Etymology
In Chinese, the game was originally called ()meaningOld Hong Kong mahjong rules
There are many highly varied versions of mahjong both in rules and tiles used. "Old Hong Kong mahjong" uses the same basic features and rules as the majority of the different variations of the game. This form of mahjong uses all of the tiles of the most commonly available sets, includes no exotic complex rules, and has a relatively small set of scoring sets/hands with a simple scoring system. For these reasons Hong Kong mahjong is a suitable variation for the introduction of game rules and play and is the focus of this article.Game equipment
Old Hong Kong mahjong is played with a standard set of 144 mahjong tiles (though cards may be used). 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 theSuited tiles
Suited tiles are divided into three suits and each are numbered from 1 to 9. The suits are bamboos, dots, and characters. There are four identical copies of each suited tile totaling 108 tiles. The bamboo suit is also known as "sticks", "strings" or "bams" suit; the first tile usually has a bird (traditionally, a peacock or sparrow) instead of a single bamboo. The dots suit is also known as the "wheels", "circles", "coins", "stones", "marbles" or "balls" suit. The characters suit is also known as the "myriads", "cracks" or "numbers" suit since the top characters are numbers in the Chinese orthography, and the bottom characters (inHonors tiles
There are two different sets of honors tiles: winds and dragons. The winds are east, south, west, and north, beginning with east. The dragons are red, green, and white. The white dragon has a blue or black frame on the face of the piece or in some sets is entirely blank. These tiles have no numerical sequence like the suited tiles (for example the bamboo pieces number 1 to 9). Like the suited tiles, there are four identical copies of each honors tile, for a total of 28 honors tiles.Bonus tiles
There are two sets of bonus tiles: flowers and seasons. The flower and season tiles play a unique role in the mechanics of the game. When drawn, the bonus tile is not added into a player's hand but are instead set aside and kept near the player's other tiles for scoring purposes should they win the hand, and an extra tile is drawn in replacement of the bonus tile. In addition, unlike the suited and honours tiles, there is only a single tile of each bonus tile, so there are a total of four flower and four season tiles in the set. The tiles have a different artistic rendering of a specific type of flower or season.Choosing table positions and first dealer
The dealer is chosen by various means. For example, each player throws dice with the highest count taking the dealer position, second-highest taking south etc. Or one player may place one tile of each wind face down and shuffle them. Each player randomly select one of these tiles and these tiles dictate their wind position. Each player sits down at their respective position (called the wind position) at the table in positions of an inverted compass: East is dealer, the right of the dealer is South, across is West, and the left is North. The order of play is traditionally counter-clockwise.Hands, rounds, and matches
A match consists of four rounds, each representing a "prevailing wind", starting with East. Once the first round is completed, a second round begins with South as the prevailing wind, and so on. Wind position is significant in that it affects the scoring of the game. A mahjong set with winds in play will usually include a separate prevailing wind marker (typically a die marked with the wind characters in a holder). In each round at least four hands are played, with each player taking the position of dealer. In the first hand of each round, Player 1 (winner of the dice toss) is East and therefore dealer. In the second hand, Player 2 takes the East position, shifting the seat winds amongst the players counterclockwise (though players do not physically move their chairs). This continues until all four players have been East (dealer). A marker is used to mark which player is East and often the round number. (In sets with racks, a rack may be marked differently to denote the dealer.) Whenever a player in the East position (dealer) wins a hand, or if there is no winner (a draw or "goulash hand"), an extra hand is played with the same seating positions and prevailing wind as in the previous hand. This means that a match may potentially have no limit to the number of hands played (though some players will set a limit of three consecutive hands allowed with the same seat positions and prevailing wind). Example of games:Dealing tiles
Shuffling tiles
All tiles are placed face down on the table and are shuffled. By convention all players should participate in shuffling using both hands moving the pieces around the table rigorously and loudly for a lengthy period. Tiles may get flipped up during this process and players should flip them facing down as soon as possible to avoid identifying the location of the revealed tiles.Stacking tiles
Each player then stacks a row of 18 tiles, two tiles high in front of them (for a total of 36 tiles). Players then push each side of their stack together to form a square wall. Regular players usually place their stacks in a slightly diagonal position (about 20 to 30 degrees anti-clockwise); the right end of their stack is pushed slightly further in to the centre of the table to meet almost the middle of the stack of the player on the right. This creates a smaller square wall the length of about half of each stack, with walls extended away from each corner of the square. The diagonally positioned stacks and a smaller square creates a bigger space for players' tiles and also makes an ergonomic position for drawing tiles from the stack.Drawing tiles
The dealer throws three dice in the square wall and sums up the total. Counting anti-clockwise so that the dealer is 1 (or 5, 9, 13, 17), so that south (player to the right) is 2 (or 6, 10, 14, 18), etc., a player's quarter of the wall is chosen. Some house rules may use only two dice but have double throws to increase randomness. In the case of double throws, the player of the chosen wall makes the second throw. Using the same total on the dice (or the total of the two throws), the player whose wall is chosen then counts the stacks of tiles from right to left. (For double throws, the count may extend to the left side player's stack.) This determines the location where the 'deck' of tiles is cut. Starting from the left of the stacks counted, the dealer draws four tiles for himself, and players in anti-clockwise order draw blocks of four tiles until all players have 12 tiles, so that the stacks decrease clockwise. Each player then draws one last tile to make a 13-tile hand. The tile to be drawn is always the topmost tile left of the cut. Dealing does not have to be strictly this way and may be done quite differently based on house rules. Tiles may flip over when being dealt and players should agree in advance on how to deal with the problem. Solutions include having the dealer penalised points, shuffling the turned over piece back into the wall somehow, allowing the player to whom the tiles were dealt to take the piece or not (meaning the dealer must take it as his/her 14th piece), or other house rules. Each player now sets aside any flowers or seasons they may have drawn and takes turns to draw replacement tiles from the wall in the anti-clockwise direction from the dealer. If a player gets any flowers or seasons tiles in the replacement draw, the players must wait for the next turn to draw replacement tiles.Game play starts
The dealer draws a piece from the wall in clockwise direction, adding it to their hand. Typically, this draw is performed during the initial deal to speed up play. If this does not complete a legal hand, the dealer then discards a piece (throwing it into the middle of the wall with no particular order in mind).Rules
Each player in turn, in counterclockwise direction, draws a tile from the wall; as long as the tile drawn is not one of the bonus tiles, the player proceeds to discard a tile (either the tile just drawn, or a tile in the hand) to maintain a hand of 13. The discarded tile is thrown into the centre and, if desired, the player announces out loud what the piece is. The other players have an opportunity to seize the discarded tile; if no one takes it, the turn continues to the next player. Play continues this way until one player has a legal winning hand and calls out the win (each region does this call differently--no Asian version uses the word "mahjong" to signal a win) while revealing their hand. There are four different ways that regular order of play can be interrupted: #A bonus tile (flower or season) is drawn #A meld (pong, kong, or chow) is made from a discard #Going mahjong (declaring a winning hand) #Robbing a kong During play, each player's hand should always be 13 tiles (meaning in each turn a tile must be picked up and another discarded). The count of 13 tiles do not include any bonus tiles (flowers and seasons), which are set to the side, nor does it include the fourth added piece of a kong. If a player is seen to have fewer or more than 13 tiles in their hand outside of their turn they are penalised.Legal hand
A winning hand consists of 14 tiles. Since players always have 13 tiles in their hand during play, they must win by either drawing a piece from the wall that completes a 14-tile hand ("winning from the wall") or claiming a discard from another player which completes a 14-tile hand ("winning by discard"). The winning hand is made of four ''melds'' (a specific pattern of three pieces) and the ''eyes'' (a pair of identical pieces). The exceptions to this rule are the special hands listed below. Most players play with a table minimum, meaning a winning hand must score a minimum number of points (which can be seen in the scoring section). In Hong Kong mahjong the most common point set is three, but can be higher or lower depending on house rules.Melds
Melds are groups of tiles within the player's hand, consisting of either a pong (three identical tiles), a kong (four identical tiles), a chow (three suited tiles all of the same suit, in numerical sequence), or eyes (two identical tiles needed in a winning hand). Melds may be formed by drawing a tile from the wall, or by seizing another player's discard. There are rules governing which player has priority for a discard, and whether the meld should be exposed (displayed to all players) or remain concealed, depending on the manner in which the meld is formed.Interruption of play
The regular anti-clockwise order of turns may be interrupted for four events:= 1. Flower or season
= Whenever a player draws a flower or season, it is announced and then placed to the side (it is not considered a part of the 13-tile hand, but in the event that player wins, they may earn bonus points for them) and the last tile of the wall is drawn as a replacement tile so that the player has the 14 pieces needed before their discard. This may happen successively in a player's turn.= 2. Melding another player's discard
= When a player discards a tile, other players may steal the tile to complete a meld. Stealing tiles has both advantages (quickly forming a winning hand and scoring extra points) and disadvantages (being forced to reveal part of one's hand to other players and not being able to change the meld once declared). 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. If the player who melds a discard is not directly after the discarder (in order of play), one or two players will essentially miss their turn as play continues anti-clockwise from the player who declared the meld. If multiple players call for a discarded tile, priority for the discard depends on the declared action of the player stealing the discard. # Highest priority goes to the player who needs the discarded tile to win the hand. A player may take the tile to win the hand from any other player. # Next priority goes to the player who declares a pong or kong using the discard. A player who calls for a pong or kong may take the discard from any other player. Only one player can be in this position because there are only four of any tile in a mahjong set. # Last priority goes to the player who declares a chow using the discard. Players may only call for a chow from the discard of the player immediately prior to them unless the tile is the final one required to win the hand.= 3. Winning a hand
= The act of winning a hand interrupts play to assess the validity of the hand won. Upon confirmation, the player is awarded the hand's value per the specific game's rule.From a discard If at any point in the game a player can use another player's discard to complete a legal hand (and with the agreed minimum points), they declare a win and reveal their winning hand. This ends the hand, and scoring commences. If more than one player can use a discard to win the hand, multiple ways can handle the situation based on agreed table rules: The players might count the points they would win with the discard and the winner is the one with the higher score, the winner might simply be the player closest to the discarder in order of turn, or multiple players may be granted the win simultaneously.
From the wall Alternatively, a player may also win by drawing a tile that completes a legal hand. This is called "winning from the wall". In Hong Kong mahjong, winning from the wall doubles the number of base points each loser must pay.
False Win Technically, the declaration for winning a hand may be done at any time. However, the player must have a complete and legal hand. Otherwise, the player is penalized. The penalty depends on table rules. The player may forfeit points to the other players. Another potential penalty is the player who called out the false win must play the rest of the hand with their tiles face up on the table so other players can see them (open hand). Some methods apply the penalty at the end of the entire game. Again, the table rules dictate the enforcement of the penalty.
= 4. Robbing a kong
= A rarely occurring and high-scoring feature of Hong Kong mahjong is a move called robbing the kong. If a player declares a kong by adding a fourth piece to a melded pong but another player can use that piece to complete a hand, the completing player takes priority to win the hand and may steal that piece from the player who intended to declare the kong.Examples of winning hands
Below are two examples of winning hands. A winning hand must consist of four melds (pongs, kongs, or chows) and a pair (eyes) and must also score the agreed table minimum. Most players include table variations in their games, of which some non-standard are included. The hands of ''seven different pairs'' and ''13 orphans'' are examples which do not have four melds and the eyes. They are described in more detail below.Repeated hands
If the dealer wins the hand, they will remain the dealer and an extra hand is played in addition to the minimum 16 hands in a match. An extra hand is also played if there is no winner by the time all the tiles in the wall have been drawn. When there is no winner it is known as a "goulash hand". Depending on table rules, the winner of the next game may take an agreed number of points from each player, carrying over the points from the non-winning hand to the winning one. If there are two or three goulash hands in a row then the winner would collect a considerable number of points from each player on top of their scoring hand. Because extra hands may be played every time a dealer wins or if there is a goulash hand, a match of 16 hands can easily become a match of 20 or even much more. As table rules add a large amount of flexibility for players, they can choose to disregard the rule of extra hands and pass on the dealership regardless of who wins or if it results in a goulash hand. This puts a maximum estimated limit on the game duration and provides some amount of predictability.Rhythm of play
Players may agree on table rules if the pace of the game is brisk or leisurely. For brisk games players may agree that a couple seconds after a discard are allowed for a "window of opportunity" before the next player picks up from the wall. Usually it is agreed once the next player has waited the duration of the "window of opportunity" and draws a tile from the wall, the previous discard is lost and cannot be claimed.Scoring
Old Hong Kong scoring is relatively simple. There is only one winner (or if there is a draw the hand is replayed). The winner must have a legal hand that meets the minimum ''faan'' points agreed to in advance (not including any bonus points). Only the winner scores, the other players pay the winner various sums. After each hand ends, the winner counts all of his or her ''faan'' points. * ''Faan'' points depend on: ** The composition of the entire hand ** How the hand was won ** Bonus tiles ** Special patterns ** A few other special criteria. * In order to win, a player needs to have at least the minimum ''faan'' value agreed in advance (often 3). Bonus tiles and a few other elements are not included in the minimum ''faan'' value a player needs to form a legal winning hand. For example, in a three ''faan'' minimum game, if a player has two ''faan'' points and one bonus point, the player has not met the proper requirements to win and will need to gain another ''faan'' point before calling a win. Though the bonus points cannot be included in the minimum points needed to win, they are included in the overall score after a player wins. * The other players do not score their hand. Once the winner has added his or her points (''faan'' points plus bonus points) they must be converted into base points (the chart is below). These base points represent how much the opponents pay to the winner * Players then pay the winner (in money or when not gambling with "chips or points") based on three factors: ** The base points (''faan'' points and bonus points converted into a payment unit) ** If the player won from the wall (doubles the points) ** If the player was the dealer (doubles the points).Concealed vs. revealed meld and hand
A concealed meld is one that contains no tiles stolen from another player's discard. A concealed hand is one made up of only concealed melds. Many variations distinguish between a concealed hand (winning from the wall) and a semi concealed hand (the last tile is a stolen discard). In most mahjong variations having a concealed hand can be valuable in scoring. Hong Kong mahjong does not award concealed melds/hands as generously as others. Concealed hands only the case with a few limit hands or half-limit hands (thirteen orphans, heavenly gates, four concealed pongs) as well as a complete hand (seven pairs) and over several melds (three concealed pongs).''Faan'' value
= Basic ''faan'' value
= A winning hand must include an agreed minimum amount of ''faan'' value (often 3). Some examples of scoring include:= Bonus ''faan''
= A player only scores a bonus ''faan'' for flowers or seasons if it is their own flower or season (East=1, South=2, West=3 and North=4) or if the player has all four flowers or all four seasons (scoring 5 ''faan'' in total).Payment
The losers pay the winning player points based on several criteria and depending on whether the game is for fun or for money. How points are reckoned is agreed by players beforehand. For example, they can keep a tally, exchange chips, or pay one another with money. The ''faan'' value of a hand is converted into base points which are then used to calculate the points the losers pay the winner. The table is progressive, doubling the number of base points when reaching a certain ''faan'' point target. The following is the Old Hong Kong simplified table; for other tables, see Hong Kong mahjong scoring rules. This table is based on play where 3 ''faan'' is the minimum needed in order to win with a legal hand. If a player has 3 ''faan'', then their hand is worth one base point. A winning hand with 9 ''faan'' is worth four base points. Losing players must give the winning player the value of these base points. The following special cases result in doubled base points: * If the winner wins from the wall, their base points are doubled. * If the hand was won by discard, the discarder doubles the amount they owe the winner. * If the winner is east, all losers double the base points. * If the east player is a losing player, they pay double the points to the winner. If two of these criteria apply to any player, they must double and then redouble the points owed to the winner.= Examples
= Hong Kong mahjong is essentially a payment system of doubling and redoubling, where winning from the wall adds great value to the final payment and where the dealer is highly rewarded or penalised if they win or lose.= Limit hands
= In Hong Kong mahjong there are a series of "limit hands". These are exceptional hands, difficult to obtain and are very valuable in point scoring. As many table rules put a limit on the number of points a winner's hand can score, full limit hands score that maximum. Table rules dictate if these rare and special hands are allowed, which ones, and the limit for scoring. A common scoring limit is 64 points, which is the highest base points doubled twice. A winner receives the scoring limit from each player without any doubling. Some limit hands by necessity must be completely concealed (not discards used) or semi-concealed (the only discard used is the one needed to win). This includes the 13 orphans, 4 concealed pongs, heavenly hand and earthly hand. It is usually expected that the heavenly gates hand be concealed or semi-concealed. As for the dragon limit hands and the great winds, table rules dictate whether the hand must be concealed or not. Some table rules claim that a semi-concealed hand (winning from a discard) scores a half-limit. Some groups also play with the "great flowers" rule. If a player picks up all four flowers and all four seasons during their hand, they instantly win the hand and receive the maximum points from all of the players. This is exceptionally rare. In all the hands that require pongs, each pong can be replaced by the corresponding kong.Other examples of high-scoring hands
Variations
Variations may have far more complicated scoring systems, add or remove tiles, and include far more scoring elements and limit hands. In many places, players often observe one version and are either unaware of other variations or claim that different versions are incorrect. In mainland China alone, there are over thirty variants. Many variations today differ only by scoring:Chinese variants
* Changsha mahjong is widely played inOther variants
*Equipment
Tables
Mahjong playing surfaces are typically square and small enough to be within arm's length of all equipment. The edges are raised to prevent tiles from sliding off and the surface is covered in felt to limit wear on the tiles. Automatic dealing tables, often used for high stakes playing and tournaments, are able to shuffle tiles, build walls, and randomize dice. It is an elaborate device built into a table which uses two alternating sets of tiles. It prepares one wall while the players play one hand. After the hand is finished the tiles are dropped into the table and a new wall raises upwards.Tiles
The following chart shows the most generic set of tiles There are variations that feature specific use of tiles. Some three-player versions remove the North wind and one Chinese provincial version has no honors. Korean mahjong removes the bamboo suit or at least its numbers 2–8 so that terminals can be used. Japanese mahjong rarely uses flowers or seasons. The seasons are removed in Korean mahjong, while many Southeast Asian sets have more flower series.Wild cards and jokers
Some mahjong variants accept wildcard tiles. 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. Wildcard tiles cannot replace tiles in pongs and kongs. 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. (When the wildcard indicator is chosen and exposed, only 3 tiles remain of the same denomination, so the next tile in the suit will also be used as a wildcard, adding to 7 wildcard tiles for 4 players.) Also, if a tile numbered 9 is the indicator, the suits circle back to 1, after 9. Thus, the number 9 and 1 are wild cards. Also, if the chosen tile is not in the suited tiles, the wild cards are decided in rules: The bonus tiles are not available for wild cards. A feature of several variations of mahjong, most notably in American mahjong, is the notion of some number of Joker tiles. They may be used as a wild card: a substitute for any tile in a hand, or, in some variations, only tiles in melds. Another variation is that the Joker tile may ''not'' be used for melding. Depending on the variation, a player may replace a Joker tile that is part of an exposed meld belonging to any player with the tile it represents. Rules governing discarding Joker tiles also exist; some variations permit the Joker tile to take on the identity of any tile, and others only permit the Joker tile to take on the identity of the previously discarded tile (or the absence of a tile, if it is the first discard). Joker tiles may or may not affect scoring, depending on the variation. Some special hands may require the use of Joker tiles (for example, to represent a "fifth tile" of a certain suited or honor tile). In American mahjong, it is illegal to pass Jokers during the Charleston.= Flowers
= Japanese rule sets discourage the use of flowers and seasons. Korean rules and three-player mahjong in the Korean/Japanese tradition use only flowers. In Singapore and Malaysia an extra set of bonus tiles of four animals are used. The rule set includes a unique function in that players who get two specific animals get a one-time immediate payout from all players. In Taiwanese mahjong, getting all eight flowers and seasons constitutes an automatic win of the hand and specific payout from all players. Four of the flower tiles represent the four noble plants of= Walls
= All tiles are placed face down and shuffled. Each player then stacks a row of tiles two tiles high in front of them, the length of the row depending on the number of tiles in use: * 136 tiles: 17 stacks for each player ** Suits of circles, bamboos, and characters + winds + dragons * 144 tiles: 18 stacks for each player * 148 tiles: 19 stacks for dealer and player opposite, 18 for rest * 152 tiles: 19 stacks for each playerDice, markers, and counting pieces
Depending on the variation, two or threeRules
Japanese and Korean mahjong have some special rules. A player cannot win by a discard if that player had already discarded that piece, where players' discards are kept in neat rows in front of them. Players may declare ready, meaning that they need one tile to win, cannot change their hand and win extra points if they win. Some rules may replace some of the number 5 tiles with red tiles, as they can earn more points. Korean mahjong does not allow melded (stolen) chows. Taiwanese mahjong adds three tiles to a hand requiring a 5th set to be formed, making a clean hand or all-pong hand very difficult to procure. American mahjong has distinctive game mechanics and the article onCharleston
In the American variations it is required that, before each hand begins, a Charleston be enacted. In the first exchange, three tiles are passed to the player on one's right; in the next exchange, the tiles are passed to the player opposite, followed by three tiles passed to the left. If all players are in agreement, a second Charleston is performed; however, any player may decide to stop passing after the first Charleston is complete. The Charleston is followed by an optional pass to the player across of one, two, or three tiles. The Charleston, a distinctive feature of American mahjong, may have been borrowed from card games such as Hearts.Hands
Many variations have specific hands, some of which are common while some are optional depending on regions and players. One example is the Pure Green hand made of chows or pongs using 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 of bamboo and green dragon.Ready hands
When a hand is one tile short of winning (for example: , waiting for: , , or , as can be the eyes), the hand is said to be a ready hand, or more figuratively, "on the pot". The player holding a ready hand is said to be ''waiting'' for certain tiles. It is common to be waiting for two or three tiles, and some variations award points for a hand that is waiting for one tile. In 13-tile mahjong, the largest number of tiles for which a player can wait is 13 (the '' thirteen wonders'', or ''13 orphans'', a nonstandard special hand). Ready hands must be declared in some variations of mahjong, while other variations prohibit the same. Some variations of mahjong, most notably Japanese and Korean ones, allow a player to declare . A declaration of ''rīchi'' is a promise that any tile drawn by the player is immediately discarded unless it constitutes a win. Standard requirements for ''rīchi'' are that the hand be ''closed'' or have no melds declared (other than a concealed kong) and that players already have points for declaration of ''rīchi''. A player who declares ''rīchi'' and wins usually receives a point bonus for their hand directly, and a player who won with ''rīchi'' also has the advantage to open the inner dora which leads to higher possibilities to match such a card, thus has more chance to grant additional bonus. However, a player who declares ''rīchi'' and loses is usually penalised in some fashion. Declaring a nonexistent ''rīchi'' is also penalised in some way. In some variations, a situation in which all four players declare a ''rīchi'' is an automatic drawn game, as it reduces the game down to pure luck, i.e., who gets their needed tile first.Draws
If only the dead wall remains (or if no dead wall exists and the wall is depleted) and no one has won, the hand is drawn or " goulashed". A new hand begins, and depending on the variant, the Game Wind may change. For example, in most playing circles in Singapore, if there is at least one kong when the hand is a draw, the following player of the dealer becomes the next dealer; otherwise, the dealer remains dealer. Japanese mahjong has a special rule called sanchahō, which is, if three players claim the same discard in order to win, the hand is drawn. One reason for this is that there are cases in which bars of 1,000 points for declaring ''rīchi'' cannot be divided by three. The rule is treated the same as "abortive draws".Abortive draws
In Japanese mahjong, rules allow abortive draws to be declared while tiles are still available. They can be declared under the following conditions: * On a player's first turn when no meld has been declared yet, if a player has nine different terminal (also known as major) or honor tiles, the player may declare the hand to be drawn (for example, , but could also go for the nonstandard '' thirteen wonders'' hand as well). * Four winds' barrier: On the first turn without any meld declarations, if all 4 players discard the same Wind tile, the hand is drawn. * Yonin rīchi: If all four players declare ''rīchi'', the hand is drawn. * Four kongs' abort: The hand is drawn when the fourth kong is declared, unless all four kongs were declared by a single player. Still, the hand is drawn when another player declares a fifth kong.Scoring
Scoring in mahjong involves points, with a monetary value for points agreed upon by players. Although in many variations scoreless hands are possible, many require that hands be of some point value in order to win the hand. While the basic rules are more or less the same throughout mahjong, the greatest divergence between variations lies in the scoring systems. Like the rules, there is a generalized system of scoring, based on the method of winning and the winning hand, from which Chinese and Japanese base their roots. American mahjong generally has greatly divergent scoring rules, as well as greatly divergent general rules. Because of the large differences between the various systems of scoring (especially for Chinese variants), groups of players will often agree on particular scoring rules before a game.Points
Points (terminology of which differs from variation to variation) are obtained by matching the winning hand with different criteria scoring different values. The points obtained may be modified into scores for each player using some (typically exponential) functions. Some criteria may be also in terms of both points and score. In many variations the dealer receives no scoring bonus and does not maintain their turn by winning or a dead hand. In classical mahjong all players score points. Points are given for sets and hand composition and winning bonuses, doubled and redoubled for basic patterns. Sometimes a loser may score more points than a winner. Japanese mahjong has a complex scoring system with several stages of scoring, rules and exceptions, evening out scores and bonus points at the end of a match. Korean mahjong has a simple scoring system where only winner scores without any form of doubling. Some variations give points for concealed hands, in which case no melds are made except by winning on a discard. In Old Hong Kong mahjong: * Only the winner scores points. * Winning hands are scored by totaling the point value of each element in the hand. Points are distinct from the actual payment received from each player. * The winner receives points (also known as faan among some players) for: ** Individual melds, ** The composition of the entire hand, ** How the hand was won, ** Bonus tiles, ** Special patterns, ** A few other special criteria. * In order to win, a player needs to have at least the minimum points agreed in advance (often 3). * Bonus points are separate from the minimum points a player needs to win. * If a player goes mahjong with a legal and minimum hand, their hand is scored by adding their points and bonus points together. * The payment received from each player depends on three factors: ** The point value of the hand, ** If the player won from a discard or from the wall, and ** If the player was the dealer or not.Comparison
Mahjong solitaire
A single player game employs the tiles of mahjong, usually played on computers or devices. Gameplay is entirely unrelated to mahjong or its variations and is a recent invention. A two-player version was published by Nintendo. The game involves stacking tiles face up in various elaborate patterns and removing uncovered matching tiles at the end of rows.Competition
In 1998, in the interest of dissociating illegal gambling from Mahjong, the China State Sports Commission published a new set of rules, now generally referred to as Chinese Official rules or International Tournament rules (see Guobiao Majiang). The principles of the new, wholesome Mahjong are no gambling, no drinking, and no smoking. In international tournaments, players are often grouped in teams to emphasize that Mahjong from now on is considered a sport. The new rules are highly pattern-based. The rulebook contains 81 combinations, based on patterns and scoring elements popular in classic and modern regional Chinese variants; some table practices of Japan have also been adopted. Points for flower tiles (each flower is worth one point) may not be added until the player has scored eight points. The winner of a game receives the score from the player who discards the winning tile, plus eight basic points from each player; in the case of ''zimo'' (self-drawn win), they receive the value of this round plus eight points from all players. The new rules were first used in an international tournament inHistory
Mahjong is based on draw-and-discard card games that were popular in 18th and 19th century China, some of which are still popular today. They were played with a stripped deck of money-suited cards. Each deck is divided into three suits ofMahjong in the West
The first Western records about mahjong seem to correspond to the papers of British Consul General F.E.B. Harvey, around the time when he served as consul in Ningbo, during the 1860s. He mentions in his papers making the acquaintance of an English-fluent, rank-three official under the Daoguang Emperor, Chen Yumen, who taught him the game. In the same writings he details the rules he was taught by Chen. In 1895, British sinologist William Henry Wilkinson wrote a paper which mentioned a set of cards known in central China by the name of ''ma chioh'', literally, hemp sparrow, which he maintained was the origin of the term Mahjong. He did not explain the dialect of the originator or region specific etymology of this information. By 1910, there were written accounts in many languages, includingCurrent development
There are many governing bodies which often host exhibition games and tournaments for modern and traditional Mahjong gaming. Mahjong, as of 2010, is the most popular table game in Japan. As of 2008, there were approximately 7.6 million Mahjong players in Japan and an estimated 8,900 Mahjong parlors did ¥300 billion (converting to US$2.8 billion according to exchange rates for 30 April 2020) in sales. There are severalSuperstitions
Even though both skill and chance play a fundamental role in the game, there is no shortage of superstitions in which players believe where they sit, how they hold their pieces or objects they have on their person will somehow affect the outcome. For example, players will try to find seats with the best feng shui or wear their lucky clothing or trinkets. Some believe that specific pieces (one dot, for example) bode bad luck if received in their opening hand. More elaborate superstitions in mahjong range from those found in the game poker, such as not counting one's wins and losses, to the comical, such as changing one's undergarments after a loss. As with all superstitions in gaming, none of them have been properly demonstrated as effective, though, for some, the rituals have become an integral part of the game experience and its aesthetics.Glossary
*Heavenly Hand (天糊) *Great Winds (大四喜) *Great Dragons (大三元) *All Kongs (十八羅漢) *All Honor Tiles (字一色) *Thirteen Orphans (十三幺) *Nine Gates Hand (九蓮宝燈) *Self Triplets (四暗刻) *All in Triplets (對對糊) *Mixed one suit (混一色) *All one suit (清一色) *Common Hand (平糊) *Small Dragons (小三元) *Small Winds (小四喜)Unicode
Mahjong tiles were added to theSee also
* Mahjong tiles * Mahjong video game * Singaporean Mahjong scoring rules * Khanhoo * Madiao *References
Notes
Further reading
* Lo, Amy. ''The Book of Mahjong: An Illustrated Guide''. Tuttle Publishing: 2001. *Zhou, H. X. & Wang, Y. L. (2002). The Origin and Development of Mahjong. Journal Of Ningbo University(Liberal Arts Edition) *Rep, J. (2007). The great mahjong book: History, lore and play. North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Pub.. * Oxfeld, Ellen, ''Blood, Sweat, and Mahjong: Family and Enterprise in an Overseas Chinese Community''. Cornell University Press: 1993. . * Pritchard, David B., ''Teach Yourself mahjong''. McGraw-Hill/Contemporary: 2001. . * Sloper, Tom., ''Mah-Jongg: Game of the Orient.'' Self-published: n.d. * Wright Patterson Mah Jongg GroupHistorical research
* Culin, Stewart, ‘The Game of Ma-Jong, its Origin and Significance’. In: ''Brooklyn Museum Quarterly,'' Brooklyn, NY, Vol. XI, 1924, p. 153–168. Also found atChinese classic
* * *Chinese official
* ''Competition mahjong Official International Rulebook''. Takeshobo: 2002. . * ''Handbook for the Competitions of the Chinese MaJiang. '' Organizing Committee of Chinese MaJiang: 2005. * Hatsune, Mai and Takunori Kajimoto, translation by Ryan MorrisExternal links
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