Mahjong is a game played worldwide that is well-loved for its element of strategy, luck, and social interaction. It hails from ancient China and has evolved into different forms of modern games. This guide is intended to introduce beginners to the basic concepts of the game and familiarize them with the rules and mechanics, without going into overwhelming detail.
Whether you are playing for fun with friends or are contemplating playing it as a serious and competitive game, the knowledge of its principles opens the way to infinite enjoyment of the experiences of playing it.
What Is Mahjong?
Mahjong is a game played by four people who compete to secure winning combinations from 144 tiles. The objective is to present a completed hand, much as in playing poker, except that the hand is built up of different kinds of melds and scoring is entirely different. In Mahjong za darmo the observation of the players and their ability to adjust themselves to sudden changes in position must never be taken into account. The game will appeal most to those who prefer the tactical side of the game rather than chance.
There are many variations of this game besides that of the traditional Chinese variety, which differ from the American and Japanese form. This guide has to do only with the standard four handed game. Each play progresses through dealing, drawing and discarding until some one calls a win. The players take their position seated in fixed positions to represent winds and bluffing is added to the game through the effect that position gives it. Knowing these fundamentals will give the beginner a good foundation to start operating on.
Getting To Know The Tiles
The tiles used in Mahjong are classified into ten categories dividing them into suits, honors and bonus tiles, each serving its own individual purpose in the formation of the hand. The suited tiles are of three different kinds. There are Bamboo (sticks), Circles (dots) and Characters (wan). Each of these suits is numbered from one to nine and used in construction of runs and melds like sections of a building in a puzzle.
For instance, when a player has 3 Bamboo 5s in the same meld, he has a pung, whereas by playing them in order 4-5-6, they become a chow. The honors are divided into Winds, which are the East, South, West, and North, and the Dragons, which are Red, Green, and White, and are of great value to certain combinations. The Winds indicate the position of the players, which influences the bonuses gotten by scoring. The Dragons strengthen the various combinations made, but frequently it is necessary to have pairs of them in order to work them with effect.
The bonus tiles are the Flowers and Seasons, which give points immediately, but do not contribute towards getting the winning hand. The number of tiles in a standard hold is 144; they are made up of 108 partaking of no suit and 28 which are honors and 8 which are bonuses. It is necessary to memorize the appearance of these tiles in order for the player to look for chances quickly. For instance, the White Dragon is like a blank or has a white circle, according to the tiles in hand. This means players must quickly strengthen their game by practicing recognition of the types of tiles.
Setting Things Up
The game is started by shuffling the 144 tiles face downward on a flat surface. They should be in the shape of a square wall 18 tiles long on each of the sides. The individual players receive 18 tiles for their part of the wall which distributes them evenly all around. When this wall is built it makes a fortress for the tiles which are 2 tiles high.
Thus, everyone is equally distributed in that no one can look at their tiles. In order to prepare the game properly, 13 tiles are dealt to each player, the East Wind, who is the dealer, takes one additional for 14. The tiles are then arranged in the hand but the players are to do this as secretly as possible for the sake of a quicker arrangement afterwards. They are arranged by suit and number, thus facilitating their presentation.
The dealer now draws the first tile from the edge of the wall. The draw is then clockwise until everybody has drawn and discarded their turn. Check to ensure your set contains all necessary pieces, including racks for holding tiles, and a pair of dice with which to determine the dealer. These racks keep the hands secret and the mystery of the game intact. If the game is played for amusement, the table should be draped to prevent slipping of the tiles. A proper set will permit an easy and uninterrupted game.
Basic Rules of Play
The players draw a tile from the wall or take a discard of the opponents, forming a hand which will make it to mah-jong. A turn consists of drawing, then optionally calling or “melding” (showing the set which melds as a pung or kong) and then discarding a tile face up. The tile of the player who does not meld remains in the hand scene, but that of the player who melds must be disclosed with the others. You are committed to playing the melody, therefore use care and judgment in its use.
For example, a discard made for a chow is for melds of three suited tiles in order.
The object in the game is to make up a hand of fourteen tiles consisting of four melds (or of kongs which get extra points) and a pair, then called mah-jong. The melds consist of pungs (three alike), kongs (four alike, obtaining a tile for a substitution) and chows (three suited tiles in order). One can not make a chow of honors, hence they must be in sets or pairs. This fact is brought out in the best results of combined hands showing the suits as well as an honor, and it is generally better flavor to have both in the hand.
Certain rules govern robbing a kong as the idea is to rob a tile discarded by an opponent to make your own mix. The game ends a round when one player wins or when the wall is out, and the points regarding the type of hand secured are given out. Use markers or a score sheet to keep track from round to round. Thus, when one learns these turns it helps create better confidence in the flow of the game.
Making Winning Hands
Winning requires certain hand patterns and the easiest of these is any four melds and a pair. The bonus hands such as all pungs or pure chows give larger points and suggest more daring tactics. A concealed hand (without melding out until the last) gets points doubled if Mahjong is drawn self. Thus players have to consider exposure to very large risks for possible gains.
Popular winning hands are the Seven Pairs, wherein are used seven pairs of different characters instead of melds. This is good for those who have erratic draws. The All Honor Tiles hand is rare and therefore very valuable, consisting of honor tiles only, with or without dragons. In computing points, add up the total of the melds, the fan points for the patterns, and double these points for specials like a game with self drawn. Thus a knowledge of scoring in drives toward making every kind of hand possible.
Practice by playing from hands with sample tiles, that one will sooner recognize the winning chances of a hand. Don’t let one stick to one set hand, for the flexibility of being willing will make an average draw a winning one. Note, too, the effect on the game that discards have on the strategy of their opponents. This knowledge will strengthen the player’s standing from novice to competent player.
Strategies for the Beginners
Carefully watch the discards, so that one may be able to make a surmise as to what the other fellow is holding and avoid the risks at hand. In the earlier part of the session, discard the safer part of the suits from which one is unlikely to draw as this lightens the risk of giving away. For instance, if there are but few high numbered tiles appearing, keep away from these if possible in the way to be discarded. If you play aggressively later, call melds only if they greatly enhance your chances of winning.
Manage your wall draws by calling mid-range tiles. Creating a Kong early opens space but may reveal your strategy so this must be done carefully. Coupling the winning pair last often means you are home free because it completes the majority of hands. Therefore, you must be able to strike a balance between speed and caution if you wish to speed ahead of your rival players.
You may communicate subtly through your discards by showing your indifference to certain suits. In four player games alliances will be made instinctively, but you must attend to your own concerns. Review hands after the round is over. This will show you your weak points and learning them will eventually develop the beginner into a player who thinks strategically.
Common Mistakes to Avoid.
Melds are made by new players too soon and, with weak hands, leads the opponents to greater efforts, because they realize the weakness. They should wait for strong sets which lead to many ways of winning. The discarding of honors has no designed end, thus cards are open and you can hardly prevent calls from your cards, and they must not be discarded. They are good watches for the forthcoming events, because there is always a chance for a bonus in your odds.
If you do not wear it this is enough. Expectancy creates but it requires patience otherwise it exposes you unnecessarily.
Forgetting to replace the Kong tiles may lead to incomplete hands, costing you points. The supplemental tile if replaced must always be drawn immediately after the declaration of a Kong. Miscalculating the scores is trying and tiresome to everybody, and it is best to let your merges be made clear before settling the scores. Both these forces lend themselves to fair and pleasant sessions.
Forgetting the advantage the dealer possesses in earning double points working to the discomfiture of the East player, is another point for errors to be avoided. Care will have to be taken so that all positions are rotated, this is necessary as all roles should be known. Hurrying on to turns comes in the way of smoothness of play and as cotton smell should be avoided, so should haste which stops the current of things on turns coming in.
Bottom Line
Mahjong provides a source of unlimited entertainment and recreation, because of the good mixture of luck, skill and get-together which goes to make every session amusing and thus the beginners with an eagerness to learn by their experiences in play, consider the very best medium. Now this is begun with easy suits and familiar play and then progress can be made to more difficult stratagems of play in which victories become easier.
You can be famous by practicing your speed both as to tiles and formations of hands play. Whenever check is advanced as to which has been proved enjoyable, enter those social side-charm features of it, and by doing so you will find that both you yourselves and Mahjong shall prove a pleasant source of recreation and amusement for years to come.
