Mahjong is a strategy game that originated in China. This game is similar to rummy, but is played with tiles instead of cards. This game is usually played by 4 people, although it can also be with 3 people. The goal of this game is to get 4 melds (series) and one pair (pairs), which results in "mahjong". You can find many variations of mahjong so the rules in this article are not standard. It is better to prioritize the rules that are agreed upon by fellow players.
Step
Part 1 of 4: Studying Stones
Step 1. Prepare the mahjong stone set
One set contains 144 stones. You can find them on the internet at affordable prices so you don't have to worry about spending a lot of money. You can also find them at stores that sell game tools.
- Keep in mind that some versions of mahjong use a different number of stones. For example, there is a version that uses only 136 stones.
- Some mahjong sets are quite expensive because they are hand carved!
Step 2. Learn the stone symbols first
This game uses 3 symbols for the main part of the game, namely dots/circles, Chinese characters, and bamboo. The roles of these symbols are like hearts, diamonds, curls and spades in a deck of playing cards. Each symbol has 4 identical sets, each of which contains 9 stones. There are 108 stones in total.
Stones also have numbers, which are 1-9, and like playing cards, each number of symbols on the stone represents the number it represents, except for the character symbols, which have Chinese characters as numbers. The number 1 stone for bamboo is a bird, usually an owl or peacock
Step 3. Use honor stones like symbol stones
The honor stone is a special stone. The honor stone features red and green dragons or the 4 cardinal points. You can use them almost like matched symbol stones to make "meld", 3-of-a-kind (three of the same stone) or 4-of-a-kind (four of the same stone).
- You have 16 cardinal stones, 4 each for east, south, west, and north, played in that order; just remember to start from the east, then the sequence moves clockwise. The first letter of the word is usually listed in the upper left corner.
- Dragons are usually represented in Chinese characters, but also have "C," "F," or "P/B" instead of the numbers 1-9 like the symbol stone. You get 4 identical sets of which each set contains 3 stones.
Step 4. Decide if you will use bonus stones
Bonus stones feature seasons and flowers. Usually, this stone is included in the Chinese and Korean versions of mahjong, but not always in the US or Japanese versions. You can't use these stones to make melds, but they can give you extra points at the end of the game.
The images of these stones may vary depending on the set. The stone set can contain stones depicting plums, orchids, chrysanthemums, and bamboo flowers, one each. Then, the set also has one stone for each season. You can also have a blank stone, which is the Joker card equivalent
Part 2 of 4: Starting the Game
Step 1. Roll the dice to see who is the East Wind
East Wind is the city of the game. Whoever gets the highest number of numbers after rolling two dice becomes East Wind. The West Wind sits opposite the East Wind, while the North Wind sits to the left of the East Wind, and the South Wind sits on its right.
The South Wind, that is, the person sitting to the right of the East Wind, gets the first turn
Step 2. Place the stones face down before shuffling and distributing
Place all the stones in the center of the table and face down. Stir all the stones to shake them. The East Wind can determine when the stone can stop shaking.
Step 3. Have East Wind distribute 13 stones to each player
East Wind gives 1 stone to each player at a time, and stops when all players have 13 stones. Leave all the leftover stones in the center of the table as they will be picked up throughout the game. Arrange your “hand” stones in a row, with their faces facing you.
In the traditional game of mahjong, you build a wall in front of each player in 2 piles of 36 stones each before distributing them. Then, you push all the walls together to form a square. The East Wind throws two dice, then counts from right to that point on the wall and pushes 2 piles of stones forward to give to his hand. Players take turns pulling piles, 2 piles of stones at a time until they reach 12 stones. Then, Timur takes 2 stones and the other 3 players take one stone
Step 4. Pass the stones using the "Charleston" rule in United States mahjong
This rule is a variant, and is usually only used in the United States version. This rule is divided into 3 parts. You have to do Charleston the first time. You simply take 3 stones from the hand you want to throw and pass them to the right (this is the first pass). Then, do the same for the person across from you (second pass), then for the person to your left (third pass). If everyone agrees, you can do the whole process a second time; However, you can't do it if someone refuses, even if it's just one person.
- On the third pass, you can use the "blind" pass, which means you can move 1-3 stones that are passed to you to the next person without seeing the contents of the stones. Make sure you still pass 3 stones so use the stones on hand if needed.
- You can also make a "respect" pass at the end, which is when opposing players agree to trade 1-3 stones. This step is optional; both players agree before a pass can be made, and state the number of stones to be exchanged. The lowest number is used for exchange.
Part 3 of 4: Playing the Mahjong Round
Step 1. Let South Wind draw and discard cards at the start of the round
The South Wind can pick up a rock and look at it. If he wanted to keep it, he had to remove a stone from his hand. Otherwise, he could throw away the stone he picked up. When picking up a stone from the wall in your hand, you continue from the point where you stopped when the stone was dealt and continue moving in the same direction. If you have a pile, just take any stone from the pile.
- To determine whether a stone should be kept, check its compatibility with the stones at hand. Your goal is to form a meld, which consists of 3-of-a-kind, 4-of-a-kind, and straight.
- If you distribute the stones by the wall method, it means that the East has 14 stones. Thus, Timur can throw stones early in the game, which anyone can take.
Step 2. Let the South Wind throw the stone and say the name
Each time you pick up a stone, either from another player's throw or from a pile, remove one stone from your hand. Place the stone on the table, and say the name of the stone so that other players can pick it up.
The discarded stone is simply placed in the center of the table. You can line them up if you want
Step 3. Pick up the stone that your opponent throws if it matches one of your melds
If a stone completes a pong, meaning you already have two other stones in hand, you can say " pong " and pick up the discarded stone. Similarly, you can pick up a stone if you have Kong or Chow in hand, and say it out loud when you pick it up. Then, you have to show meld and put it on the table to prove it. This type of stone picking follows the order in which the players turn except for one: if the stone allows the player to win mahjong, he gets the stone.
- Some variations only allow you to pick up the third Chow stone from the person right before you.
- If you play Pong 3 stones at the table, you may not pick up a fourth stone, although it can be played if the stone is taken from the pile/wall.
- You can play the entire game without showing any meld in your hand, which is called a "hidden meld", but you can't pick up discarded stones. Not showing meld will give you extra points. Melds that open on the table are called "open melds".
Step 4. Take a stone from the pile to play with if you don't want a discarded stone
If no one picks up the discarded stone, it means that the next player to the right of the player who removed the relevant stone took the stone from the pile/wall. If so, no one can take the waste stone.
If you pick up a stone and look at it, but haven't placed it in your hand, other players can still pick up the discarded stone. In this case, you need to put the removed stone back in its place
Step 5. Move on to the player on the right
If a player has taken the discarded stone, the next turn goes to the player to his right, even if according to the order of his turn it should not have arrived. When the player picks up the discarded stone, it is his turn, and the game continues from him.
If you primarily pick up stones, the game continues in a normal turn
Step 6. Replace the Joker with the stone in hand on your turn
If someone puts a meld with the Joker and you have a rock that replaces the Joker, feel free to put that stone down. Then, you can take the Joker to use in hand.
You can do it on your turn after picking and stacking stones
Step 7. Try to form a meld
Meld is a set of stones strung together. You can play 3 of the same stone ("pong") or 4 of the same stone ("kong"). These stones can be numbers, honor stones, or bonus stones. You can also play 3 numbers in a row, which is called chow.
- Pong is similar to 3-of-a-kind, Kong is similar to 4-of-a-kind, and Chow is similar to run or straight in rummy.
- In some versions, you can only have 1 Chow on hand. Chow didn't score a point at the end, but played his part and formed mahjong.
- When laying out the meld, place the end ends next to each and group them in front of you.
- You should only "play" the meld when picking up the discarded stone because at that point the meld has already been shown. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until you mention mahjong to unlock meld, similar to a game of gin rummy.
Step 8. Try to make mahjong by getting 4 melds and 1 pair
Mahjong uses all the stones on hand, which are 13 in total, plus 1 stone that is not thrown away. You need 4 melds, which can be any combination of pong, kong, and chow, plus 1 pair. All bonus stones also give points.
For example, you have 2 melds of the same 3 stones, plus 1 pair
Part 4 of 4: Scoring and Winning the Game
Step 1. Say “call” (pronounced “kol”) when the player only needs 1 stone more to get mahjong
Tell other players that they have limited time to beat you. Other players can also say “call” on their turn, after you previously made a call.
Step 2. Show your hand and say "mahjong" when your set is complete
You must have all the melds and pairs before you can say mahjong. If it turns out that you don't have mahjong, you will be disqualified throughout the game.
The game continues without a disqualified player
Step 3. Get a high score
Although there are various ways to calculate the score. The easiest way is just to count the stones in your hand. Mahjong is played for several rounds so points will be accumulated throughout the game.
If you don't want to calculate only the winning hand's score, it means that the score in each player's hand is the same, but the mahjong hand gets an extra 20 points
Step 4. Apply points based on the stone in the winning hand
Chow doesn't get any points. Pong earns 2 points if it is open and 4 if it is closed. Pong numbers 1 and 9, or the wind has 4 points if it is open and 8 if it is closed. Kong has 8 (open) and 16 (closed) or 16 and 32 points if using 1 and 9, dragon, or wind.
Each flower or season earns 4 points, while a dragon or wind pair earns 2 points
Step 5. Play 4 rounds of 4 hands each
Usually, the game of mahjong consists of 4 rounds. In each round, you play 4 "hands". With each hand, you play until someone gets mahjong. During this time, players take turns being the dealer and even changing sitting positions.
Tips
- Watch what stones other players throw away so you know what to keep. For example, if a player keeps throwing away a certain symbol, of course he doesn't want that symbol in his hand. That way, the stone with the symbol is safe to throw out of your hand because you're not giving your opponent the stone they need. You can also try removing the same stones whenever possible.
- If you want to play mahjong for money, agree on a money value for each point. Each player pays the winner at the end, based on the number of points won.
