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What are the basic rules to play Mahjong Game

A detailed guide to play Mahjong game with all rules

By Erica MullerPublished 2 years ago 6 min read
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Mahjong is a wildly popular game with its origins in the mid 1800s China in the mid-1800s, where it was enjoyed by children and old, wealthy and impoverished alike. It was a staple of Chinese culture The game of strategic tiles was played all over the world, creating a myriad of variants and styles of play.

For those who are not familiar with American gamers, this game is similar to a variety of well-known card games, such as hearts and rummy, which players attempt to collect sets and sequences in their hands to be successful. You can play mahjong online as many versions have been developed for Mahjong lovers. While the basic rules of the game are simple, there's a lot of skill and nuance required. Learn how to play.

Basic things you need to know before playing

To play mahjong, you require an mahjong set. The set includes 144 tiles, which include 36 character tiles as well as 36 bamboo tiles. 36 circle tiles. These are the three suits that are used to play the game. Each suit has the numbers 1-9, four times, for the number of 36 tile per suit. Other 28 tiles consist by 16 wind tile as well as twelve dragon tiles.

A majority of sets come with a carry case that could feature an image or design and could also include other useful features for players to play the game efficiently and quickly such as scorecards, directions and racks of tiles.

Mahjong is played by at least four players, but certain advanced versions can be played with just three. Because it's tabletop games it is important to make certain to have a decent amount of room for spreading out tiles. Every player is given their individual set of tiles like Scrabble and the faces of which shouldn't be accessible to other players.

Setup

The position of a dealer can be established by a variety of ways. There are four tiles of wind the east, north west and south can be divided and distributed, with players being positioned according to their drawing. The player who draws from the east side is called the dealer.

Certain players might decide to roll two dice to identify the dealers, and the player with the highest number of rolls being first. Certain mahjong sets have an east marker for determining who is the first to deal.

After the dealer has been chosen the tiles are assigned. For those who are brand new to the game the easiest method to allocate tiles is to move tiles with their faces down on center of table. Players take turns to get tiles until every player has 13 tiles.

In most cases, however tiles are scattered around the table. Each player gets 34 tiles and arranges them into 17 piles of two tiles per pile. Each player connects their group with other players to form an elongated wall in the middle of the table.

Two dice rolls will decide the order in which tiles are allocated. The first roll of dice determines who breaks the wall. The dealer will count every player counterclockwise until the dice total is attained.

The player who is chosen rolls again, adding the sum from both rolls and counts back from the beginning on their wall. This determines their break point. From that point, players take turn taking 4 tiles, until the entire group is 12 and each player gets one until they reach 13.

Goal

The objective of mahjong is four melds, or set (three-of-a-kind) or sequences (three consecutive numbers) that you hold together with a matching pair of tiles. Players can reveal the whole of their hands at once to take the title or reveal their sequences and sets during the game. If you're ready to win your game announce "mahjong!"

Gameplay

The players alternate between counterclockwise taking tiles from the center before discarding the tile. If a player believes that the tile could be helpful for mahjong, in order to complete the game the game, they can save it, and discard one tile from their hand.

If they don't like the tile that they draw the tile can be put back in the middle. The tile that is discarded should be shown to the other players, so they have the chance of claim it. The players can only claim a tile when it has been used to complete one of their sets or sequences and at that point, they have to reveal the tile in the game table.

If there is no interest in this tile next player on the order will be able to choose another from the heap after which the tile cannot be taken for the remainder time.

However, if a player is able to claim the title, the person is the next person to play even if a couple of others were skipped. The play resumes from the person clockwise.

It's possible to play four of a kind. If this is the case, the player must play an additional tile prior to discarding.

Scoring

There are many scoring options in Mahjong. The simplest choice is to give 1 point each time a player plays mahjong every hand, and playing until the player gets to a certain number of points.

Different variations include awarding points for not discarding any tiles or for revealing any tiles prior to declaring mahjong. Other variations include points for melds that contain one or all dragons. nines.

There are other special hands that advanced players can include in their game, in which case scoring isn't always easy; players can rack up a large number of points without playing mahjong. If players have a variety of scoring options, it's a good idea to keep paper and pen at the ready or a scorecard.

Terminology

There are some commonly utilized terms that are crucial to understand prior to playing.

Hand: Each time tiles get dealt it's known as the hand. The hand is over when the player announces mahjong.

Round: A round is comprised of the use of four players, each one playing a turn at dealing. A typical game of mahjong includes four rounds, and 16 points available.

  • Meld: This word refers to a collection of tiles, which could be three of a kind , or the sequence of three. The term is also used in games.
  • Chow: Meld, in which three tiles make up a sequence.
  • Pung: Meld where the tiles are three-in-a-row.
  • Kong Meld where the tiles are of four kinds.

Variations

Two main variations to the game include the classic Chinese style of play as well as one that is an American style. The contemporary American set has more tiles , and has more scoring rules and a variety of scoring options. American tiles are generally somewhat smaller too.

Some sets of mahjong may include additional tiles that can be added to the set to give additional variety. There are tiles that are blank which can substitute for lost tiles, as well as joker tiles.

Joker tiles can be wild, and may be used to complete the sequence or set. However, if a Meld includes a joker within the game, rules usually permit another player to use the joker in the event that they possess the appropriate piece.

Charleston rule Charleston rule is a common one in mahjong that is American-style. After the deal is completed, players will pass three tiles to a different player, and receive three tiles from another player.

The first pass is usually toward the right side, while the second one goes over, while the final pass is left. However, there are variations to this principle as well.

Some sets could have tiles which are smaller than the normal to accommodate those with limited space. Sets for travel are also available for those who wish to play while on the move.

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About the Creator

Erica Muller

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  • Jake Beer9 days ago

    Mahjong is just a great game that is suitable for both adults and children. It perfectly helps in the development of attention, concentration, logical thinking, etc. I advise everyone to play on https://mahjonggmentor.com/ , because there is a wide variety of levels of the game, from the easiest to the most difficult, everyone will find here their own level of difficulty and can enjoy the cool game.

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