page_title: Mahjong
section_title: Rules
hierarchical_section_title: Mahjong / Old Hong Kong Mahjong Rules / Rules
caption_attribution_description: English: Mahjong in China
context_page_description: Mahjong is a tile-based game that was developed during the Qing dynasty in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players. The game and its regional variants are widely played throughout Eastern and South Eastern Asia and have also become popular in Western countries. The game has also been adapted into a widespread online entertainment. Similar to the Western card game rummy, Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, and calculation, and it involves a degree of chance.
  The game is played with a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols, although some regional variations may omit some tiles or add unique ones. In most variations, each player begins by receiving 13 tiles. In turn players draw and discard tiles until they complete a legal hand using the 14th drawn tile to form four melds and a pair. A player can also win with a small class of special hands. There are fairly standard rules about how a piece is drawn, how a piece is robbed from another player, the use of simples and Honors, the kinds of melds allowed, how to deal the tiles and the order of play.
context_section_description: Each player in turn, in counterclockwise direction, draws a tile from the wall; as long as the tile drawn is not one of the Bonus tiles, the player proceeds to discard a tile (either the tile just drawn, or a tile in the hand) to maintain a hand of 13. The discarded tile is thrown into the centre and, if desired, the player announces out loud what the piece is. The other players have an opportunity to seize the discarded tile; if no one takes it, the turn continues to the next player. Play continues this way until one player has a legal winning hand and calls out "Mahjong" while revealing their hand.
  There are four different ways that regular order of play can be interrupted:
  A Bonus tile (Flower or Season) is drawn
  A meld (Pong, Kong, or Chow) is made from a discard
  Going Mahjong (declaring a winning hand)
  Robbing a Kong
  During play, each player's hand should always be 13 tiles (meaning in each turn a tile must be picked up and another discarded). The count of 13 tiles do not include any Bonus tiles (Flowers and Seasons), which are set to the side, nor does it include the fourth added piece of a Kong. If a player is seen to have fewer or more than 13 tiles in their hand outside of their turn they are penalised.
caption: Local play on the street in Lanzhou
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