Mahjong is a popular Chinese game that thousands of people around the world enjoy playing with their loved ones. But if you haven’t played this game, you might be wondering how to play Mahjong.
Don’t worry because this short guide will help you understand everything about Mahjong so you can play this game the right way.
How to play Mahjong online and offline?
In the Chinese game, Mahjong, the goal of the players is to collect four sets and one pair of tiles, creating Mahjong. It is important that both pairs have the same tiles. But the four set tiles can be chow (three numbers in a row), pung (a set of three identical tiles), or kong (a special elated pung).
This game has been modified and reformed throughout the years and regions. Some regions include special tiles and allow the players to implement new rules for the game.
But many people like to keep the game simple by sticking to the standard Chinese Mahjong rules. 144 tiles and two dice make a complete set. Let’s talk about the tiles in more detail.
Mahjong tiles
The Mahjong tiles are divided into three parts, including suits, honor tiles, and bonus tiles.
Suits
Suits, also known as dots, are groups of 36 tiles. These groups contain four sets of nine tiles numbered from 1-9 each. There are three suits in Chinese Mahjong: circle tiles, character tiles, and bamboo tiles.
The tiles of each suit have the corresponding symbols to indicate their value. For example, in the circle suit, one circle will be printed on 1-tiles. Similarly, 2-tiles will have two circles, and so on.
By the same token, the character tiles have the corresponding number of characters on them, and the bamboo tiles have the corresponding number of bamboo shoes on them.
Honor tiles
The honor tiles make up 16 wind tiles with four sets of four, representing North, West, South and East.
This group of tiles also includes 12 Dragons divided into three sets, representing the Red Dragon, Green Dragon, and White Dragon. The white dragon can be blank or have the letter P printed on it, which means Pai, meaning pure in Chinese.
Bonus tiles
The set of Mahjong tiles also includes four flower tiles and four seasonal tiles. You get bonus points if you draw any of these tiles.
Although the design of the flowers on mahjong sets will vary depending on the set, the most common variations include plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums, and bamboo.
Mahjong Board Rules and Online Game
Mahjong usually involves four players, but there are three-player variations in some categories.
set up
The game starts with one player moving the wind tiles in a face-down fashion. Then the player deals the tiles to everyone.
After getting the Chinese Mahjong tiles, the players must sit according to the direction of the wind (north, east, south, west) clockwise. This seat helps to determine the dealer of the game.
The dealer of the game is the person sitting in the east side, as the east side is considered to be the main place. The position of the seller gets a double score, but it also pays double. The modern version picks the deal with a dice roll to simplify the process of finding a dealer.
After the dealer is chosen, they shake the tiles together in a face-down manner. Remember that beginners should not play the game with season and flower tiles until they get a better understanding of this game.
When each player receives 34 tiles, they must arrange the tiles face down, creating a wall of two stacks of 17 tiles. After that, the players have to push the tiles to form a square.
When a dealer rolls dice, they must separate tiles from the wall according to the number they land on. Here, the dealer gets 14 tiles while the players get 13 tiles. The players must arrange the tiles in such a way that no one can see them.
Game
The game of Mahjong starts with the dealer throwing away the one tile in the middle. In subsequent turns, players take a tile, optionally playing a tile combination before discarding a tile. But the player who takes the turn and from where they pick up the tile will be different.
Each time a tile is discarded, any player on the board who has two or three tiles that match the discarded tile can take the next turn by calling the name of the move that the thrown tile ends up with. The player can then pick up the throw and play the resulting Kong or Pung on the board.
If the player has a Mah Jong, they can discard the throw and name all the tiles in their hand, ending the game.
On the other hand, if a player does not call any melds, the player on the right takes the next turn.
Decision
If you are asking How to play American Mahjongthe gameplay is similar to the Chinese version, with the main difference being that the American version introduces tiles like the Joker tile into the game.
But it is important to remember that the rules a How to play Mahjong solitaire completely different from this game.
Now that you have understood how to do it Play Chinese Mahjongyou can visit https://playmahjong-online.com/the best website to play Mahjong, and enjoy the game for free.