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If a player discards a tile you need, you can call it and take it to complete your set. The player who draws a tile from the wall can choose to keep it or discard it. If a player discards a tile that another player needs to complete a set, they can call “pong,” starbust slot “chow,” or “kong” and take the tile. A player can only call a tile if it allows them to complete a set and needs to declare it by placing the three/four tiles face up in front of them. Drawing begins from the wall in front of the East Wind player.
You’ll need four sets plus one pair of eyes to win, which equals 14 tiles to win. In Hong Kong, the most common style is the Hong Kong Mahjong/Cantonese Mahjong which is the style in most of the Hong Kong Mahjong movies from the ’90s. A great one to watch with English subtitles is called Fat Choi Spirit with Andy Lau, available on Netflix. Another style that has gained a lot of popularity in the last few decades is the Hong Kong Taiwanese style, which is what a lot of my aunties and locals play nowadays.
- As is the case with a set of playing cards, the simples fall into suits.
- The player has to remove tiles in pairs to clear the board of all tiles arranged in special shapes.
- You can choose from a turtle, fish, bird, gate, or triangle and see which layout you enjoy playing best.
- You’ll find there are many variations of mahjong, so these rules aren’t definitive.
- However, as they have no corresponding seat position, any player who draws one of these gets a bonus point.
Classic Mahjong is a traditional tile game originating from China and has found success as a fun and engaging pastime. Chinese Mahjong forms the core of a competitive 2-4 player game, and with slight differences in rules, has found a following across the globe. Walls are pushed out in turn once all tiles have been picked from the previous wall. This process moves in a clockwise direction, with the right-most end of the wall being pushed towards the center of the table, leaving the left-most end closest to the player pushing out. So far, we’ve discussed the various tiles and how to read the card to determine the winning combinations. There are several steps to a game and we’ll cover each in turn.
Locals have also been know to refer to playing as––“dry swimming” (游乾水)––because of the movement your hands make when you shuffle the tiles. A rarely occurring and high-scoring feature of Hong Kong mahjong is a move called robbing the kong. When a meld (pong, kong, or chow) is declared through a discard, the player must state the type of meld to be declared and expose the meld by placing the three (or four) tiles face up. The player must then discard a tile, and play continues to the right. Many more complex scoring arrangements exist, which vary widely by region. Bonus point-scoring awards an additional point for not winning by taking a discard, or winning with the last tile in the game, or having a pung of dragons.
While Mahjong and Mahjong Solitaire use the same set of tiles, the two games are very different. However, the key to the game is not to simply match all obvious pairs immediately – it is based on strategy, and it can sometimes be beneficial to save pairs. If you like Mahjong Solitaire, you can find other matching or pairing Solitaire games to play. The tiles must be exposed on either their left or right sides to be in play. The player with the most points, or who was able to declare having Mahjong most often through the rounds of hands played, wins. The Objective of Mahjong is to get all 14 of your tiles into four sets and one pair. If, however, the tiles run out before Mahjong is declared, the hand is a draw and a new hand begins again with the dealer re-dealing tiles.
Building The Wall
Sets often include counters (to keep score), dice (to decide how to deal), and a marker to show who the dealer is and which round is being played. Some sets include racks to hold the tiles, especially if they are larger or smaller than standard tiles or have an odd shape. Mahjong sets originating from the United States, Japan or Southeast Asia will likely have extra tiles or specialized markings. The wildcard tiles are decided at the beginning of the game by choosing one random tile. The wild card could be the immediately following tile on the wall, after distributing tiles to all players, or it could also be separately decided by a dice throw. Wildcard tiles cannot be discarded and can only replace tiles in chows. For example, if a character 4 is chosen, then character 4 and the next sequential tile, character 5, can be used as wild cards in this round.
Mahjong: The Dice
Imagine the wall as two layers of tiles, stacked two tiles high, 17 tiles long, and arranged in a rectangular shape. There’s a gap in the middle of the wall, and this gap is crucial because it’s where players will draw their tiles from. In this article, we’re breaking down the basics in a friendly, step-by-step way. We’ll guide you through the equipment you need, the fascinating tiles you’ll play with, and the core rules that make Mahjong a captivating experience. By the end, you’ll be well on your way to mastering this timeless game. CoolOldGames.com is a collection of guides covering rules and strategies for games.
A standard game begins with the players choosing a dealer either by means of a high-scoring roll of the dice or by the blind drawing of wind tiles (featured in image below). Some players also play with a "Kong", which is four of the same tile (like an extended pung). The same rules for claiming a discarded tile apply, but any player completing a kong immediately draws an extra tile before discarding. In Chinese tradition, the four wind tiles are shuffled face down and dealt to the players. Players then sit according to their tile and sit clockwise in the order north, west, south, east. Modern players may simply roll the dice to determine the dealer.
What version should I start with?
With the Season tiles, you’ll have ones representing spring, summer, fall, and winter. Each one has an illustration or symbol reflective of that time of year. The individual solitaire version of Mahjong is a puzzle game that a single person can play. It is an excellent choice for anyone seeking relaxation, mental stimulation, or a challenging pastime. The ban on gambling after the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949 led to a decline in playing.
Winning and Scoring
Exponential scoring scores each pung at 2 points, which is doubled if the pung was not revealed, doubled if the pung used ones or nines, and doubled twice more if the pung was a kong. There are four different seasons and four different flowers. The tile that has most recently been discarded can be called by any other player if the tile will complete a pung, kong, quint, sextet, or any other combination for an exposed hand. The East Wind player throws the dice and counts off the resulting number from the tile stack in front of them, from right to left, before breaking the wall.
Failing that, any player can claim the discarded tile to complete a pung. The player says "pung", and then reveals the two matching tiles that match the discard. For example, if the discarded tile was the 7 of bamboo, and the player had two more bamboo 7s on the rack, that player would call "pung". When calling pung, a player turns the completed pung (with all three bamboo 7s, in this case) face-up, discards a different tile, and the turn passes to the right.
The Set-Up And Seating
These tiles have a symbol (based on the suit) and a number. There are 3 suits (cracks, dots and bams) and the numbers run from 1 to 9. Mahjong Solitaire offers numerous variations and puzzle-solving fun to enjoy. With regular practice using these tips and tracks, you’ll gradually improve your gameplay while enjoying the challenge of each layout. The best way to begin a game of Mahjong Solitaire is by scanning the board for open pairs. This initial step allows you to create more possible matches later in the game.
If multiple players call for a discarded tile, priority for the discard depends on the declared action of the player stealing the discard. The game originated in China centuries ago and features beautifully adorned tiles meant to be arranged in specific combinations for a winning hand. The dealer rolls the dice and counts that many tiles from the right edge of their wall, and separates the wall at that point to begin dealing tiles from the left of that spot and going clockwise. Each player receives 13 tiles, with the dealer starting with an extra 14th tile.