Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2014 Wrap-Up

Yup, yet another year had flashed by. And my blog remains neglected, except for this once-a-year update. Nowadays, I spent a lot of time working on MCR technical issues and on disseminating information via the MCR clubs' mailing lists and not so much on the blog. Phew! I guess, it is a matter of priorities.

Anyway, I can say it has definitely been a busy, fruitful year for me, even though not everything had been successful or smooth-sailing.

My work with competitive mahjong clubs in Nee Soon South and Thomson continue, and we are building on what we have, on increasing membership and participation. We had organised two internal tournaments which were well-received. Our club leagues are doing well.

On the MCR front, we sent Singaporean participants for overseas tournaments this year! To Hangzhou, China, in March for the 6th China Majiang Championship; to Kunming, China in June for the World Mahjong Master Invitational Tournament; and to Strasbourg, France, in July for the 5th Open European Mahjong Championship. While having fun at such tournaments, and playing tourists at the same time, we had some rather decent results and even got ourselves a prize or two. When I have the time, I will write up on my experiences at these tournaments, so keep your fingers crossed and look out for them!

On the riichi maajan front, two Singaporean participants also went for an overseas tournament this year! I cannot say we sent them, since this was more of an independent initiative, but they are somewhat connected to the riichi maajan club we have. Anyway, it was to the inaugural World Riichi Championship in Paris, France, and they did rather well!

As for the not-so-good things, let me just say, the less said the better. But, lessons learnt, and I hope that when working on similar projects in future, I would be able to avoid such problems and be more successful.

2015 looks promising, so onward we go!

Happy New Year, everyone!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi,

How on earth didit take so long for me to discover this blog!,
I have played mahjong for 30years n counting. And i have recntly wanted to organise and take part in mahjong competiton. I want to test my skill withas many people as i can.
Right now i am into 3 kaki mj Singapore style. I have the rules up in facebook(private for now)
I do hope to have a chance to play or chat with you regarding mahjong
.

EP said...

Hi Teck Hong,

Thank you for your comment and interest!

Competitive mahjong is not all that favoured in Singapore (and mahjong in general has always been frowned on anyway), so perhaps it is not surprising this blog is so obscure. It does not help that I have been too busy to develop this blog more.

Do feel free to add your comments on any post you find interesting, and you can always leave a private message* for me too.

* i.e., as comments meant to be prviate, especially for follow-ups via email.

Unknown said...

I would like to know more about MCR. I have always want to pit my skill with more people. I have played different stake from 50c--1dollar to as big as 50bucks- 100bucks!

Playing with money also depends on your comfort zone.mcurrently i am comfortable play 1-2. 50-100 was during good old days, but its freaking stressful!!! Imagine zi mo 5 gives u a good 19.2k!,

I am interested in MCR as i believe your net worth does not matter in the game. Or am i wrong?

EP said...

There are quite a few of us who enjoy challenging mahjong without any monetary stakes. Often, I view many forms of mahjong with their complicated bets and special rules as gimmicks which seek to add excitement only through the thrill and stress of winning and losing money.

However, well-designed rulesets can be very satisfying without involving money. MCR is one of these rulesets. Unfortunately, whether people can appreciate that is another matter, although it is simple to start. No particular net worth required!

Teck Hong, if you are interested in challenging yourself and pitting your skills against other enthusiasts, you are most welcome to join us in our clubs, see for yourself whether MCR provides you the challenge!