Mahjong is a game of Chinese origin that became popular in the West in the 1920s. Today, mahjong games can be found on the Internet and their accessibility has increased its popularity. Here is a brief guide how to play mahjong.
Getting Started
Before the game begins a dealer must be determined. Each player throws the dice and the player with the highest throw becomes the dealer. The dealer’s Wind is East, the player on the dealer’s right is South Wind, the player to the right of that is West Wind and the next player is North Wind. Unless the dealer wins, the prevailing Wind changes each round.
All the tiles are placed face down and shuffled. The players stack the tiles two high and one deep in front of them. This is known as building the wall.
The dealer throws the dice and adds the total. He uses that number and counts counter-clockwise with the dealer being number 1, until a player’s row is chosen. Beginning at the right edge of the wall, sum tiles are counted and then moved to the right. The player on the right of the dealer takes four tiles from his left and then other players take four tiles from their right.
How to Play Mahjong
Each turn involves a player taking one tile from the wall and adding it to their hand and discarding one tile onto the table. If a flower tile is drawn it must be replaced immediately from the dead wall or, if that is not available, from the back wall.
Melds
A player can make a call or bid for a tile that is discarded by another player in order to complete a meld. When doing this, the player must state the type of meld they are forming and place the meld face up on the table. Most variations of mahjong allow three different types of melds to be formed.
Pongs
A pong (or pung) is a set of three identical tiles.
Kongs
A kong is a set of four identical tiles. A concealed kong refers to a kong that is formed from four tiles in the hand. An exposed kong is a kong that is formed by use of a discarded tile. A declared kong cannot be split.
Chows
A chow is a sequence of three suited tiles. An exposed chow may only be declared from the discard of the player to the left.
Ending the Game of Mahjong
Ready Hands
A ready hand in mahjong is a hand that is waiting on only one tile to make a winning combination.
A Draw
In mahjong, if there are no winners when only the dead wall is remaining, the round is a draw (goulashed).
Winning at Mahjong
A player wins the round if they form a standard mahjong hand, also known as creating a mahjong. A mahjong is made up of a number of melds, which varies depending on the number of tiles you are playing with. In a 13-tile game, players require 4 melds and in a 16-tile game they require 5 melds.
