Mah Jong
Introduction
Mah Jong originated in China in the 19th century, and has become one of the most popular games in China and Japan. It is usually played with tiles, though it can also be played with cards of equivalent design.
Sets traditionally consist of 144 cards or tiles as follows:
- Three suits with tiles numbered 1 to 9. The usual English names for the suits are circles, bamboos and characters. There are four identical copies of each suit tile - 108 suit tiles in all.
- The four directions or "winds" (east, north, west, south) - four copies of each (16 tiles)
- Three colours or "dragons" (red, green, white) - again four copies of each, so 12 tiles.
- Bonus tiles: four different "flower" tiles and four different "season" tiles - so 8 bonus tiles in all, though some sets may have more.
In the traditional game, 13 tiles are dealt to each player, and the object is, by a draw and discard mechanism, to form a winning hand of 14 tiles. This normally consists of four sets of three and a pair. A set of three can be three identical tiles or three tiles of the same suit in numerical sequence. Depending on the variation played, the game can also be won with various special hands containing other combinations of tiles. There are numerous extra bonuses for feats such as winning with a single suit, or with a hand consisting entirely of winds and dragons.
There are several versions of the rules. Mah Jong is played differently in China, Taiwan and Japan, and when the game was brought to the USA yet more variations were invented there.
Sites for Mah Jong information
Probably the best starting point for exploration is Tom Slopers's Mah Jong FAQ, which is the FAQ of the newsgroup rec.games.mahjong
The Mahjong Wiki provides rules and information on several versions of Mah Jong: Chinees, Japanese, Korean and others.
Here are a few other useful links for Mahjong information:
- Alan Kwan's page on his Zung Jung Mah Jong scoring system.
- Wei-Hwa Huang's page on Japanese Mah Jong (archive copy).
- Steve Willoghby's page on Taiwan 16-tile Mahjong (archive copy).
Readers interested in solitaire tile matching games using Mah Jong or other tiles should visit the Tile Matching page of this web site.
Online Mah Jong
Some places to play Mah Jong on line:
- At MahjongTime.com you can play Mahjong against live opponents, and win money and prizes. Registration is free and no download is required.
Mah Jong Equipment
Where the Winds Blow specialises in selling Mah Jong sets, books and accessories.