About Mahjong game - Mahjong Solitaire rules About Mahjong game Whether its called Ma Jong, Mah Jong, Mah Jongg, Ma Diao, Ma Cheuk, Mah Cheuck, Baak Ling, or Pung Chow the history of this game is as intriguing as the game itself. Throughout history many theories have been presented regarding the origin of the game. One suggests that it had been played on Noah's Ark during the 40 days and nights of rain. East had been the prevailing wind during the storm thus becoming the dominant seat in playing the game. This theory would suggest that the game would date back to around 2350 BC. Another very interesting story suggests that Confucius the great Chinese philosopher had developed the game about 500 BC. The appearance of the game in various Chinese provinces coincides with Confucius' travels at the time he was teaching his new doctrines. The three "Cardinal" tiles also coincide with the three Cardinal virtues taught by Confucius. Chung (middle) the Red, Fa (prosperity) the Green, Po (white) the white, Benevolence, Sincerity, and Filial Piety.

Confucius was said to be fond of birds, which would explain the name Mah Jong (Hemp Bird). Terms used in the play of the game "Pung," "Chee," and "Kong" also add support to this theory. Confucius was of the Kong family his full name being Kong-Fu-Tze, he married a girl named Che and adopted the term "Chee" meaning 'to connect' which occidentals corrupted into "Chow". Although these as well as various other stories lend themselves to a very interesting background to the game, the most logical theory suggests that the game had been developed from various Chinese games. During the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 AD) a game called "Ya Pei" which is played with 32 cards made of either wood or ivory, and are oblong in shape similar to the present day Ma Jong tiles. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) a game called "Ma Tiae" (Hanging Horse) was invented. This game was played with 40 paper cards similar in appearance to the cards used in the game Ya Pei.

These forty cards were numbered 1 to 9 in four different suits along with four additional flower cards are quite similar to the numbering of mah jong cards today. It is thought that roughly around 1850 AD in the city of Ningpo two brothers had created mah jong from the earlier game of ma tiae. The introduction to the western world is thought to have begun with two brothers named White, which in the early 1900's introduced mah jong to the English clubs of Shanghai, where it quickly gained popularity among the foreign residents. Importation of mah jong tiles began with Joseph P. Babcock, who at that time was the Soochow representative of the Standard Oil Company. He simplified the game eliminating most of the limit hand scoring, and retained only the essential basic scores. Mr. Babcock is also credited with starting the practice of putting English numerals on the tiles, and in September of 1920 he copyrighted and put his rules into print for the first time. It wasn't however until two years later a lumber merchant from San Francisco named W. A. Hammond formed the Mah Jongg Sales Company of San Francisco and began importing large quantities of sets.

Mahjong Wiki (麻将维基) Mahjong Wiki (麻将维基) edit this panel From Mahjong Wiki, the mahjong encyclopedia The Beginner's Guide will introduce you to the very basics of the game. The basic rules written here describe the core principles across most forms of mahjong. This page is written under the assumption that you have no prior experience in four-player mahjong. Mahjong has a great deal of terminology and maybe overwhelming to any beginning player. Feel free to refer to the glossary . Draw Equipment To play mahjong all you need are 3 dice and four of each of the following tiles, for a total of 136 tiles. Bamboos In most sets 1-bamboo looks like a bird. Characters Character suit tiles If you haven’t learned Chinese numerals yet, make sure to play with a set that has Arabic numerals too! Dots Also known as circles, disks, spots… Dragons Green, Red, and White dragon tiles These are the Green, Red, and White dragon tiles. If your set has English letters, the green dragon is labeled F, red is C, and white is P or B. In Japanese sets , the White dragons are completely blank tiles.

In American sets , the Green and Red dragons may be depicted with a dragon graphic. Winds East, South, West, and North wind tiles If your set has English letters, they are labeled E, S, W, and N, respectively. If your mahjong set comes with other tiles besides these (usually flowers , jokers , red tiles and/or blanks), then put those extra tiles away. These tiles are used for variations of the game. The Objective For every hand, your basic goal is to be the first player to get a hand composed of four sets and a pair. Each set can be either a pung , chow , or kong . A pung is a set of three identical tiles. … A kong is a set of four identical tiles. … These are kongs Each set can either be concealed or melded / exposed . Concealed sets are made of tiles from your initial hand and tiles you draw from the wall . Melded sets are formed by claiming discard from other players and are explained later in the special moves section. Concealed sets are not shown to other players unless you win the hand. Melded sets are immediately shown when they are formed.

As explained earlier, the goal is to get four sets and a pair. The first player to reach this goal wins the hand. Most of the time, the winning hand will have exactly 14 tiles. If the hand includes kongs, it will have more than 14 tiles. The following are all valid winning hands: Example 1 pair Building the Wall Get three friends and sit randomly around a table, facing towards the center. Ideally you want to play on a square table that's small enough that you can reach across easily. Each player will be assigned a wind. A good analogy is to think of this as board game, but instead of being assigned a colored token you are assigned a direction for your seat. Randomly assign one player to have the East seat wind. The rest of the players assume seat winds as specified by the image below: the player to the right of east is South, the player across is West, and the player to the left is North. This assignment of winds DOES NOT match the cardinal directions on a compass. Playing order: East, South, West, North Dump out your tiles on the table. Turn all the tiles face-down and swirl them around with your hands to shuffle them.

After the tiles are shuffled, each player makes a wall 17 tiles across and 2 tiles high. Each player's wall should look like this: One wall All players move their walls towards the center of the table, making a big square like this: Bringing all four walls together Breaking the Wall The East player starts by rolling three dice and adding up the sum of the rolls. East uses this number to determine whose wall to break and where to break it. Counting themselves as number one, East counts off players counter-clockwise around the table until they reaches the sum. This determines whose wall they will break. For example, if East rolled 12, then they would break North's wall. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 E S W N E S W N E S W N Next, starting from the right side of the indicated player's wall, East counts off stacks clockwise until they reaches the sum. they then takes the next two stacks (four tiles) after the last stack they counted. South takes the next two stacks, West takes the next two, then North takes the next two.

All players continue to take stacks in turn until each player has six stacks (12 tiles). Note: players take turns going counter-clockwise, but tiles are drawn from the wall going clockwise. This applies when dealing tiles and during gameplay. Lastly, the players take their final tiles as shown below. East takes his two tiles, then South takes one, West takes one, and North takes one. After this step, east should have 14 tiles, and the rest of the players should have 13. The last five dealt tiles Here is what the tile distribution would look like if East rolled a sum of 12: Breaking North's wall at the twelfth tile from his right. Gameplay East starts the game by discarding one tile from his hand and placing it face-up in the area in the middle of the walls, which is called the river. If nobody claims East's discard, then play resumes with the player to his right, South. Remember, players take turns going counter-clockwise. For most turns, you will simply draw a tile and then discard a tile. Many of the moves below require you to "use the most recently discarded tile." That refers discards from other players, not your own discards.

For example, you can't discard a tile and then immediately claim it for a melded pung. If you claim a discard to make a melded set, that melded set cannot be integrated back into the concealed part of your hand. The melded set remains visible until the end of the hand. Normal Turn At the beginning of your turn, you can Claim the most recent discarded tile to make a melded pung, melded chow, or big melded kong, OR if you can’t or choose not to, you can Draw a tile from the wall. If you claim the discard, follow the corresponding procedure in the Special Moves section. If you simply want to draw a tile, you must: Draw a tile from the wall. Remember, take tiles from the wall going clockwise. If the next stack in the wall is two tiles high, take the top tile. Otherwise, take the bottom tile. Optional: Declare a concealed kong or a small melded kong. (These are explained in the special moves section.) If you declare one of these kongs, DO NOT go on to step 3. Instead, follow the procedure listed under Concealed Kong or Small Melded Kong. Discard a tile.

If nobody claims the discard, play resumes with the player to the right. Special Moves Melded Pung If you want to use the most recently discarded tile in a pung, you must already have two concealed tiles in your hand that match the discard. You must: Declare “pung”. Take the discard. (Do not place the discard in your hand). Lay down the three tiles of the pung face-up as a set in front of your hand. This set is called a melded pung. Discard a tile. If nobody claims the discard, play resumes with the player to the right. Note: some players might get their turns skipped. + Two concealed identical tiles + discarded matching tile = melded pung Melded Chow If you want to use the most recently discarded tile in a chow, you must already have two concealed tiles in your hand that would make a chow with the discarded tile, and the discard must come from the player to your left. You must: Declare “chow”. Take the discard. (Do not place the discard in your hand). Lay down the three tiles of the chow face-up as a set in front of your hand. This set is called a melded chow.

Discard a tile. If nobody claims the discard, play resumes with the player to the right. Example 1 Concealed 4- and 6-bamboo + discarded 5-bamboo = melded chow Big Melded Kong If you want to use the most recently discarded tile in a kong, you must already have a concealed pung in your hand that matches the discard. You must: Declare “kong”. Take the discard. (Do not place the discard in your hand). Lay down the four tiles of the kong face-up as a set in front of your hand. This set is called a big melded kong. Draw a replacement tile from the back end of the wall. (Replacement tiles are explained later.) Optional: Declare a concealed kong or a small melded kong. If you declare one of these kongs, do not go on to step 6. Instead, follow the rules concerning the concealed kong or small melded kong. Discard a tile. If nobody claims the discard, play resumes with the player to the right. Note: some players might get their turns skipped.

+ concealed pung + matching discard = big melded kong Small Melded Kong If you draw a tile that matches a melded pung you already have, you may promote the pung to a kong. Note that you DO NOT have to promote the pung. If you do want to promote the pung, you DO NOT need to do it on the same turn you drew the matching tile. You can declare a small melded kong on any of your turns, but only immediately after you draw a tile from the wall or a replacement tile. You must: Declare “kong”. melded pung + drawn matching tile = small melded kong Concealed Kong If you draw a tile that matches a concealed pung you have in your hand, you may declare a concealed kong. Note that you DO NOT have to use the tiles as a kong. If you do want to use the tiles as kong, you DO NOT need to do it on the same turn you drew the matching tile. You can declare a concealed kong on any of your turns, but only immediately after you draw a tile from the wall or a replacement tile.

You must: Declare “kong” Lay down the four tiles of the kong face-down as a set in front of your hand. This set is called a concealed kong. Draw a replacement tile. Optional: Declare a concealed kong or a small melded kong. If you declare one of these kongs, do not go on to step 5. Instead, follow the rules concerning the concealed kong or small melded kong. Discard a tile. If nobody claims the discard, play resumes with the player to the right. Note: if you wish to use a concealed kong as one of your sets but you do not declare it, then you will not have enough tiles to complete the four sets and the pair you need to win. + concealed pung + drawn matching tile = concealed kong Order of Claims If players claim the same discard, a pung or kong will supersede a chow. However, a claim of mahjong trumps all other claims. If two or more players claim mahjong, then the next player counterclockwise from the discarder gets the discard to win. Replacement Tiles When you declare a kong, you must draw a replacement tile from the back end of the wall (the ridge).

That is to say, you draw a tile from the end of the wall you normally WOULD NOT draw tiles from. If you don't get a replacement tile, you won't have enough tiles to make the four sets and a pair you need to get mahjong. Players may not declare kong when the wall is exhausted and there are no replacement tiles to take. Mahjong When you have a hand that requires only one more tile to make four sets and a pair, then your hand is ready. If you draw the last tile you need, then you can declare "mahjong" to win by self-draw. If another player discards the last tile you need, then you can declare "mahjong" to win by discard. When a player adds a piece to a pung to form a small melded kong, if you require that tile, you can declare "mahjong" by robbing a kong . If you declare mahjong, reveal your entire hand so that everybody else can see it and verify that your hand is valid. After you win a hand, typically you would calculate your score and make your opponents pay. If you want to learn a simple scoring system, I suggest you look up the scoring rules for Hong Kong Old Style .

For the next hand, if the winner is not the dealer, rotate the dealer and seat winds counterclockwise. The South player of the first round becomes the new East, and the other players change seat winds accordingly. Shuffle the tiles, rebuild the wall, and start again! If the winner is the dealer, he continues to be the dealer and the dealer is not rotated. Draw If no player has won and there are no more tiles to take from the wall, then the hand is a draw and nobody wins. Shuffle the tiles and start a new hand. All players keep their current seat winds. page revision: 66, last edited: 17 Dec 2013 06:33 Mahjong Rules - How To Play Mahjong (2) Creating And Breaking The Wall (3) Dealing The Tiles (4) Drawing The Tiles Picking The Seats – The players initially assume their seats randomly and they pick up a wind tile each. They then put them face down on the table. Then two tiles, one of odd number and the other of even number, are taken and placed face up on either side of the shuffled wind tiles. The wind tiles are sandwiched between the numbered tiles.

Now the two (sometimes three) dice are thrown by a random player and the player indicated by the count on the dice is given with the dice. This player again throws the dice and if the count on the dice is odd he picks the wind tile first at the "odd number" end and this course of action passes in the counter clockwise direction as the players pick the subsequent tiles. If the dice count is even, the same process is continued starting from the "even number" end. The player who got the "East" wind tile takes his respective seat and the remaining players occupy the seats in counter clockwise direction (as seen in the figure above). In a hand each player belongs to a certain wind direction and a wind tile matching the seat’s direction is one’s "Seat Wind" and melding a "Seat Wind" would help a player score more points. The East player is referred to as dealer and after each hand (irrespective of a hand won or lost) the players change their seats and therefore change their wind directions.

When we consider the player who sat in the east seat as the east player and also identify the other players with directions of the seats of their first hand, then the directions of their seats in subsequent hands can be visualized as in the figure below: Building And Breaking the wall – As of now the players have assumed their seats. The 136 tiles (144 with flower and season) are shuffled and are placed on the table faced down. Each player now selects 34 tiles (36 if the flower and season tiles are included) and places them on the table arranging them in 2 stacks of 17 tiles (18 with flower and season) each. These tiles are moved forward by each player forming a hollow square generally referred to as the "Wall". The Wall can be seen in the figure below. The player on the "East" throws the dice to determine the side (direction) where the breaking of the wall procedure has to start.

Now as the side is determined by the dice count, the player at this point again throws the dice and the number of tiles (stacks) as in the dice count is counted starting from the right end and are shifted apart slightly to show a distinction thus breaking the wall and these tiles are generally referred to as a "Dead Wall". The tiles on the left of the Dead Wall are known as a "Live Wall". Important Note: The Dead Wall is reserved for the replacement tiles whenever a player has Concealed Kong or when he encounters a flower or season tile. Generally in the Mahjong, whenever a flower or season tile is dealt or drawn from the wall, the tile has to be put aside face up and a replacement tile has to be drawn from the Dead Wall. If the tile drawn from the Dead Wall is again a flower or season tile, this has to be put aside and another tile has to be drawn. When a player has a Concealed Kong, he can retain it to the end of the hand or else he can declare it to pick up a replacement tile.

Dealing The Tiles: East being the priority wind, starts with taking two stacks (that is four tiles) from the Live Wall, followed by the South player taking two stacks, the West player taking two stacks and finally the North player. This continues until the players have twelve tiles each. The players other than the East player pick one tile each and the East player picks two tiles as he has to start formally with the first tile discard. The East player can pick up the last two tiles in two different ways. In one way, he picks two tiles after every other player picks his 12th tile. In a different approach, he picks one tile after everyone has picked his 12th tile and another tile after everyone has picked his 13th. The second way is shown in the figure: Drawing The Tiles: The player to the East side, with an extra tile, starts the play by discarding a tile. The discarded tile is placed face up in the middle of the wall. The player to the right of the dealer may pick up this discarded tile or can draw a tile from the wall.

If the discarded tile is not claimed, the player to the dealer's right ie South draws and discards a tile followed by the West drawing and discarding a tile and finally North drawing and discarding a tile. If the discarded tile is claimed by any of the players, then the player claiming it picks and discards a tile consequently breaking the sequence and the game continues from there. some notes on scoring A player wins when he or she has reached a combination of four triplets, quadruplets or sequences. The end of a game is signalled when a player declares Mahjong or when there are not any unused tiles left, in which case, no one wins. A winning player automatically receives 20 points. In Mahjong, when a player discards a tile, any of the players can claim the tile to Pung or Kong the tile except for a Chow where a Chow can only be made from the discards of the players on the left. If two players in the game try to claim the same discard there is a priority extended to claim the discard as in the following sequence: (1) Going out (declaring Mahjong). (2) Kong or Pung. (3) Chow.

(4) When two players claim the same tile for declaring Mahjong the player to the right of the thrower wins. On making four sets of Chow, Pung, Kong and Pair a player can declare loud "Mahjong" asserting his or her win. A winning hand has 14 tiles in total. After each round the seating position changes or rotates in counter clockwise even if there is a dead hand, where none of players wins. Basic Scoring - How To Play Mahjong (Mah Jongg) - Rules & Guidelines Special Hands Introduction Mahjong or Mah Jongg (from the Chinese meaning "sparrows" ) is a game of skill and chance of ancient Chinese origins, usually played by four people in which game pieces known as Tiles, bearing various designs, are drawn and discarded until one Player has an entire Hand of winning combinations, or the Game is drawn. The tiles are traditionally made of bamboo faced with bone and ivory, although modern tiles are plastic imitations. During the Cultural Revolution the game suffered many setbacks in its country of origin, particularly in connection with gambling, however it is now making a comeback with the use of plastic chips or pure points scoring.

The Mahjong Set The basic Chinese Set consists of 136 tiles (sometimes referred to as Cards), and all tiles are represented four times within the Set. There are three Suits known as Bamboos, Characters, & Circles, with tiles being numbered from 1 to 9. The tiles in these three suits therefore total 108 tiles and are shown below: There are 12 Cardinal Tiles known as Dragons, and are coloured Red, White & Green. There are 16 Directional Tiles known as Winds or feng labeled East, South, West & North. These 136 tiles comprise the Chinese Set. The 1's, 9's, Winds & Dragons are known as the Major or Honour Tiles. The tiles numbered from 2-8 are the Minor Tiles. The Western/European Game, to which these notes generally refer, has eight additional tiles, making the 144-tile Western/European Set. These are the four Seasons and the four Flowers. Each one corresponds to a particular wind or player. The terms for these eight tiles varies considerably depending on the translation of the rules and regional variation.

The following table shows the combinations of terms so far encountered by the author: Winds: (some red on tile, except for the 3) How To Play Notes are supplied in simple sections. Further detail can also be obtained from the Appendices. 1. The Allotment of Seats Each Seat may be marked by a Ming or Mingg, either a labeled counter or tile holders marked with a Wind consecutively East, South, West and North. One Ming only may mark the position of East, then the remaining seats will be known as South, West and then North in that order, anticlockwise around the Table from East's position. It should be noted that East and West are opposite to that normally found on a compass rose which is a reflection of the hierarchy and importance of the winds to the Chinese and not their direction. Two dice are used to allocate the four Players their Seats. The Player throwing the highest total becomes East, the next South, West, and then North for the lowest number thrown. In the event of a tie, only those players involved in the tie throw again for only those seats in question. 2.

Building The Wall All the tiles are shuffled face down on the table by all four players, something referred to as "the twittering of the sparrows" by the Chinese. Each players then constructs a Wall of 36 tiles (34 tiles in the Chinese version, 38 tiles in the US version). Each wall consists of two layers of 18 tiles face down, with the longest sides adjacent. The four walls are then pushed together to form a square which represents the City or Chinese Garden, something referred to as "keeping the devils out". The racks are used to help in the construction and moving the walls together. 3. Opening The Gate East throws two dice, and counting East's wall as '1', counts the number thrown anticlockwise until the corresponding wall is reached in which the Gate is to be opened. In summary East's wall is numbered 1, 5 & 9, South's wall 2, 6, & 10, West's wall 3, 7 & 11 and North's wall 4, 8, & 12. The owner of the selected wall also throws two dice.

The total number thrown in all four dices is used to count the vertical pairs of tiles in that wall from right to left as the owner looks at it. If 18 is exceeded, then the counting continues onto the next wall. The corresponding vertical pair of tiles are then placed on top of the preceding tiles, the lower tile of the pair being nearest to the newly formed Gate. These two tiles are termed the Loose Tiles, and are always to be found on the Roof of the Garden or City wall. The use of these tiles is further explained in Notes 7 & 8, iii. 4. Dealing Dealing proceeds clockwise from the Gate (i.e. the opposite side to the Loose Tiles), East taking the first two pairs of tiles, South the next, followed by West and then North in that order. This is done three times until all players have 12 tiles each. East then takes the tile from the top of the next pair, South the bottom tile, West the top of the next pair, then North the remaining bottom tile, so that all players have a thirteen tile hand similar to a game of cards. East then takes one further tile from the end of the wall to provide the discard.

[A US variant of this is that East can take the 13th & 14th tile together, by taking the top two tiles from the Wall, before the other players take their remaining tile.] The tiles are often placed on wooden racks to allow their display privately to each player, otherwise they should be stood on their ends facing the player. Some racks are supplied with special holders if using chips. In the US, where the game is particularly popular, special Mahjong tables are available, some of which are computerised and automatic, and use magnetic tiles. All players in turn of priority (i.e. East. South, West, then North) should then check their dealt hands for Flowers and Seasons, which should be replaced from the Loose Tiles, and placed face up on the table by the player's hand. Each replacement loose tile should also be checked and replaced if a Flower or Season before the next player, and so on. See also Note 7. 5. The Compilation of Hands The compilation of Hands occurs with the systematic drawing and discarding of tiles from the wall, until a hand of winning combinations is completed, or the game is drawn. a.

Apart from certain Special Hands (see Appendix B), all hands must consist of Pungs (three of a kind), Kongs (four of a kind), Chows (number sequence of three consecutive tiles in the same suit), and a Pair (otherwise known as the Sparrow's Head). Mahjong is therefore achieved with 14 tiles, with no discard being made on completion. b. A Standing Hand can be declared by a player during the course of a game. After the declaration ALL the remaining tiles required to complete the hand must be drawn from the wall. No calls for discarded tiles can be made, including Mahjong. Extra points are then available upon successful completion of the hand (See Appendix A). 6. The Discard If a discarded tile upon discard is required to complete a Pung, Kong, or Chow, or complete a hand for Mahjong, then the appropriate Call must be made by the player requiring it. See also Note 8. If a tile has been discarded and not been called for then it is deemed to be dead, and remains irretrievable in the garden. The next tile is drawn from the wall. After the Call, the discard continues from the caller and the Game continues around the table.

Unless a call comes from the player sitting immediately to the right of the discard, several players will effectively lose their turn. The tile being discarded should be correctly and clearly named BEFORE disclosure, enabling all players to have an equal chance of calling for it. 7. Flower and Seasons If a Flower or Season is found in the dealt hand, or is subsequently drawn from the wall during the course of a game, then it must be immediately declared by being placed face up on the table beside the players hand, and a Loose Tile (See Note 3) taken to replace it before the discard. After the deal, each players in turn (East, South, West, North) should check their hands and replace any Flowers or Seasons with Loose Tiles. If any of the Loose Tiles taken are themselves Flowers or Seasons, then they too must be replaced before the next player checks their hand. When the two Loose Tiles from the wall are used, then they are replaced by two more tiles from that end of the wall, in exactly the same manner as Opening the Gate, i.e. the top tile of the vertical pair becomes the Loose Tile furthest from the Gate. 8. Calling a.

A Call must be made for any discarded tile before the next player draws the next tile from the wall, and has seen the face of that tile. In a fast game the situation may arise where it is difficult to determine whether a Call or the Draw was first. If the situation cannot be amicably settled, then two dice should be thrown and the higher have the decision. Players may find the introduction of alternative House Rules more suitable to their needs (see Note 16). i. After the calls of Pung, Kong and Chow, the combination is then declared or melded by being turned face up on the table beside the players hand. ii. A Chow can only be made from the discard of the player immediately preceding the caller. iii. After the call of Kong, the combination should be declared by being turned face up on the table. And then a loose tile is taken to replace the fourth tile in the Kong. If the loose tile is not taken, then Mahjong cannot be achieved by obtaining a final pair. b. An Undeclared, Unmelded, Hidden or Closed Kong is achieved when all four tiles have been drawn from the wall or loose tiles.

In this case, in order to receive the loose tile necessary to replace the fourth tile, the call of Kong is made and the combination is placed FACE DOWN on the table besides the player's hand. This Kong is consequently worth twice the points of an Open Kong. c. An Open or Disclosed Pung can only be made into a Kong if the fourth tile is drawn for the wall by the holding player. The tile cannot be called for upon being discarded. A loose tile is taken the fourth tiles drawn from the wall, as above. 9. Simultaneous Calling At discard, should more than one player call for the same tile, not necessarily at the same time, then the following priority of calls decides who should have the tile: Mahjong, before Kong, before Pung, before Chow. In the event of two players calling Mahjong on the same discarded tile, then the following priority of combinations decides who should get the tile: Kong, before Pung, before Pair, before Chow. It is possible that two players can call Mahjong on the discard for either a Chow or a Pair. In this case, the player who would be next around the table in order of play from the player discarding would be the winner. 10.

Drawn Games A game is Drawn when the last 14 tiles (including any Loose Tiles) remain in the wall. No scores are taken , the seating remains the same, and tiles are reshuffled to begin a new game. 11. At Mahjong The Ming, which denotes the position of East and thereby the positions of the other three players, moves on one place anticlockwise around the table. If East is the winner of the game, then the seating remains the same. 12. Game Duration The Full Game consists of four Rounds, where each Round is named after each of the winds consecutively as the prevailing Wind of Round. The first round is named East, then South, West & North. One round is when the Ming denoting the position of east has rotated the table once, i.e. a minimum of four winning games. A round will consist of more games in the event of draws or East winning games. The Full Game represents the four seasons of the Chinese Year and will therefore consist of a minimum of 16 winning games. The Ming may also contain a device to indicate Wind of Round, which would be useful as Wind of Round is taken consideration during Scoring. (See Appendix A). 13.

Robbing The Kong If one player requiring a particular tile to go Mahjong sees it being incorporated into a Declared or Open Kong, then that player can call Mahjong by Robbing the Kong, and the tile is taken to complete the winning hand. Extra points are then available to the winning hand. (See Appendix A). 14. Fishing A player who only requires one tile for Mahjong is termed to be Fishing. A player who is fishing should call "Fishing" to give notice to the remaining players. If agreed by the players beforehand, it can be acceptable to fish for a hand and be awarded the points (particularly Special Hands), even if that hand could not be completed due to all required tiles already discarded. 15. Scoring For point system see Appendix A. The Winner receives in full from each of the players the full value of the Winning Hand, and pays out nothing to other players. The three losing players then settle the differences between the value of their hands. A player will pay out the difference to players with a higher scoring hand, and receive the difference from a lower scoring hand. Hence, the player with the lowest score pays out to every other player and receives nothing.

In any given scoring situation East always pays and receives double. This is why East is sometimes referred to as the Banker. Quick example: After Mahjong the points have been calculated as follows - East 200 points, South (the Winner) 400, West 50, North 100. South, as the Winner, receives 400 from West and North, and 800 from East. East receives 200 from North and 300 from West. North receives 50 from West, and West receives nothing. 16. House Rules House Rules enable players in a game to decide on which Rules they wish to play or omit, prior to the start of the game. This enables the game to be adapted to the players abilities, to suit the available time, or for pure convenience. Players with experience can introduce their own House Rules to add duration and complexity to the game. Any issues you don't find explained here can be subject to your own house rules! Some examples of House Rules: a. The use, or otherwise, of Special Hands (see Appendix B). b. A limit of one Chow per hand; Special Hands excepted. c.

A hand must be Clean before Mahjong: Clean is defined as a hand consisting of entirely one suit, with Winds and Dragons. "Superclean" or Immaculate hands are those consisting of entirely one suit, with no Winds or Dragons, and is used only in Scoring (see Appendix A). d. Discarding tiles face down on the table, instead of face up. e. The Chinese Game - omitting the Flowers & Seasons. The Walls in this game will only be 17 tiles long. f. The Limit - this is used for Special Hands (see Appendix B), where scoring is determined as multiples or fractions of the Limit. The Limit is most commonly set at 1000 points in the European Game and at 300 points in the Chinese Game. The use of the higher limit is to encourage more inventive and riskier play. g. The Goulash - introduced at any stage of the game as an added incentive to players to Mahjong in an otherwise tactical series of drawn games. After reaching a draw, each player adds an agreed amount (usually 100 points) to the Goulash.

The Winner of the next game will receive the usual points for the Winning Hand plus the bonus of the Goulash. h. The use of Penalties (see Appendix A). i. The Exchange or Charleston (Compulsory in the US game) - This is an exchange of tiles at the start of the game, and a chance to improve a player's hand by getting rid of unwanted tiles. The three steps to the First Exchange are: 1. Each player passes 3 unwanted tiles to the player on their right. 2. Each player passes 3 unwanted tiles to the player opposite. 3. Each player passes 3 unwanted tiles to the player on their left. A Second Exchange of tiles is optional, and must be agreed to by all players. The three steps to the Second Exchange are: 1. Each player passes 3 unwanted tiles to the player on their left. 2. Each player passes 3 unwanted tiles to the player opposite, 3. Each player passes 3 unwanted tiles to the player on their right. Once the Exchange has been started all 3 steps must be completed. If a player is happy with the tiles and does not wish to exchange, then they can be passed on without looking at them.

This is called a Blind Pass. No Jokers (US Game) are passed during an Exchange. All other tiles may be passed. Appendix A: Scoring System There are as many variations in scoring as there are styles of play. See also Note 15. It was rumoured that an International scoring system was to be agreed and introduced sometime in 2001. a. Points available to ALL HANDS: Combination For Winning on Final Discard in a Game (Optional and alternative to 10 points in b., above) Once If a player wins Mahjong without calling for a discarded tile and without using a Joker (US Game) Once e.g. a 100 points hand with 6 doubles will be worth 6,400 points, unless playing with a Limit. d. Fishing for Special Hands A player who was Fishing for Special Hand at Mahjong will receive 40% of the value of the hand had it been completed. e.

Bonus Points Payable by each player during the game - The call of Pung or Kong on East's first discard 100 To a player who calls for, or misses, an incorrectly named tile 100 A player must always keep only 13 tiles at one time. If by error, a player has more tiles, or less tiles than the 13 (other than East who has 14 tiles at the start of a game) the hand is considered dead. A Dead Hand means the player may no longer continue to play Mahjong until the game is won, or drawn. The Dead Hand is kept concealed until the game is completed. The player still pays the other players when scoring. If a player wins Mahjong because of a tile discarded by another player, the player who discarded the tile pays double the worth of the winning hand (US Game). Appendix B: Special Hands Group = Pung or Kong Open = Hand comprises Open and Closed Groups Closed = Hands must comprise of closed groups only.

No calls can be made with the exception of Mahjong Name Antique Mah Jong Sets - Collector Information | Collectors Weekly Overview eBay Auctions Show & Tell Articles Mahjong (often spelled Mah Jong, Mahjongg, and Mah Jongg) is thought to have derived from Chinese card games of the 12th century. The four-person game we know today probably developed in China in the middle of the 19th century. By the early 1900s , Mahjong was a craze in the United States, too. Its popularity continued into the 1950s , waned somewhat in the second half of the 20th century, and surged again in the 1990s after the publication and film version of Amy Tan’s "The Joy Luck Club." Not surprisingly, the first Mahjong sets in America were imported from China. Some were packed in handsome rosewood boxes with separate drawers for the stones, wind, flowers, and other Mahjong tiles. The best of these boxes were held together with fine joinery and ornate brass hardware and dice, but many sets came packed in hand-painted cardboard boxes.

As for the tiles, they were made out of everything from bamboo to bone—wood was fairly common; ivory and jade were more rare. Because many manufacturers and importers glued their product labels to the insides of the boxes, and because the cardboard boxes tended to wear out, we know less about some of these early sets than we’d like. In fact, today many antique Mahjong sets are sold in the attaché cases that replaced the original cardboard boxes. These cases are frequently lined with velvet, with fake alligator skin or leather on the outside. They look vintage, and they may be quite old, but they are usually not original. Of the companies that imported Mahjong games into the United States, we do know a few things about Piroxloid Products Corp., whose heyday appears to have been the 1920s . Based in New York, as were many of the other game companies of that era, Piroxloid imported Mahjong sets with most of the characteristics described above, as well as sets with Bakelite tiles and racks. Butterscotch Bakelite tiles were quite popular, racks were often marbled in deep chocolates and vibrant greens, and dice were made in a color called cherry juice.

Some of the most collectible Piroxloid sets include a booklet called "Standard Rules for The Ancient Game Of The Mandarins," which was written by Piroxloid’s in-house Mahjong expert, Hugo Manovill. In fact, there were dozens of books and booklets published during the 1920s explaining the rules of the game to Mahjong-crazed Americans. Another well-known 1920s U.S. manufacturer of Mahjong sets was Parker Brothers, Inc. Whereas the Piroxloid sets came with a Manovill rulebook, Parker Brothers sets were sold with "Babcock Rules." Parker Brothers sets had model names, from the inexpensive Hong Kong set in a cardboard box to the pricier Newport and Tuxedo sets, the latter of which came in a mahogany box with French Ivory laminated onto teak tiles. Bakelite had been invented in 1907. Though it was popular, it was hardly the only plastic available to Mahjong manufacturers. Pyralin was an ivory-colored celluloid-based materia...l favored by Pung Chow, which had factories in New Jersey and Massachusetts.

In the mid-1920s, Pung Chow’s Pyralin Mahjong tiles were produced either as solid tiles or as veneers on inexpensive wooden tiles. Then, in 1927, when the Bakelite patent ran out, numerous other companies such as Catalin introduced their own line of Mahjong tiles in an even greater range of colors. Whereas the original Bakelite tiles and racks were opaque and marbled, Catalin tiles had a translucent quality. Tyl produced Mahjong sets during the 1930s and ’40s. Some of Tyl’s nicest sets had two-tone tiles, with butterscotch Bakelite on top and burgundy Bakelite on the back to match the racks. The betting chips made for sets of this vintage were probably some type of polystyrene, which is why they produced satisfying, metallic clinks when stacked or knocked together. In the 1940s , Met Games of New York produced many Mahjong sets whose tiles and racks were made out of translucent Catalin. Most of the tile designs produced by Met were used and reused regardless of the model—look for sets that contain a unique tile images such as a parrot.

Also collectible are Met tiles that are "enrobed," which means that instead of looking like a sandwich, the tile suggests a piece of sushi. Finally, E.S. Lowe made very handsome sets in the 1940s and ’50s. Sets were packed in fake-alligator cases and had "Mah-Lowe" joker tiles. Lowe sets are common, particularly the ones made in the 1960s , but a vintage set from prior to that decade in good condition is still considered a catch. Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”) Asian Art Museum You can get happily lost searching through the 10,000 or so objects on the Asian Art Museum's website. For example,… [ read review or visit site ] Museum of Talking Boards Prepare to enter the strange world of Ouija, the Wonderful Talking Board game, which captured imaginations en masse… [ read review or visit site ] Gotheborg.com Jan-Erik Nilsson's extensive reference on antique Chinese porcelain. Jam-packed with information (e.g.

on porcelain… [ read review or visit site ] Elliot Avedon Games Museum This in-depth University of Waterloo virtual exhibit showcases vintage games in a variety of categories, from class… [ read review or visit site ] Electronic Plastic From Tomy to Coleco to Mattel and Nintendo, check out this collection of over 660 handheld and tabletop videogames … [ read review or visit site ] Pong Story David Winter's tribute to early video games, and to Ralph H. Baer, 'inventor of the video game.' Offers a detailed … [ read review or visit site ] Other Great Reference Sites Pung Chow | Mah Jongg and Me Mah Jongg and Me Mah Jongg is not just a game. It has become a part of my life that allows me to entertain my Mah Jongg-playing friends, cook great meals to serve to them and test my mental skills during our game play (which, hopefully, is often).

Menu SO TALENTED… My dear friend Phia clearly comes from a talented family – you might remember the fabulous eyeglass case that Phia’s sister – my friend, the marvelous Meredith – designed and stitched for me from my Pung Chow tiles…: And now Meredith has made the most beautiful coin/card purse for her dear sister – check this out…it is too wonderful ( design by Lani ) right down to the lovely zipper pull… And of course Meredith would never forget to line the bag in Mah Jongg fabric! How very fortunate Phia is to have this loving and very talented little sister. Share this: Like this: Like Loading... WHO CAN HELP LISA? My dear friend Lisa loves Pung Chow sets as much as I do. She recently found a set in wonderful condition but now needs 8 orphans for Jokers. She wrote: “I need 8 to make jokers. I know that I may never get them, but the hunt is fun.” Who can help? BTW, these are not the Pung Chow tiles with the colored Flowers. All the images are black on the Pyralin tile.

Shoot me an email if you can match these tiles: Lisa tells me that the measurements are 1 3/16 long, 7/8 wide and 3/8 deep. Share this: Like this: Like Loading... WOW – WHAT A GIFT!!! Sometimes I am a bit late in checking my mail…I finally got around to picking up the past week’s mail late on Sunday evening…imagine my surprise to find an envelope from Meredith, one of my star students. I couldn’t wait to get upstairs to open it up and WOW, was I ever surprised to find the most fabulous eyeglass case that she had stitched for me. It is SO FABULOUS and I am SO THRILLED to have it…not to mention how impressed I am by her beautiful handwork. Her stitches are PERFECT! Here is the front (and could those images be of my beloved Pung Chow Flowers ? – Meredith is amazing!): And the back: And even the lining is fabulous: I’m still trying to find the right words of thanks to give to Meredith – this is a gift I will not only use every single day but I will treasure it always.

Monday I went out to lunch with a friend and couldn’t stop bragging about this fabulous eyeglass case – my friend loved it and couldn’t get over the beautiful and perfect stitching. Thank you, Meredith!!! Share this: PE-LING/MAH JONGG/SENIOR SET?! S1 has a friend with an interesting Pe-Ling set. It says on the box, “Senior Set”…I wonder what that means? Could it be that this was made for people of a certain age… I did a little research on Pe-Ling and, although it looks just like an inexpensive Mah Jongg set, apparently Pe-Ling tried to advertise itself as something different from the game we know and love. What I really think is that Pe-Ling was just another name for the mysterious and exotic game of Mah Jongg, similar to all those other names such as Man Chu, Mah Diao, Ma Chong, Pung Chow, Ching Chong, Kong Chow, Mah Deuck, Mah Cheuk, Ma Chiang, Mah Lowe, Game of Four Winds, The Ancient Game of the Mandarins, and Ma Jiang, just to name a few!

Perhaps some of you out there can enlighten us further on Pe-Ling. Here is what I was able to learn: The manufacturer might have tried to convince people that the game rules were unique but I don’t believe that is the case. This was one of those sets that were manufactured for the American market around the mid-1920s and, as I wrote above, was probably a very inexpensive set. Fun to see but not worth much especially now with the box in horrible shape and the tiles looking filthy (although that shouldn’t take away from its value – they can always be cleaned) and not of any exotic or beautiful material. However, there is no question that the suits and other tiles are definitely of interesting designs. That is not the One Bam shown here with the Bam suit – the Green Dragon is in its place in these photos. It appears that the One Bam is mixed in with the Flowers although, unfortunately, it is very hard to see those tiles in the photos that were sent to S1; you can get a glimpse of the One Bam in the third picture below.

It does seem that all the tiles are there…there are 144 tiles, including all the suits we would normally find – Bams, Dots, and Craks plus Winds, Dragons, and Flowers plus counting sticks and other accessories. Its makeup certainly looks like a typical Mah Jongg set to me! And, even though this set is not exactly in pristine condition, I find it very interesting that the included Pe-Ling booklet looks to be very well preserved. I would love to know more about Pe-Ling – if any of you have some information please send it to me so I can share it with everyone. And, most important of all to me…what does “Senior Set” mean?!!! Share this: I am delighted to announce that my new book, MAH JONGG – The Art of the Game, is now available for pre-order at a special price on Amazon.com . This coffee table book is being published by Tuttle Publishing and will be available on September 9, 2014. I wrote the book with my dear friend and very talented writing partner Gregg Swain and we are fortunate enough to have photographs by the incredibly gifted Michel Arnaud.

Before we introduce today’s teacher by the name of The Mahjong Lady, I want to thank my wonderful friend K for clearing up the mystery of the Bams from yesterday. Here is what she had to say: Sweet set! Have a closer look, the all green painted bamboo tile has 6 pieces of bamboo, the bamboo pieces just are not separated. The bamboo tile with the red, blue and green has 9 pieces of bamboo, also no separation in the bamboo pieces. Just count the lines and you can tell the 6 bam from the 9 bam. In this case it is just a little bit harder to see, the different color in the paint sure helps. Thanks, K! Today’s posting features a very talented and creative Mah Jongg teacher by the name of Ling (Lin) Maris, aka The Mahjong Lady! She teaches American NMJL but will also teach you Wright Patterson if you have an interest. More about her creativity in a moment but first, a little history. Ling started out teaching the Wright Patterson game of Mah Jongg. As she explains it, “Any time you want to learn Wright Patterson, I would be delighted to teach you. This is how I originally started teaching.

It is an entirely different game of mahjong than League style. There are no jokers, legal hands are listed in a book which generally does not change more than every 5-10 years. It is not played with flowers in the hands, but the flowers give bonus’ and the scoring system is like the complex Chinese scoring system. I believe WP is the game imported to the US originally – that first popularized mahjong in the USA – so it is probably mahjong American style about 1914-15. Now, I believe it is quite popular with the various branches of armed forces because of its long length uniformity. Wherever one is stationed, you will play mahjong the same with very few changes occurring. (No new card every year). The problem with this style-no matter how interesting, is that few people realize it exists. No one really plays it unless you have some exposure to a base or are from the south. I learned it from a southern army brat because it was the game of the officers wives and she learned from her mother. I began teaching WP, thinking it was a whole new undiscovered mahjong territory – to discover I had more requests for League mah-jongg.

Everyone wanted to play what their neighbor was playing – not this exotic “not real” mahjong. So I became a League style teacher and it blossomed.” PUNG CHOW CRAZY! Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am over the moon for Pung Chow Mah Jongg sets. Pung Chow was a company based in Worcester, Massachusetts (with another factory in New York) and only in existence for 3 years from 1922 – 1925 before declaring bankruptcy. But in those three short years they manufactured some very unusual and very beautiful Mah Jongg sets. Although they made sets out of wood, I am crazy about the two-toned pyralin tiles with their ivory colored fronts and shiny black backs. And the Flowers are just too fabulous – the little men, sometimes just outlined in black but every once in a while beautifully colored. Here are three identical sets in sweet black boxes with four small drawers holding the counters and other accessories and then one large drawer holding the tiles. These three sets have the black outlined Flowers. But of course, the trademarked Silver Dragon can be found in any and all Pung Chow sets. And the shiny black backs are part of the Pung Chow two-toned look.

The Dots are beautiful and the One Bam is the swooping crane that I have discussed previously – with just a hint of a smile on its face. The pyralin substance really does simulate the color of ivory and it maintains its color over time. Share this:

Question: Pung and Chow are terms used in which game?
Answer: Mah jong