Mahjong is a game of both skill and luck that originated in China many centuries ago and was brought to the West in the 1920’s with the publication of Joseph Park Babcock’s “Rules of Mah-Jongg.” American mahjong (also sometimes spelled “Mah Jongg” or called “Maajh”) is unique from Asian mahjong in several ways. American mahjong utilizes racks, jokers, “Hands and Rules” score cards and has several distinct gameplay mechanics. Although an American mahjong can be played at Free Mahjong games free online.
Mahjong is always played with four players seated around a table. Tiles are shuffled, die are cast, and rituals involving the allocation of tiles and then the exchange of tiles begin. The first person to match a hand of 14 tiles and thus “call mahjong” ends the game, whereupon tiles are scored and a winner is declared.
The Rules of Mah Jong or Mah Jongg
Like many other traditional games, there are a wide variety of forms of Mah Jong which makes things somewhat difficult for anyone trying to find the definitive set of rules. The first rules given here are based on the original Chinese game which is the simplest and probably the most skillful form. Also given are additional rules for the British game. This version differs slightly to the typical Chinese game because only one chow is allowed per hand and the Chinese game has fewer “special hands”. Some will find the British game more interesting than the Chinese game but the Chinese game is more elegant and traditional.
Both games differ significantly from the typical style of play performed in the USA,where a large and complicated set of “special hands” have been invented beyond the initial Chinese set and where a player cannot go MahJong with more than one suit in hand. It is also more strategic than the Japanese style of play which is essentially a race to be the first to go out because the only person who gets paid is the one who goes MahJong.
We also give a version of MahJong for 3 players playing in a triangle.
Main Requirements:
A set of Mah Jong tiles consists of 144 tiles typically around 30 x 20 x 15mm. Traditionally, they are made from bone or
ivory but modern sets are usually plastic. The tiles comprise:
36 Circle tiles in 4 sets of 9 tiles numbered 1- 9. The picture on each shows the appropriate number of circles.
36 Character tiles in 4 sets of 9 tiles numbered 1- 9. The pictures show the Chinese symbol for the number represented.
36 Bamboo tiles in 4 sets of 9 tiles numbered 1- 9. The picture on each shows the appropriate number of bamboos except for the One of Bamboos which often is denoted by a sparrow or rice-bird and doesn’t feature a bamboo at all. 1, 5, 7 and 9 of Bamboos are represented by a picture of both red and green bamboos. The other bamboo tiles are represented by green bamboos only.
16 Wind tiles — 4 tiles for each of the 4 winds.
12 Dragon tiles — 4 Red dragons denoted by a bright red character, 4 Green dragons denoted by a bright green character and 4 White dragons which are traditionally denoted by a completely blank tile. However, some sets denote the white dragon with a capital ‘P’ which stands for ‘Pai’, meaning white or pure.
4 Flower tiles — The Four Flowers are numbered 1–4 and are optional — if used, they give bonus points when drawn. Depiction of the flowers varies hugely between sets but the most common traditionally are Plum blossom, Orchid, Chrysanthemum and Bamboo.
4 Season tiles — The Four Seasons are numbered 1–4 and are optional — if used they give bonus points when drawn. Depiction of the seasons varies hugely between sets and they are often not recognisable as a season by people who can’t read Chinese.