MAHJONG

 OBJECTIVE OF MAHJONG: Create set and runs with cards and score the fewest number of points possible.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 players

MATERIALS: 152 tiles, 2 dice, Scoring sticks or coins, Wind indicator (optional), 4 racks (optional but recommended), 4 pushers (optional)

TYPE OF GAME: Tile matching

AUDIENCE: Adult

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INTRODUCTION TO MAHJONG

Mahjong or Mah Jongg is a four player game which employs both skill and luck. It was brought to the United States in the 1920s when Joesph Park Babcock published “Rules of Mah-Jongg.” Below are the rules to American Mahjong, which differs slightly from its Asian predecessor. American Mahjong employs racks, jokers, and some different mechanisms of play. The objective is to be the first player to match fourteen tiles and declare, “Mahjong.”

THE TILES

Mahjong has 166 game tiles, 152 of which are used in play. The remaining are spare tiles. The tiles are split into four groups.

Suits – 108 Tiles

Circles/Dots – 36 Tiles/4 of each

Bamboos/Bams – 36 Tiles/4 of each

Characters/Craks – 36 Tiles/4 of each

Honors – 28 Tiles 

Winds – 16 Tiles/4 of each

Dragons – 12 Tiles/4 of each

They are the White Dragon (Soap), Green Dragon, and Red Dragon, respectively.

Soaps can be employed as zeros.

Flowers & Seasons – 8 Tiles (1 each)

Jokers/Wilds – 8 Tiles

Jokers can be used to replace any tile in a set of 3 to 6 identical tile sets. However, it can not be used in a pair.

OTHER MATERIALS

Wind Indicators 

These are used to indicate which direction of the wind is current, this is the player who began the round. These are optional and not required for gameplay. 

Scoring Coins or Scoring Sticks

These are tools that can be used to keep track of the score. Whether sticks or coins, players may assign them a point value. These are optional and not required for gameplay. 카지노사이트

Racks & Pushers

Each player can have a rack to hold their tiles during play. Pushers are used to push racks forward during play, without revealing the tiles.

Dice

The game uses two dice to assign the position of the dealer (East) and to figure out where to break the wall (discussed below).

Score Cards

Players score various hands based on information determined by the National Mahjong League. These are updated annually and should be used as a reference when building hands.

MAHJONG SET-UP

Each player grabs a rack and places it in front of them. All of the 152 tiles are shuffled around in the center of the racks. Players build the wall by building a row of tiles in front of their rack that is two tiles high and 19 tiles across. The wall utilizes every tile. After the wall has been built, players must figure out who will be East or the dealer. Players take turns rolling the dice, the player who rolls the highest number first becomes East. The player to the right of East is South, then West, and finally North. 
Next, Breaking the Wall occurs. The player who is East rolls the dice. Based on the number they roll, the count the tiles in front of them, right to left, and then breaks the wall. For example, East rolls a six. After, East will separate a group of 6 tiles (by two tiles tall) from the right end of the wall in front of them. After, East takes four tiles (two tiles from the top row and two from the bottom row).

Breaking the wall passes to the right. Players take turns grabbing four tiles for their hand until each player has 12 tiles.  After everyone has 12 tiles, East or the dealer grabs two extra tiles, these tiles come from the first and third tiles of the top row. Then, the other players take a single tile from the end. South grabs the first bottom tile, North grabs the second bottom tile, and West grabs the second top tile.

East has 14 tiles and all other players have 13 tiles.

READING THE SCORE CARD

Hands are represented on the score card with numbers or letter in red, green, or blue. The colors do not correlate to a specific suit but rather mean different suits are used. Flowers and Zeros are not in a suit, they are always blue.

1-9: Number on tile (does not include flowers)

N, S, E, W: North, South, East, West

D: Dragon

R: Red Dragon

G: Green Dragon

0: White Dragon (Soap, Zeros)

F: Flower

Hands

Score cards are divided into categories:

Year: Patterns that create a year. For example, 2017 would be made of 2s, 0s, 1s, and 7s.

2468: Patterns with even numbered tiles

Change-up: Varies

Quints: Hands that contain at least 1 quint with one tile as a joker. Quints are 5 identical tiles.

Runs: Patterns that contain consecutively numbered tiles.

13579: Patterns containing only odd numbered tiles.

Winds-Dragons: Patterns that use wind and dragon tiles.

Singles & Pairs: Patterns that have single tiles and paired tiles.

 

Hand Combinations

Pair: 2 of the same tiles

Pung: 3 of the same tiles

Kong: 4 of the same tiles

Quint: 5 of the same tiles, use a joker

Sextet: 6 of the same tiles, use a joker

 

Hands can also be X or exposed or C or concealed. This is used for gambling and scoring purposes.

THE CHARLESTON

Prior to play is The Charleston. This is unique to American Mahjong and began being practiced in the 1920s. The Charleston is a tile exchange which allows players to improve their hand by passing around tiles they do not want to opponents.

1. Each person passes 3 unwanted tiles to their right.
2. Each person passes 3 unwanted tiles to the player sitting across from them.
3. Players pass 3 unwanted tiles to their left, this is the first left. You may also pass up to three tiles blind, or receiving and passing them without looking. This is called a blind pass.

This can be repeated if need be a second time, pending all players agree. Reverse the directions of the passing (first passing left, then across, then to the right). The pass to the right is called the last right.