blowing me down easy street.

This is my personal, unpaid 2026 NMJL Card review.

Missy Mahjong review of the 2026 NMJL Card

My wise mahjong teacher, Amy, told me in a lesson that players only “see” certain hands. This is subjective and each mahjong player will “see” different sequences or hands on the 2026 NMJL cards.

When you look at the newly released mahjong card, do sequences stand out to you? Our brains recognize familiar patterns.

What patterns do I “see” on the new 2026 NMJL card?

Windy City Picks

As a Windy City native, I noticed that NEWS appears only twice on the card. Several wind melds are in pairs, which gives me pause. I definitely “see” wind hands on every card, and my favorites on the 2026 NMJL card are:

NNN 1111 1111 SSS (any two suits, like odd kongs)

EEE 2222 2222 WWW (any two suits, like even kongs)

Remember, “like” in American mahjong means “alike.” You can be flexible in these hands and choose any like odds with NS, or any like evens with EW.

Easy does it

The easiest hands on the 2026 NMJL card are simple and we have seen these patterns on previous cards. Here are my picks for beginner hands and quick wins:

222 444 6666 8888 (any 1 suit)

222 444 6666 8888 (any 2 suits)

111 222 3333 4444 (any one suit, any consec. nos.)

111 222 3333 4444 (any two suits, any consec. nos.)

555 777 7777 9999 (any two suits)

333 666 6666 9999 (any two suits)

333 666 6666 9999 (any three suits)

Sextet of flowers means 6 identical flower tiles

Charleston tips for 2026

Remember, flowers are the only tile that has 8 identical tiles. Just like previous cards, it is advised to not pass flowers during the Charleston, even if you don’t need them.

On this card, it is particularly important. The 2026 NMJL card has lots of “bouquets” of flowers which means they show up in more than singles and pairs several places. Yes, there are several melds that call for both pungs and even sextets of flower tiles on the 2026 mahjong card.

This card is heavy on consecutive pungs and kongs. It is always good practice to not pass multiple of any number in the same suit. On this card, avoid passing consecutive numbers if possible.

Winds are usually in NS or EW combos. When passing during the Charleston, avoid passing North and South tiles together or East and West tiles together. Because there are fewer occurrences of the NEWS meld on this card than previous cards, you can more safely pass a North and East together.

Protect the jokers on the 2026 mahjong card

Protect the jokers

The 2026 NMJL card has lots of melds of pungs and kongs. This means jokers can be played all over the card. In American mahjong, defensive play is often as important as offensive play.

I will be holding my jokers and using them sparingly on the 2026 card.

I will be not exposing for pungs and hoarding my jokers unless I really need them. Watching discards on this card is critical. Newer players will expose jokers and melds sooner than advanced players.

This card has two sextet (6 or more identical tiles) melds of flowers. These are not concealed hands. A player may want to use two jokers if two flowers have been discarded earlier in the game, which is best practice. These jokers will remain on your rack and unavailable for other players to access.

I want to hear your take on the 2026 NMJL card and hear your review

Stay tuned for more reviews and updates of the NMJL card from Missy Mahjong. As many of you know, my reviews are both data driven and what I “see” on the card.

I’d love to hear feedback and feature your suggestions in my NEWSletter and on my tips and tricks on missymahjong.com.