Safety ON and Safety Off are selectable by the table's host when creating the table.
Safety ON is "player-friendly" in that it prevents players from making erroneous or illegal claims for Mah Jongg. And when the Auto Pass setting is on, games can move quickly in Safety ON mode.
Safety Off removes the protections from making illegal Mahj calls. And since Auto Pass doesn't work when Safety is OFF, every time a discard goes out, you'll need to press Pass.
An even bigger difference between Safety ON and OFF modes is how the Mahj button works.
In Safety On mode, the Mahj button lights up only when your tiles comprise a legal hand on the NMJL card.
In Safety Off mode, the Mahj button is lit up all the time after the Charleston.
Therefore, in Safety On mode, the game prevents you from making an illegal play. For example:
It sometimes happens that you think you have Mah Jongg but you didn't notice that the hand is marked C on the card, or there is some other problem with your hand. Maybe your hand doesn't match a hand on the card, or you've misconstrued the color-coding, or you were planning to use a joker in a single or pair. Maybe the host set the table to use a different card than the one you're using.
Safety mode prevents you from declaring Mah Jongg erroneously.
If you want an experience more like playing in real life, Safety OFF mode is here to help. We learn by making mistakes, and Safety OFF lets you make them. Of course, the game will penalize you, just as the other players would in real life, if you make a fatal error.
![[Image: mahjbtnsafetyon.png]](https://faqs.nmjlonline.com/forums/pix/mahjbtnsafetyon.png)
![[Image: mahjbtnsafetyoff.png]](https://faqs.nmjlonline.com/forums/pix/mahjbtnsafetyoff.png)
Left (Safety ON mode): In this example, a bot has discarded an 8 Bam. The player cannot claim the 8 Bam for exposure or for Mah Jongg. It would be a big mistake to call the tile for Mahj, so Safety Mode doesn't permit that (the Mahj button is not lit).
Right (Safety OFF mode): In this example, a bot has discarded a South. The player has no other Souths, so cannot call the tile (thus the Call button is not lit). Safety OFF keeps the Mahj button lit all the time after the Charleston.
Safety ON is "player-friendly" in that it prevents players from making erroneous or illegal claims for Mah Jongg. And when the Auto Pass setting is on, games can move quickly in Safety ON mode.
Safety Off removes the protections from making illegal Mahj calls. And since Auto Pass doesn't work when Safety is OFF, every time a discard goes out, you'll need to press Pass.
An even bigger difference between Safety ON and OFF modes is how the Mahj button works.
In Safety On mode, the Mahj button lights up only when your tiles comprise a legal hand on the NMJL card.
In Safety Off mode, the Mahj button is lit up all the time after the Charleston.
Therefore, in Safety On mode, the game prevents you from making an illegal play. For example:
It sometimes happens that you think you have Mah Jongg but you didn't notice that the hand is marked C on the card, or there is some other problem with your hand. Maybe your hand doesn't match a hand on the card, or you've misconstrued the color-coding, or you were planning to use a joker in a single or pair. Maybe the host set the table to use a different card than the one you're using.
Safety mode prevents you from declaring Mah Jongg erroneously.
If you want an experience more like playing in real life, Safety OFF mode is here to help. We learn by making mistakes, and Safety OFF lets you make them. Of course, the game will penalize you, just as the other players would in real life, if you make a fatal error.
Left (Safety ON mode): In this example, a bot has discarded an 8 Bam. The player cannot claim the 8 Bam for exposure or for Mah Jongg. It would be a big mistake to call the tile for Mahj, so Safety Mode doesn't permit that (the Mahj button is not lit).
Right (Safety OFF mode): In this example, a bot has discarded a South. The player has no other Souths, so cannot call the tile (thus the Call button is not lit). Safety OFF keeps the Mahj button lit all the time after the Charleston.