It was brought to the united states in the 1920s when joesph park babcock published rules of mahjongg. Its a game for four players involving skill, calculation and a good dose of luck and is played with an absolutely beautiful set of tiles which once would. Hkos mahjong s gameplay and form is very similar to chinese traditional mahjong. Mahjong hands a mahjong hand normally consists of four sets of three or four tiles and one pair. Hong kong mahjong scoring rules are used for scoring in mahjong, the game for four. After the event the wrc rules were slightly revised in 2015, and it was obvious to revise the ema riichi rules in light of the wrc rules. In general these rules apply to the singapore style of mahjong. How to play mahjong pdf along the back of the rack against the pusher, each player builds a. Many people have already played the game in the past, but rules may vary wherever play has been learned. Concealed hand after a kong rinchan kaihou mahjong declared on a replacement tile.
A player may claim a discarded tile from any other player to declare a kong. There are a lot of websites where the complete rules of chinese mahjongg are described. To achieve that, the rulesets of the following organizations have been considered while writing the wrcr. The rules of mah jong or mah jongg masters traditional games. Melding hands kongs, pongs, chows, flower tiles when flower tiles are drawn or dealt, they must be replaced by a tile from the dead wall straight away. All players pay double the full value of the winners hand. A kong can only be made using a discarded tile, if the other three tiles are in hand concealed. Below are the rules to american mahjong, which differs slightly from its asian predecessor. Almost similar to gin rummy, the object of mahjong is to build sets, as well as get the highest point value. Mahjong chinese classical or hong kongcantonese rules. The basic rules written here describe the core principles across most forms of mahjong. In case another opponent feeds the big three dragons or big four winds, he shares the payment equally with the player who fed the third dragon pungkong or. Mahjong has 166 game tiles, 152 of which are used in play.
This book is based on the british mahjong association rules. The rules of mah jong or mah jongg traditional games to. How to play british rules mahjong wonderful things. American style mahjong rules mahjong is a chinese game of skill, which involves four players. This form of mahjong uses all of the tiles of the most commonly available sets, includes no exotic complex rules, and has a relatively small set of scoring setshands with a simple scoring system. The design of the white dragon varies between mahjong sets. View imj rules online international mahjong rules version 05. Hong kong mahjong provides mahjong players to play online mahjong games, mahjong online shanghai, hong kong mahjong scoring, chinese mahjong official scoring, riichi competition scoring. A guide to mahjong chinese official international rules 6 introduction to mahjong mahjong is a four player game of skill, originating in china. This page is written under the assumption that you have no prior experience in fourplayer mahjong. You can pick up on those things after youve absorbed these rules. To find more complete rules once youve managed to master the basics described herein, see faq 3 for books and see faq 4b for.
Some players also play with a kong, which is four of the same tile like an. Mahjong culture, to improve the communication and development of the competitive mahjong game, and with the participation of mahjong organizations of countries all over the world, we have edited and translated mahjong competition rules. The beginners guide will introduce you to the very basics of the game. 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. Each player starts with tiles east wind starts with14, picking 4 tiles at a time and one on the final pick two tiles for east wind. A guide to mahjong chinese official international rules 2. Players receive points for each set they make before the first player declares mahjongg, meaning he has run out. Riichi mahjong can be a fairly complex game for beginners to pick up.
Mahjong or mah jongg is a four player game which employs both skill and luck. Hand is composed of pungs or kongs of character tiles and pung of red dragons. The game of mahjong has many variants this version is sometimes referred to as the chinese classical or sometimes the hong kongcantonese version. As each tile is discarded, the player must announce the name of the tile she is discarding so that all players are aware of the discard e. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. The points are given a monetary value agreed by the players. The object of the game is to create melds until you can go out, or go mah jongg. Each rule set also has a number of special hands that allow mahjong or score better than usual. In practice there are always variations to rules and. A guide to mahjong chinese official international rules 12 the dead wall counting from the breaking point of the wall, to the right is the dead wall also known as the kong box and to the left is the live wall. Mah jong is a game that is similar to rummy, but it is played with tiles instead of cards. Classic tile collecting game mah jongg comprehensive instructions for friendly.
How to play british rules mahjong i am a massive fan of mahjong, a game which originated in china and is massively popular in the east, though its harder to find players in the west. Once you call a tile, you must expose the pung or kong and you may not make any. Hong kong mahjong rules mahjong is a chinese game of skill, which involves four players. The ultimate goal will be to do a mahjong, that is to say to make a winning hand with 4 melds pong, kong or chow and 1 pair also known as eyes. The faan value of a hand is converted into base points which are then used to calculate the money or points the losers pay the winner. Hkos mahjongs gameplay and form is very similar to chinese traditional mahjong. Instead, it is a complete set of written rules of the worlds most popular cantonese mahjong, including modifications widely played throughout the 1990s and beyond. Pung or kong of bamboos and a pung or kong of green dragon. See the basic rules for the popular chinese game mahjong, which apply to most variants. Although the game play in general is similar in all of the versions of mahjong, the game pieces and scoring, however, slightly differ depending on the regional variations. Page 2 of 6 the basic rules the objective of the game is to put together a complete sethand which contains 4 sets of either cheechow, pung of kong and must contain a pair to make a total of 14 pieces.
The wind and dragon tiles are known as honour tiles. Make sure your mahjong group agrees on a method of payment before starting a game. The basic rules the objective of the game is to put together a complete sethand which contains 4 sets of either cheechow, pung of kong and must contain a pair to make a total of 14 pieces. The first one you can download and print, but you need a color printer. Windsdragons hands made up primarily of wind and dragon tiles. How to play mahjong with the basic rules the spruce crafts. Play real mahjong against player all around the world.
In japanese modern rules, you can rob a concealed kankong to complete the limit hand known as thirteen orphans koku shimusou one of each honor and terminal and one duplicateunder normal circumstances, however, you can only steal a discarded tile. Mahjong has a great deal of terminology and maybe overwhelming to any beginning player. Scoring in mahjong, a game for four players that originated in china, involves the players obtaining points for their hand of tiles, then paying each other based on the differences in their score and who obtained mahjong won the hand. The objective is to be the first player to match fourteen tiles and declare, mahjong. In order to do this, each player selects and discards tiles the game. If not dead wall is available, then they should be replaced from the back of the wall. How to play mahjong for beginners pdf gallery ideas. These rules will focus on the most basic rules of mahjong, which are the same across most other variants. The dead wall tiles are reserved to be used as replacements to be drawn if a. There are many versions of mahjong, but the main 4 are chinese hong kong american japanese. Hand is composed of pungs or kongs of bamboo tiles and a pung of green dragons.
How to play mahjong for beginners welcome to the absolute beginners guide to mah jongg this guide how to play mahjong solitaire method 2. Singapore mahjong rules the following describes the rules for singapore mahjong that are followed by the computer game at this web site in general these rules apply to the singapore style of mahjong. The aim of this guide is to teach enough of the key aspects and basics for someone who is new to the game to start playing on a computer client such as the gamedesign flash game, rather than to be a comprehensive guide to all the rules and edgecases that exist in the game. Tina christensen, president european mahjong association april 2016. Hong kong mahjong is for fans of the real game of mahjong, playing with 4 players in which you must complete various combinations melds, kong, chow, eyes. Jul 31, 2016 hong kong mahjong lesson 1 the tiles and sets duration. These rules and regulations exist in both chinese and english editions. In taiwanese mahjong you have concealed and exposed kongs, and they get you a point. If no player calls mah jong, pung or kong, then the player to the right of the player. The following is the old hong kong simplified table, for other tables see hong kong mahjong scoring rules. This summary covers the basic mahjong rules which apply to most variants. The game of mah jongg these instructions are based on the american version of mah jongg. The bmja british mahjong association rule book that these instructions are.
Until recently, the rules of mahjong varied from region to region of vast china, be it beijing. If any player can use the tile to complete a pung 3 of a kind, a kong 4 of a kind, a quint 5 of a kind, or the last tile required to win a mah jongg, she can. The tiles of the mahjong game are also used in many online games. This booklet describes the standard riichi rules of the european mahjong association as revised in 2016. A u3a beginners guide to mahjong introduction the content of this book will help u3a members to start to play mahjong if noone is available to teach. American mahjong employs racks, jokers, and some different mechanisms of play. There is four of each dragon type and four of each wind in the tile set. Hong kong mahjong hkos play mahjong at mahjong joy.
In this case mahjong is played lonely, is called mahjong solitaire, and the rules are greatly simplified. World riichi championship rules 433 1 preface the world riichi championship rules cannot be called to be a worldwide rule if not based on competition rules used by major organizations around the world. These instructions are based on the american version of mah jongg. The rules that follow are known as modern american rules.
Most of these form four series each of three suits. The wind tiles and dragon tiles, taken together, are called honors. Hong kong mahjong lesson 1 the tiles and sets duration. Mahjongg is a fourplayer tile game that has been traced back to 19thcentury china. Old hong kong mahjong uses the same basic features and rules as the majority of the different variations of the game. Even this is different depending on whether were playing taiwanese or hong kong mahjong. Each player starts with tiles east wind starts with14, picking 4 tiles at a. Mahjong is a popular chinese game played with sets of tiles.
Rule info by mandisa washington, some info taken from clay breshears mah jongg site, back in 1997. Tile hog scores the same amount of points as the concealed kong, or 2. Dragon pung fanpai pungkong of dragons seatprevalent wind fanpai pungkong of seat or prevalent wind outside hand chanta all sets contain terminalshonours. Hand is composed of pungs or kongs of dot tiles and a pung of white dragons. Going dead it is important to remember that there are many different kinds of mahjongg. Number games word games 90th birthday parties true meaning of christmas family games light recipes etiquette games to play pray. Chinese rules were agreed to, the games popularity had cooled. This writeup is specifically intended to be simplified. Determine which scoring elements apply to the winning hand.
Hong kong mahjong rules associazione italiana mah jong. Hong kong mahjong with the acronym hkos which stands for hong kong old style is probably the most popular variation of mahjong played in china. Singapore mahjong rules the following describes the rules for singapore mahjong that are followed by the computer game at this web site. Further, each game contains four sets of tiles inscribed with the chinese characters for the four compass directions, representing the four winds, as well as four sets of three tiles called. While the basic rules to the game are retained, the variation features a unique set of rules such as riichi and the use of dora. The main mahjong article contains general terms, but only english and japanese terms are used here. If any player can use the tile to complete a pung 3 of a kind, a kong 4 of a. Much like the game of rummy, the object of mahjongg is to collect sets of tiles according to the patterns on each tile. If any player can use the tile to complete a pung 3 of a kind, a kong 4 of a kind. Mahjong rules melding hands kongs, chows and pongs. Like many popular games, mahjong has many regional variations, from the chinese prevailing wind system to american mahjong with special bingolike scoring cards. A set is a samesuit triplet pong, a samesuit quadruplet kong or a samesuit straight chow.
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