Visit their website at www.nationalmahjonggleague.org.

Click this LINK for the Birdie Bam Classic American Mah Jongg rules.

Yes! Click this LINK for the Birdie Bam Quick Reference Guide. This is an excellent cheat sheet for new players!

In order to Play with Friends or Random Match, you need to be logged into Birdie Bam and connected to the internet. It’s easy to do and we don’t share your email with others.

Tap Login to your Birdie Bam account.
Tap Create Account.
Enter a Username (this will be displayed to other players), email address and a password.
Tap Create Account.

Your Username will now appear in the upper left-hand corner of the main screen.

The Birdie Bam Bullfinch Hands List is automatically displayed inside the app as a matter of convenience only.  The app does not take into consideration the hand you have displayed in any way shape or form.

You are able to browse through the hands and tap on a potential hand for you to play. Once you tap on a hand, a blue check mark will appear.  Tap the blue check mark and the list will disappear leaving only the hand you selected displayed in the upper right corner.  

You may change the hand displayed by tapping on the BB Hands List in the upper right corner and selecting a different hand.

There are 2 ways to sort your tiles.

1.  Tap the red Sort Tiles icon.  The tiles will automatically be sorted.
2.  Place your finger on a tile and drag it left or right to the desired position.

I always make sure my Jokers are to the far left as the tile to the far right will be the default tile to be discarded.

Tap the desired tile. It and it will be “raised up” on your rack.  

Tap the red Discard icon.

To deselect a tile that is already raised, simply tap it again and it will be “in line” with the other tiles on your rack.

Tap the desired tiles.  They will be “raised up” on your rack.

Tap the red Submit icon.

To deselect a tile that is already raised, simply tap it again and it will be “in line” with the other tiles on your rack.

If a tile is discarded that qualifies for a Pung, Kong or Quint in your hand, and you don’t want it, tap the red Pass icon.

To define a Joker, tap the red Define Joker icon.  

A box will appear that contains all the tiles.

Tap the tile that you want the Joker to be defined as.

Tap the blue Define button.

(If you already have a Joker defined and you want to redefine it, simply repeat the steps above.)

If you have defined a Joker and want to undefine it and leave it as simply a Joker, tap Define Joker.

A box will appear that contains all the tiles.

Tap the blue Undefine button.

Anytime you have an undefined Joker in your rack and a tile is discarded that matches one of the tiles you are holding in your rack, you will have the option to Pung it.  

If you have 2 or more undefined Jokers in your rack, each and every tile discarded could essentially match the undefined Jokers in your hand for a Pung/Kong/Quint.

So, the question is, should you define your Jokers?  

I think you should only define your Joker if there is only one Pung, Kong or Quint in your hand.  

I don’t mind tapping the Pass button rather regularly when I have a Joker in my hand if I am going for one or more Pungs, Kongs and/or Quints.

Remember, you can only claim a discarded tile if you are playing an Exposed hand.

When you have an exposed Pung, Kong or Quint that includes a Joker and you have a tile in your rack that is the same as the exposed tiles, you can exchange the actual tile in your rack for the exposed Joker.

Tap the red Swap Joker icon.

A screen will appear to choose which joker to steal.

Tap the tile you want to steal/exchange.

The exposed Joker will now be in your rack.

When another player has an exposed Pung, Kong or Quint that includes a Joker and you have a tile in your rack that is the same as the other player’s exposed tiles, you can exchange the actual tile in your rack for the other player’s exposed Joker.

The red Swap Joker icon will appear next to the player’s profile picture that has the exposed Joker.

Tap the red Swap Joker icon.

A screen will appear to choose which Joker to steal.

Tap the tile you want to steal/exchange.

The exposed Joker will now be in your rack.

BirdieBot is the robot(s) you play with when you are in Single Player mode and when playing with less than three other live people in Play with Friends mode or Random Match mode.

Yes! Anytime you are hosting a game in Play with Friends or Random Match, you can start it with less than four people and the robots will make up the difference. When you are playing in Single Player mode, all of the other players are robots.

The iconic Birdie Bam feather represents the number 1 on the dice.

If you want to pick up a discarded tile for a Pung, the red Pung icon will appear near your Profile picture if you have the tiles that meet the qualification.  

Tap the red Pung icon.  

The tiles will be moved to the right side of your rack with one tile turned on its side.  

If you have a Joker in your hand that is not defined and need to use it as part of the Pung, it will automatically be assigned that tile and be moved along with the other tiles to the right side of your rack.

If you have a Joker(s) in your hand that IS defined, but not as the tile you want to Pung, you will need to undefine the Joker(s) first, then you will be able to Pung it with the tile that is being discarded.

If you want to pick up a discarded tile for a Kong, the red Kong icon will appear if you have the tiles that meet the qualification.  

Tap the red Kong icon.  

The tiles will be moved to the right side of your rack with one tile turned on its side.  

If you have a Joker(s) in your hand that is not defined and need to use it as part of the Kong, it will automatically be assigned that tile and be moved along with the other tiles to the right side of your rack.

If you have a Joker(s) in your hand that IS defined, but not as the tile you want to Kong, you will need to undefine the Joker(s) first, then you will be able to Kong it with the tile that is being discarded.

If you want to pick up a discarded tile for a Quint, the red Quint icon will appear if you have the tiles that meet the qualification.  

Tap the red Quint icon.  

The tiles will be moved to the right side of your rack with one tile turned on its side.  

If you have a Joker(s) in your hand that is not defined and need to use it as part of the Quint, it will automatically be assigned that tile and be moved along with the other tiles to the right side of your rack.

If you have a Joker(s) in your hand that IS defined, but not as the tile you want to Quint, you will need to undefine the Joker(s) first, then you will be able to Quint it with the tile that is being discarded.

There are a couple of ways to find and add new friends:  

From the main screen, tap the blue Friends icon in the lower left corner.

Tap the red Find New Friends icon.

Type in your friend’s email address or Birdie Bam User Name in the Search Friends area.

Tap Go.

Your friend’s User Name and Profile Picture will appear.

Tap the blue +Friend icon.

Friend Invite has been sent will be displayed.

Once your friend has accepted the invite, they will appear in your Friends List.

Another way to quickly add friends is while you are playing in Random Match mode.

If you want to add one of the players to your Friends List,

Tap their Profile Picture.

Tap Add Friend

Friend Invite has been sent will be displayed.

Once your friend has accepted the invite, they will appear in your Friends List.

On the main screen, a red exclamation mark will appear on the blue Friends icon in the lower left corner if you have a new Friend Invite.

Tap the blue Friends icon.

Select the check mark to accept the Friend Invite or

Select the X to decline the Friend Invite.  (Don’t worry, no message will be sent to the player if you decline their invite.)

A red Exclamation mark on the Play with Friends icon means a Friend has invited you to play a game. To join the game, tap Play with Friends.

Just above each player’s rack, you’ll see their Birdie Bam User Name and the total number of points they have won.

If you click on their Profile picture, you’ll also see how many feathers they’ve won.

The big blue tile with a number on it lets you know how many tiles are remaining on the wall to be distributed before the game is over.

The Charleston is basically a fancy way of trading tiles with the other players before the true game actually starts.  Birdie Bam makes it easy by displaying exactly which step you are on and what you need to do.  Simply follow the on-screen instructions.  The order of the Charleston is:

1st Charleston:

Select 3 tiles to pass to the player on the right, then tap the red Submit icon.

Select 3 tiles to pass to the player across from you, then tap the red Submit icon.

Pass 0 – 3 tiles to pass to the player to your left.  If you select less than 3 tiles to pass, Birdie Bam will automatically take the remainder from the player on your right and give them to the player on your left.  Please note that if you don’t want to pass any tiles, simply tap the Submit icon and Birdie Bam will automatically take three tiles from the player on your right and give them to the player on your left.

After the 1st Charleston is complete, a message will appear on the screen “Do you want another Charleston?”  If you do, tap the green checkmark.  If you don’t, tap the red X.  If any player wants to stop the Charleston, it will be stopped and go directly to the Optional Pass.  If every player wants to do another Charleston, the 2nd Charleston will begin.

2nd Charleston:

Select 3 tiles to pass to the player on the left, then tap the red Submit icon.

Select 3 tiles to pass to the player across from you, then tap the red Submit icon.

Pass 0 – 3 tiles to pass to the player to your right.  If you select less than 3 tiles to pass, Birdie Bam will automatically take the remainder from the player on your right and give them to the player on your left.  Please note that if you don’t want to pass any tiles, simply tap the Submit icon and Birdie Bam will automatically take three tiles from the player on your left and give them to the player on your right.

Courtesy Pass:

The last step of the Charleston is the Courtesy Pass.  You may choose to select from 0 – 3 tiles to exchange with the player across from you.  

Once the Courtesy Pass message appears on your screen, tap the number of tiles that you want to exchange by tapping on the number.

The number of tiles that the player across from you wants to exchange will briefly appear on their Profile Picture.  

The lowest number of tiles chosen to be exchanged will be displayed on the screen.

Select the tiles to exchange.

Tap the red Submit icon.

In Single Player mode, there is no time limit.

In Play with Friends and Random Match mode, 3 minutes is allowed after the tiles are distributed before the Charleston begins whether you are in Slow or Fast mode.

If you do not pass your tiles in the allotted time, the tiles furthest to your right will automatically be passed.

In Single Player mode, there is no time limit.

If you are Playing with Friends, 15 seconds is allowed in Fast mode and 30 seconds is allowed in Slow mode.

If you are playing a Random Match, only Slow mode is allowed, therefore 30 seconds is allowed.

If you do not pass your tiles in the allotted time, the tiles furthest to your right will automatically be passed.

In Single Player mode, there is no time limit.

In Play with Friends mode, Slow mode allows you 40 seconds to discard a tile; Fast mode allows you 20 seconds to discard a tile.

In Random Match, there is only Slow mode, therefore 40 seconds is allowed to discard a tile.

In Single Player mode, there is no time limit.

In Play with Friends mode, Slow mode allows you 60 seconds to claim a discarded tile; Fast mode allows you 30 seconds to claim a discarded tile.

In Random Match, there is only Slow mode, therefore 60 seconds is allowed to claim a discarded a tile.

Tap Play with Friends.

Once the Play with Friends screen pops up, select either Slow or Fast game.

Tap Create Game.

A list of your friends will appear.  Tap the blue + sign next to your friend’s Birdie Bam name.

The invite(s) will be sent to your friends.  They will see a red exclamation mark on the Play with Friends icon on the main screen. Once one player accepts your invite, the playing table will appear on your screen.  You can either wait for all players to join or let the robots fill in to have 4 players.

Tap the Start Game icon to begin the game.

It is important to remember that the person that initiated the game MUST stay in the game at all times or the game will automatically be canceled.

If multiple players want the discarded tile, the player closest to the right of the player that discarded the tile will receive it.

YES! You can play in Single Player mode without being connected to the internet.

After you have logged into your account, tap the blue Profile icon in the upper left-hand corner (next to your Username) of the main screen.

Tap the Pencil icon and select the picture you’d like to use for your profile picture.

Tap the blue X to save the picture and return to the main screen.

Each time you win a game, whether you are playing against the computer or with friends or random players, you’ll win a feather!  The Total Points Earned is based upon the cumulative points you’ve won while playing against the computer and with friends and random players.

In the upper right-hand corner of the main screen, tap the blue Settings icon.

To turn the music on/off, tap the on/off button next to Music.  

Red means the music is off and green means it is on.

To turn the sound effects on/off, tap the on/off button next to Sound Effects.

Red means the sounds effects are off and green means they are on.

Tap the blue X to save your settings and return to the main screen.

The Birdie Bam Inbox is where you’ll find messages from the Birdie Bam team as well as viewing and printing the Birdie Bam Hands List. If you have a new message, a red exclamation mark will appear on the Birdie Bam Inbox.

The Birdie Bam Share icon is a quick way to let people you know about the Birdie Bam Classic American Mah Jongg app.

Tap the Birdie Bam Share icon.

Select which method you’d like to send a message by – text message, mail, etc.

If you like, you may edit the message before sending.