San Diego Mahjong Club

Community Rules

San Diego Mahjong Club Code of Conduct

Purpose

This Code of Conduct establishes guidelines for behavior, etiquette, and sportsmanship to ensure a welcoming and enjoyable environment for all members of the San Diego Mahjong Club.

Policy

  1. Respect & Inclusivity
    • All members must treat each other with respect, regardless of skill level, background, or personal differences.
    • Discriminatory or offensive language, including but not limited to remarks about race, gender, age, or ability, will not be tolerated.
    • Harassment, bullying, or any form of intimidation is strictly prohibited.
  2. Sportsmanship & Fair Play
    • Members must play fairly and follow the mahjong variant rules of the mahjong event (e.g., Zung Jung, Riichi, International, or another variant).
    • Cheating, colluding, or manipulating the game in any way is unacceptable.
    • Players should accept wins and losses graciously, without gloating or blaming others. Though playfulness is allowed.
    • A positive and encouraging attitude is expected during all club activities.
  3. Game Ettiquette
    • Players who RSVP to an event should notify the organizer in advance if they cannot attend by updating their RSVP, and strive to be punctual to events.
    • Regular events at San Diego Mahjong Club are mono-format, e.g., if the Mahjong variant of the event is Zung Jung, no other formats (i.e. Riichi, International, etc) are allowed at any table at the event.
    • Personal electronic devices should be silenced or used minimally during games.
    • Spectators should remain quiet and avoid interfering with ongoing games.
  4. Club Environment
    • The club environment should be kept clean and organized, with members responsible for tidying up after themselves.
    • Food and drinks should be consumed responsibly, with care taken to ensure the club’s equipment is not dirty.
    • Club equipment (e.g., tiles, racks, mats, etc.) should be handled with care and returned to their proper places after use.
  5. Conflict Resolution
    • Disagreements should be resolved calmly and respectfully.
    • If a dispute arises during gameplay, players should refer to the agreed-upon ruleset or consult the event organizer for clarification.
    • Repeated violations of the Code of Conduct may result in warnings, suspension, or expulsion from the club, at the discretion of club leadership.
  6. Compliance and Amendments
    • All members are expected to abide by this Code of Conduct.
    • The club leadership reserves the right to update or amend these guidelines as necessary.
    • By participating in club activities, members acknowledge and agree to uphold these principles.

This Code of Conduct is in place to ensure a fun, friendly, and respectful environment where all members can enjoy mahjong.

Zung Jung Event Rules

Wednesday and Friday Mahjong Nights use the Zung Jung Movement Competition Rules (ZJMCR) as SDMC’s official Zung Jung ruleset.

To provide a consistent experience for all players, official ZJMCR rules are used without modification. House rule variations—including point minimums and other scoring or gameplay changes—are not permitted.

The play-time constraints and ZJMCR Penalty Tile System is disabled by default to create a more beginner-friendly environment.

Tables consisting entirely of Green and Red wristband players may choose to use the ZJMCR Penalty Tile System if all players at the table unanimously agree before play begins.

Personal Mahjong Set Policy

Introduction

SDMC provides mahjong sets for use at all club events, and members are not expected to bring their own equipment. However, members are welcome to bring personal manual mahjong sets if they wish. Personal equipment can help accommodate larger attendance and provide additional playing options, provided it is used in a manner consistent with SDMC policies and organizer direction. The following policy governs the use of personal mahjong equipment at SDMC events.

Purpose

The Personal Mahjong Sets Policy establishes the conditions under which members may bring and use their own mahjong equipment at SDMC events. Its purpose is to ensure that personal equipment enhances the event without interfering with event operations, organizer authority, or the equitable seating of participants. While SDMC welcomes members who wish to contribute their own manual mahjong sets, all equipment used during club events remains subject to SDMC’s event policies and organizer direction. This policy also defines the use of automatic mahjong tables, which are managed separately as part of SDMC’s equipment program.

Personal Mahjong Sets

Players are welcome to bring their own manual mahjong sets to SDMC events. However, once a personal set is used for club play, it becomes part of the event for the duration of that game.

Organizers retain authority over seating assignments. Bringing your own mahjong set does not entitle you to reserve seats, exclude members from your table, or create a private game within a public SDMC event.

Automatic Mahjong Tables

SDMC provides and manages automatic mahjong tables as part of its event programming. Personal automatic mahjong tables may not be brought to or used at SDMC events without prior approval from the organizers.

Community Resources & Promotion

SDMC members may not use SDMC events, Discord, Meetup, or other SDMC resources to promote or recruit for alternative Mahjong events that reasonably function as a substitute for scheduled SDMC events.

In determining whether an event functions as a substitute, SDMC may consider factors including overlap in location, timing, game variant, and player base. The guiding question is whether the event would naturally fill the same role for substantially the same players if the corresponding SDMC event did not exist.

This rule does not prohibit home games, independent clubs, or other Mahjong activities that do not directly compete with SDMC’s scheduled events. Events that occur at a similar time to an SDMC event are not automatically considered competing events if they would not reasonably be viewed as alternatives due to factors such as geographic distance, format, or target audience.

Violation of this policy may result in warnings, removal of promotional content, suspension, or expulsion from the club at the discretion of club leadership.

As an example, it’s generally fine to approach a player who is playing Zung Jung on Wednesday evening and say that you are trying to get some people together to play Hong Kong Mahjong on Sunday and invite them to come. What is not permitted is approaching a player who is playing Riichi on Sunday and using SDMC’s event to ask them if they would like to play Riichi elsewhere next time SDMC holds a Riichi event.

SDMC members are free to organize, attend, and discuss other Mahjong activities. However, SDMC events, Discord, Meetup, and other SDMC resources may not be used to solicit, recruit, or encourage members to cease participation in SDMC events or to redirect participation away from SDMC events and toward competing events.

San Diego Mahjong Club Attendance Policy

Purpose

This Attendance Policy establishes the rules governing attendance at San Diego Mahjong Club events and determines seating priority when demand exceeds available tables.

Policy

San Diego Mahjong Club hosts both free and paid events. Attendance is managed differently depending on the event type.

Paid Events

Paid events require advance registration through Meetup.

A paid registration guarantees the attendee a seat if they arrive within the first hour of the event.

Walk-ins are welcome only if seats remain available after all registered attendees who have arrived have been accommodated. Walk-in admission is $10 per person.

During the first hour of the event, seats will be reserved for registered attendees. Walk-ins may be admitted to any seats that remain available. Once admitted, walk-in attendees have the same seating rights as all other attendees and will not be displaced by the later arrival of a registered attendee.

After the first hour has elapsed, any unclaimed reserved seats become available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Attendees who are unable to attend should cancel their registration as soon as possible. Refunds and event credits are governed by the club’s Refund Policy.

Free Events

Free events use Meetup RSVPs and waitlists.

Attendance priority for free events is:

  1. RSVP’d attendees
  2. Waitlisted attendees
  3. Walk-ins

An RSVP guarantees a seat. Waitlisted attendees and walk-ins are welcome but are not guaranteed seating. If a higher-priority attendee arrives while a lower-priority attendee is seated, the lower-priority attendee will be permitted to finish the current round before vacating the seat. Seating priority applies only during the first hour of the event. After the first hour has elapsed, all currently seated players retain their seats for the remainder of the event.

Members who RSVP to free events should update their RSVP promptly if they can no longer attend so that waitlisted members have an opportunity to participate.

Registration

Meetup is the official registration platform for San Diego Mahjong Club events.

This Attendance Policy exists to provide a fair and predictable process for allocating seats when attendance exceeds available capacity.Diego Mahjong Club events when demand exceed capacity.

Liability

By attending San Diego Mahjong Club events, you voluntarily assume all risks associated with participation and agree to release and hold harmless the San Diego Mahjong Club (SDMC) and its organizers, hosts, volunteers, and agents, including Nathanael J. Reynolds, from any liability for injury, illness, death, loss, or damage, including those arising from negligence, to the fullest extent permitted by law.