A few weeks ago we asked a simple question: do you play with blanks?
Hundreds of you answered. Here's how it broke down.
The biggest group by far (44%) had never even heard of blanks, which honestly makes sense. Blanks aren't part of the official NMJL rules, and unless someone at your table specifically introduced them as a house rule, there's no real reason you'd know they exist. About 28% said no, hard pass, they know what blanks are and want nothing to do with them. 19% said it depends on the group, which is the most diplomatic answer possible. Only 9% are committed blanks fans who play with them every chance they get.
If you're in that last group or you just want a refresher on how blanks actually work, we wrote a full guide on it: Blanks in American Mahjong: House Rules, Strategy, and How to Play
The short version: blanks aren't officially part of the NMJL rules, but a lot of tables use them as wild tiles with their own house rules. Whether you play with them or not mostly depends on who taught you and where you play.
The 2026 card is here.
If you ordered from the NMJL, your card is either already in your hands or on its way. A lot of players have already started receiving theirs this month, and the new hands officially take effect on April 1st.
We're planning a deep dive on the 2026 card over the next few weeks. What changed from last year, which sections got harder, which hand types look strong early on, and how to start building your strategy around the new patterns. Keep an eye on your inbox for that.
If you want a head start before your group switches over, I Love Mahj has already updated their online platform with the 2026 card. You can play against bots using the new hands right now, which is a nice way to get familiar before game night turns into four people squinting at an unfamiliar card together.
BamCrak readers get 3 weeks free on I Love Mahj (normally 2 weeks). Use it to get a few dozen practice games in before April.
Talk soon, BamCrak
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