Often when I have played a game of Mah Jongg and I think I have played well, and perhaps had some luck, that last tile just doesn’t materialize, and I’m disappointed that I didn’t win. Perhaps another player was also “on call” and won the game. Maybe another player who had no exposures suddenly called “Mah Jongg”. Sometimes the game is a draw, a “Wall Game”.

As disappointed as I may be with having to settle for a draw instead of a win, there are times I have been happy for the game to end as a Wall Game. Take for example, the times when another player has several exposures and is desperately waiting for that last tile to win the game. If the others players and I use good defensive strategies, and no one wins that game, a Wall Game is a win for the other players.

A few days ago I found myself trying to change hands in the middle of the game when another player exposed tiles I needed. Try as I might, I wasn’t able to connect my tiles to another hand on the card. I knew throughout the remainder of that game that I had virtually no chance of winning. I shifted my goal to playing defensively, and the game ended as a Wall Game. In this instance and I know in many others, I was happy for a draw.

Yes, I know I can’t win them all, so sometimes I’ll be happy with a draw.