Group agreements · Feature 02

How to Create Mahjong House Rules Without Calling Them Official

Write a short group agreement for timing, teaching, money, substitutions, food, phones, disputes, and recurring attendance.

Working outcomeA one-page house-practice agreement with review date.

Start where the rulebook stops

House agreements should address social and operational choices, not quietly rewrite the named game while claiming authority.

Discuss consequential customs

Money, dead-hand procedure, teaching assistance, pace expectations, substitutes, cancellation, food, phones, and correction method deserve explicit agreement.

  • Write plain language.
  • Record dissent and exceptions.
  • Review when membership changes.

Use the right label

Say “our group agrees” rather than “the rule is” when the practice is local. This protects newcomers and prevents memory from becoming power.

Keep the boundary visible

General hosting belongs to MahjongHostess; formal tournament procedure belongs to the event authority; women’s history belongs to WomenOfMahjong.