Mahjong Game Rules

Hi there! I’m excited to tell you all about the thrilling game of Mahjong and its fascinating rules. Are you ready to dive in?

Mahjong is a traditional Chinese game that has been around for centuries. It’s a game of skill, strategy, and a dash of luck. The goal is to collect sets of tiles by matching them in various combinations. Sounds simple, right? Well, let me guide you through the rules, and you’ll see how exciting and challenging it can be.

1. The Tiles

First things first. Let’s talk about the tiles. Mahjong is played with 144 tiles, each beautifully crafted and adorned with different symbols and characters. These tiles are divided into different suits, including dots, characters, bamboos, and honors. There are also special tiles called flowers and seasons that add a touch of uniqueness to the game.

2. The Objective

In Mahjong, the goal is to collect sets of tiles and create a winning hand. A winning hand consists of four sets and a pair. A set can be a sequence of three tiles in the same suit, known as a “chow,” or a set of three identical tiles in different suits, known as a “pung.” Additionally, you can create a set of four identical tiles, called a “kong.”

3. The Gameplay

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to play Mahjong. At the beginning of the game, each player is dealt 13 tiles, and the rest of the tiles are placed face-down in the center to form the wall. The first player starts by drawing a tile from the wall and then discarding one from their hand. The other players can claim the discarded tile if it completes a set in their hand.

Now, here comes the fun part. As the game progresses, players take turns drawing and discarding tiles, while trying to create sets in their hand. Remember, it’s all about strategy and keeping an eye on what tiles your opponents are discarding. You never know when a discarded tile can be the missing piece to complete your set!

4. Winning the Game

So, how do you win at Mahjong? Well, it’s all about being the first player to complete a winning hand. Once you have your four sets and a pair, you can declare “Mahjong!” and reveal your hand to claim victory. But be careful, if another player declares Mahjong before you, they will be the one to win the round. It’s a race to the finish!

5. Etiquette

Before we wrap up, let’s talk about some Mahjong etiquette. It’s important to maintain a respectful and fair gameplay environment. Avoid revealing your tiles unnecessarily or making excessive noise that may distract other players. Remember, the game is not just about winning; it’s about enjoying the experience with your fellow players.

Now that you know the rules of Mahjong, it’s time to gather your friends and dive into this captivating game. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned player, Mahjong offers endless hours of entertainment. So, grab those tiles, shuffle them up, and let the games begin!

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When it comes to playing Mahjong, there are different tiles with varying values. Let’s take a look at them.

Minor Tiles are numbered 2-8 of any suit. Although they are the least valuable, they still play an important role in the game.

On the other hand, Major Tiles consist of the number 1 and 9 of any suit. They hold twice the value of a set of Minor Tiles, making them more significant in scoring.

Two Honours

There are two types of Honours in Mahjong: Dragons and Winds.

Dragons

In the game, Dragons are represented by the colors red, green, and white. White Dragons are often blank. Having a set of Dragons always doubles your score, adding a significant boost to your points.

#image.jpg Chung, Fa, Bai

Winds

Winds are represented by the directions East, South, West, and North. When you have a set of your own Wind tiles, it doubles your score, giving you an even greater advantage in the game.

#image.jpg Dong, Nan, Xi, Bei

Two Bonuses

In addition to tiles, there are also two bonuses in Mahjong: Seasons and Flowers.

Seasons

The Seasons in the game are Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each season provides a special bonus to your score, adding extra excitement and opportunities to win.

Hey there! Let’s talk about Mahjong and some key elements of the game. I’m sure you’ll find it interesting!

Mahjong is a game that involves tiles and strategy. It’s played with a set of tiles, and each tile has a specific symbol or character. There are different types of tiles in this game, and they all have their own unique designs.

The first set of tiles we’ll look at is called “Flowers.” It consists of four tiles: Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Bamboo. These tiles add an extra layer of excitement to the game.

Another important concept in Mahjong is the “Personal Wind.” Each player has their own Personal Wind, which represents their direction on the game board. Now, here’s something interesting: when a tile is associated with a player’s Personal Wind, it gives bonus points and doubles their score! So, it’s not only about playing the tiles strategically but also about paying attention to your Personal Wind for some extra advantages.

But wait, there’s more! If a player manages to collect a complete set of Flowers or Seasons (which is called a Bouquet), they also get their score doubled. So, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye out for those special tiles!

To sum it up, Mahjong is a game that revolves around tiles and strategy. You need to think strategically and pay attention to your Personal Wind and the special tiles like Flowers and Seasons. By understanding and utilizing these elements, you can give yourself an edge and enhance your chances of winning. So, get ready to dive into the exciting world of Mahjong and enjoy the thrill of this ancient game!

Collecting Sets of Tiles

I collect sets of tiles in Mahjong. These sets are called Chows, Pongs, and Kongs. When I combine these sets together, it creates a Mahjong.

Chow

A Hu card is a special combination of three tiles in the same suit, which can be either Balls, Bamboo, or Numbers. When you form a run of three tiles like this, it doesn’t earn you any points, but it can be quite helpful to end the game. The Hu card is like a secret weapon that I can use strategically to my advantage. It adds an element of surprise and makes me a more formidable opponent. So, if you’re looking to elevate your game and regenerate a response, remember the power of the Hu card. By following this strategy, you’ll have a better chance of winning and coming out on top.

• I’m going to talk about a group of tiles called a Pong.
• These tiles can be Balls, Bamboo, Numbers, Winds, and Dragons.
• They don’t score many points, but they are still important.

Kong

• Do you know what mahjong is?
• It’s a tile-based game.
• Imagine having a set of 4 identical tiles.
• These tiles can be balls, bamboo, numbers, winds, and dragons.
• When it comes to scoring, mahjong can really elevate your game.
• A game that’s both perplexing and bursting with excitement.

The Intriguing World of Mahjong

Let me tell you about a game called Mahjong. Mahjong is a game that requires skill, strategy, and a little bit of luck. In Mahjong, you play with a set of tiles that have different symbols on them. The goal is to match pairs of tiles and remove them from the board. The challenge is that you can only remove tiles that are on the edges of the board or that have no tiles on top of them.

To score points in Mahjong, you need to carefully plan your moves. The most important move in the game is called “ending the game.” This happens when you match all the tiles and there are no more moves left. When you end the game, you not only score points for the tiles you’ve removed, but you also score bonus points for ending the game.

It’s important to note that only the player who ends the game scores points. So you need to think strategically and plan your moves carefully to be the one who ends the game. The more tiles you can remove and the faster you can end the game, the more points you will score.

However, there’s a catch. The number 14 is a special number in Mahjong. When you end the game with a total score of 14, you don’t get any bonus points. This score doesn’t include any additional special tiles that you’ve collected throughout the game.

Now let me explain how to set up the game. First, you need to shuffle all the tiles. This ensures that the tiles are randomly placed and adds an element of surprise to the game.

Next, you need to set up the wall. The wall is a formation of tiles that acts as a barrier between you and the other players. It’s important to set up the wall correctly to create a fair and balanced game.

In conclusion, Mahjong is a game that requires strategy, skill, and a little bit of luck. To be successful in Mahjong, you need to plan your moves carefully and aim to be the one who ends the game. By following these steps and practicing, you can become a skilled Mahjong player.

Hey there! Let me show you how to make a cool wall using some tiles. Just follow these steps:

First, we’ll need to make a square wall. It should be two tiles high and 18 tiles long. Make sure to overlap each corner to give it a nice and sturdy structure. If you’re not using the Seasons and Flowers set, don’t worry! Your wall will be two tiles high and 17 tiles long instead.

Now, let’s choose your personal wind.

Let’s play a game! We’ll start by rolling a dice to determine who will be the ‘East’ player. This player will be the highest scorer. The rest of us will take our positions based on the directions relative to the East player. So, the person to the right of East will be ‘South’, then the next person to the right will be ‘West’, and finally the person to the right of West will be ‘North’.

Now, let’s decide on the prevailing wind.

Next, we need to choose the dealer.

Lastly, we need to create the Kong Box.

When I play this game, the dealer throws two dice. I have to count the heaps, which are piles of two tiles, starting from the right side of the dealer’s Wall. I take the next heap and place it on top of the counted tiles. If I want to, I can separate this set to create the Kong Box. The Kong Box is useful for giving extra tiles to players who make a Kong or to replace a bonus Season or Flower tile.

Distribute Tallies

Game Play

1. Deal the Tiles

Here’s how the tiles are distributed: The dealer takes the first two heaps from the Wall, right next to where the Kong Box was created. Then, the dealer gives the next two heaps to the player on their right. This process continues until all players have received 6 heaps.

I’m giving myself two extra tiles, and everyone else gets one. So, the dealer has 14 tiles now, while the rest of us have 13. It’s important to keep our tiles hidden from each other. Now, let’s move on to displaying the Season or Flower tiles.

These special tiles don’t count as part of our main hand. Instead, we need to show them face-up in front of our concealed tiles. If we happen to draw a Season or Flower tile during the game, we have to reveal it right away and place it with our other tiles. Then, we have to pick a replacement tile from the Kong Box to make sure we still have 13 tiles.

Now, onto the third step: Dealer Discards.

The game starts when I toss one of my 14 tiles into the center of the Wall. Remember to say the name of the tile out loud, like “One of Bamboo” or “Red Dragon”.

4. Taking Turns

We take turns going from right to left around the Wall, beginning with the dealer. The only time this order changes is when someone claims a discarded tile for a Chow, Pong, Kong, or by achieving Mahjong. Each of us picks up one tile and discards one tile, always keeping 13 tiles in our hand (excluding Seasons or Flowers).

5. Winning the Game

Our goal is to arrange our tiles into four sets and one pair, which is called a winning hand. This allows us to declare Mahjong and finish the game. Take a look at the example of a Mahjong hand on page 4.

When I play Mahjong, I always have 13 tiles in my hand. To end the game, I have to pick up a tile from the Wall, Kong Box, or discard pile. Once I declare Mahjong, the game immediately ends without making a discard. It’s important to remember how I acquired the last tile for scoring points.

The most common sets in Mahjong are Chows and Pongs, each consisting of three tiles. Kongs are different because they have four tiles but still count as one set.

So, when I create a Kong, I need an extra tile to make up for the other required sets in my hand. These extra tiles are drawn from the Kong Box.

6. Picking Up And Discarding Tiles

So, there are two different ways for a player to get a tile in this game. You can either take one from the wall, or you can pick up the last tile that another player discarded.

Let me explain how you can take a tile from the wall.

• If a tile from the wall is useful to you, you get to keep it. And if you have a less useful tile, you can put it in the middle of the wall while saying its name, like “West Wind”.
• But, if a tile from the wall is not useful to you, you can just discard it right away into the middle of the wall while uttering its name, like “Red Dragon”.
• Remember, after each turn, you should always have 13 tiles in your hand.

If you happen to draw a tile from the wall and make a set with it, you can keep it hidden in your hand instead of showing it to everyone. And guess what? Hidden sets are worth more points than sets that are displayed.

Now, let’s talk about picking up a tile that someone else discarded.

• When you’re trying to create a Chow, the tile you pick up must have been discarded by a player before you in the normal order of play. In other words, you can only take a discarded tile to complete a Chow when it’s your turn.
• But if you’re using the tile to create a Pong or Kong, or to declare Mahjong, you can interrupt the game and grab the tile you need as soon as any player discards it. And the players between the discarding player and you will miss their turns.
• If multiple players want the same tile, the one declaring Mahjong gets the highest priority, followed by Kong, and finally Pong.

So here’s the deal: I find a tile on the floor, and now I have to prove to everyone that it’s a legal move. Easy peasy. I just have to take out the whole set that the tile completes and show it to everyone. This is called a Melded set, as opposed to a set that’s Concealed in my hand.

Once I’ve proudly displayed my Melded set, it’s time to get rid of a tile from my hand. Just like any other turn, I discard a tile and then it’s the next player’s turn.

Oh, and by the way, after my turn, I should have exactly 13 tiles in my hand. Anything less or more would be a big no-no.

7. Here’s What You Need to Know About the Kong

• So, Kongs are pretty cool. They consist of four identical tiles, but they only count as one set. Pretty neat, huh?
• When you get the fourth tile for a Pong to become a Kong, you’ll be short one tile in your hand. So, you’ll have to pick up an extra tile to complete your hand because the tile you just got disappears into the set.
• But don’t worry, you can take the extra tile from the Kong Box, not the Wall.
• If you have a concealed Pong in your hand and someone else discards the fourth tile you need, you can still take it to create a Kong, even if another player wants the same tile for a Pong.

8. Getting Ready for the Next Game

The person who won the last game is now the dealer. The Personal Winds given to the players stay the same.

When I’m playing the game, the wind direction remains the same until we finish the first four games. Then, things change. If the dealer loses the fifth game or any game afterward, the prevailing wind shifts:

• For the next four games, the prevailing wind will be South
• For the four games after that, the prevailing wind will be West
• For the four games after that, the prevailing wind will be North

After we finish a game, it’s time to shuffle the tiles. We do this by flipping them face down and setting up a new wall and Kong Box. You can find the full procedure for setting up a new game in the “Setting up a Game” instructions.

The end of the game

Calculating scores:

In this game, only the player who wins gets points. If you manage to achieve Mahjong, you’ll get a standard bonus of 20 points. But that’s not all – different types of sets also score points and there are doubling bonuses. Calculating your score involves two stages: first, you calculate the basic score, and then you apply the doubling bonuses.

When it comes to playing mahjong, there’s a fun twist at the end – the winning player gets paid! Other players have to cough up some points based on the game’s conditions and the score they achieved.

Here’s How to Calculate the Basic Score

• First, take a look at the various sets of Pongs and Kongs you have.
• Next, consider the pairs of Honor and Terminal tiles in your hand.
• Don’t forget to count any Flower and Season tiles you collected.
• If you managed to go Mahjong, you’ll earn extra points for that achievement.
• Lastly, there’s a bonus for different types of hands you can play.

Use the handy master table below to calculate your basic score.

Doubling the Fun

Now, Let’s Calculate the Final Score

Paying Up – Points and Tally Sticks

Here’s the kicker – depending on how the game ends, the other players have to pay up. They’ll need to give points from their kitty or tally sticks to the winner. The amount they pay is determined by the following table:

I’m going to explain how the game ended and the player payment.

If the dealer goes out by drawing from the Wall, then everyone pays the winning score times two.

If the dealer goes out by picking up a player’s discard, then the discarder pays the winning score times four, while everybody else doesn’t have to pay anything.

If a non-dealer goes out by drawing from the Wall, then everyone pays the winning score. However, the dealer has to pay the winning score times two.

If a non-dealer goes out by picking up a player’s discard, then the discarder has to pay the winning score times two, while the discarder and the dealer each have to pay the winning score times four.

Now let’s talk about Mahjong bonuses.

When someone achieves Mahjong, they get a standard bonus of 20 points. But there are other circumstances where additional points and doublings apply.

If the winning tile is drawn from the Kong Box, the player gets a bonus of 20 points.

If the winning tile is picked up from another player’s discard, the player also gets a bonus of 20 points.

If the winning tile is drawn from the Wall, the player gets a bonus of 22 points.

If the player wins with all of their hand concealed, they get an additional bonus of 10 points.

There are also bonuses for specific situations.

If the winner goes out by taking the last tile of the Wall, they get a bonus of 20 points and the doubling factor is 1.

If the winner goes out by taking the discard from the last tile in the Wall, they also get a bonus of 20 points with a doubling factor of 1.

If the winner goes out by taking a tile another player has drawn from the Wall and added to a Melded Pong to create a Melded Kong, they get a standard bonus of 20 points with a doubling factor of 1.

There are two special hands that automatically achieve Mahjong.

The dealer automatically achieves Mahjong with the hand they are dealt, and they automatically score the maximum points.

A non-dealer player can achieve Mahjong on their first turn by either picking up the dealer’s first discard or by taking the winning tile from the Wall, and they also automatically score the maximum points.