Southern Sparrow

10/25/2026

Ready for an update to your mahjong tablescape?!? We’re bringing you 12 new mat designs! Launching Friday, October 30!!

Our rubber-backed neoprene mats can be machine washed and dried on low, so you never have to worry about spills when you cheers to the Bird Bam!

10/25/2026

A lesson in playing with blanks!

Learn how to play American mahjong with blanks, recover discarded t...

10/20/2026

Fully Restocked! The Chinoiserie Set, our original hand-painted, heirloom mahjong tiles inspired by Chinese art and antiques, has been fully restocked in Polished Pink, Breezy Blue, and Luxe Lilac!

Every Southern Sparrow mahjong tile starts with custom colored, heavyweight, premium acrylic which is triple polished for the perfect hand feel, then engraved deeply with gorgeous custom artwork and extra large numbers. Those engravings are hand filled with custom Pantone colored gel paints that will last through lifetimes of play! Backed by the best customer service in the industry with free replacements for lost tiles!

Shop small. Shop female owned. Shop artist driven. Shop handcrafted.

10/20/2026

Why do people say you should “never pass a flower” in the Charleston??

In American mahjong, there are 2-3 hands in every section of the NMJL card, so you don’t want to give up Flowers in the Charleston in case you may need them to pivot. You also don’t want to accidentally give your opponent exactly what they need to win!

10/19/2026

Let’s talk about flowers! I’m sharing a few of my favorites from our Southern Sparrow mahjong tiles sets, along with some advice about what to do when you find them in your rack.

When you have flowers after the deal, I always recommend keeping them through the Charleston if you can possibly avoid passing them.

I know it’s tempting to pass them when you’re looking at a hand that doesn’t need flowers. But before you do, take a look at the other hands in that section of your National Mah Jongg League card. Could you use those flowers if you needed to pivot hands?

During the Charleston, I’m usually choosing a section before I commit to a specific hand. I want to see what comes my way, and I want to leave myself some room to change my mind. Holding flowers gives me more options for a pivot within that section, even if the hand I initially liked doesn’t use them.

You may get through the Charleston and decide you don’t need your flowers after all. That’s fine! You held them while you were figuring out your hand. Once you’re sure you don’t need them, either for the hand you’re playing or for a possible pivot, I recommend discarding them early in the game.

Why? Because the longer you hold them, the more time you’re giving the other players to collect enough flowers to call yours.

This is especially important on the 2026 card. We have so many hands that need pungs, double pungs, or sextets of flowers. You can expect that several people at your table will be looking for them, and I’d much rather discard an unneeded flower before someone is ready to call it!

Of course, an early flower discard can still be called. But if I know I won’t need it, I generally prefer to let it go early rather than hold it until later in the game.

And if you’re new to American mahjong, all of these different flower designs work the same way. You don’t need matching artwork or matching numbers. Any flower can fill a flower spot in your hand. And Jokers can be used to represent a Flower in groups of three or more.

Which of our sets has your favorite flowers? I’d love to know!

Happy mahj-ing, y’all!

10/18/2026

Tournament Prep: time to pick up the pace at the mahjong table! You don’t want to be the reason your table has to take a zero for the game because you were moving too slowly!

The best way to get faster at gameplay is to take practice solo mahj. Comment “practice” and I’ll send you my full practice playlist!

10/16/2026

Which tiles are you choosing for your Friday mahjong tablescape?

Tiles:
1. The Riviera Jet Set in Portofino Blue
2. The Country Club Set in Winning White
3. The Chinoiserie Set in Polished Pink

10/15/2026

Can you make a Joker exchange to call mahjong? And does that count as self-picked?

Yes to both! This is one of those mahjong rules that can feel a little confusing until you see it played out.

Let’s say you’re one tile away from mahjong, and a joker would complete your hand. You draw a seven dot from the wall. Another player has an exposed group of seven dots with a joker in it, so you exchange your seven dot for that exposed joker.

That joker completes your hand, and you declare mahjong!

Even though you received the joker from another player’s exposure, this is still a self-picked mahjong. You drew from the wall and made a joker exchange during your turn to complete your winning hand.

So, how does the scoring work?

Each of the other three players pays you double the value printed on the card for your hand. If you’re playing a hand worth 25 points, each player pays you 50.

The player whose Joker you exchanged does not owe an additional payment. Giving up an exposed joker in a legal joker exchange is different from throwing the discard someone calls for mahjong.

And one more detail: if you need that joker exchange to complete your hand, your winning hand is not jokerless. The joker you just redeemed is part of your mahjong, so there is no jokerless bonus.

When you’re learning how to play American mahjong, understanding joker swaps, exposures, and self-picked mahjong helps you feel more confident about both declaring your win and scoring it correctly.

Save this mahjong lesson for your next game, and share it with the friend who always has a rules question at the table!

Happy mahj-ing, y’all!

10/13/2026

Starting to think about holiday decorations and hostess gifts? We’ve got you covered with the cutest Christmas-y nods to your favorite hobbies! From needlepoint pillows and mahjong ornaments to holiday barware and mahj-themed candles, shop our Merry Mahj-mas collection! https://southernsparrow.com/collections/merry-mahj-mas

10/08/2026

There is No Second Place in mahjong!

So if you’re not going to win, you need to change your strategy from “try to win” to “try not to lose!” Your goal moves from completing your own hand to holding discards that could help your opponent complete hers.

It means you may start to throw tiles that your hand needs for mahjong just so you don’t accidentally discard a tile your opponent can call to win mahjong.