Contents

• Introduction
• Tiles
• The Game
• Beginning the Game
• Building the Wall
• Play Begins
• Winning the Game
• Rounds
• Penalties
• Scoring
• Limit Hands
• Special Hands
• Scoring Table
• Sample Tally

Introduction

In Chinatowns throughout the country, mah jong is played regularly and often associated with gambling and serious competition. For those who simply love games, mah jong can be played with the same enthusiasm and competitive spirit for "bones" or "chips" signifying points. It is with the "friendly play" viewpoint that these notes are offered. One warning, however: you may become hooked! You may begin to want to play all the time, and will spend your free time searching for different types of sets to collect. Beware!

The game resembles playing card games like rummy. Many assert that playing cards are derived from the ancient tile game of mah jong. In the absence of the beautiful sets, often made of bone and bamboo,the game may also be played with special cards.

The literal translation of "Mah Jong" is "flax/hemp" "sparrow clattering." Those who play the game love the sound of the tiles as they are mixed together prior to the start of each hand. Listening carefully, players hear the sound of the flax blowing in the wind and the sparrows clattering.

These notes should help the novice learn to play the game of mah jong. Ideally, four interested players should study the notes together, and find their way through a few hands. Before long, you will be playing with certainty and confidence, and enjoying this game of skill and luck.

Tiles

There are three suits: the dots (also called circles or balls), the bamboos (also called bams or sticks), and the characters (also called characks, cracks, or wan). The suit tiles are numbered 1 through 9, and in any given suit, there are four of each number. Suit tiles may be either simple or terminal. Terminal tiles, 1s and 9s, are more valuable in winning, than simples, 2s through 8s. Most American sets have English numbers on each tile in addition to the correct number of symbols (dots or bamboos). In the character suit, instead of the corresponding number of symbols on the tile, the Chinese numeral character appears above the character signifying 10,000. A "one character" then would have the Chinese character for the number one, above the Chinese character for the number 10,000 -- signifying "one ten-thousand" or one "wan." If a set does not have the English numbers on the tiles, the Chinese characters for 1 through 9 must be memorized. A true Chinese set will not have any other numbers appearing on the tiles. The 1 bamboo is usually a bird (peacock).

Character Tiles

Circle Tiles

Bamboo Tiles

There are two types of honor tiles: the winds (East, South, West, and North) and the dragons (Red, Green, and White). Just as there are four of each suit number, there are four of each wind and four of each dragon. As with the character tiles, the wind tiles usually have the corresponding English letter on the tile. If the set does not have these letters, players must memorize the Chinese symbol for each of the directions.

Winds

The dragons appear on some Americanized sets as dragons in the colors in red, green and white. On more traditional sets, the red has the Chinese character (in red) for Cheung -- meaning center of the four directions. Some sets will have a "C" on the red dragon character tile. Similarly, in traditional sets, the green dragon is not really a dragon, but a green imprinted Chinese character, Fa (or Fa Choy), meaning "commence" or "begin good luck." The green dragon will often have an "F" appearing on the tile.

The white dragon (also known as white board, soap, bak board, or pak board) may have a rectangle on the tile. In some sets, a "P" or "B" appears as well.

Dragons

The flower and season tiles differ in nature from the suit and honor tiles. There are only 4 flowers (1, 2, 3, and 4) and only 4 season tiles (1, 2, 3, and 4). Some versions of the game call for exclusion of the flower and season tiles. In most Chinese-American circles, they are used however. Their use is somewhat like that of the joker in card games. When drawn, they are declared and a substitute tile is drawn. They are collected for scoring and, as will be described later, the flower(s) or season(s) corresponding with the winning player's wind may double the winning score one or more times.
 

Flower	Season/Occupation	Number	Corresponding Wind
Plum	Spring/Fisherman	1	East
Lily/Orchid	Summer/Woodcutter	2	South
Chrysanthemum	Autumn/Farmer	3	West
Bamboo	Winter/Scholar	4	North

Flowers

Seasons

(Seasons are sometimes depicted by people or animals)

The Game

A full game consists of 16 hands of play, falling within 4 rounds. The rounds are named after the four directions: East, South, West, and North. The first 4 hands are the East round; the South round follows (second 4 hands); the West round is next (third round of 4 hands); last is the North round (last four hands). In each hand, each of four players is assigned a wind or direction. The first player (the dealer) is always East. To her right is South; to the right of South is West (across from East), and to the right of West is North (to the left of East). The order of play, beginning with East, therefore, is counter clockwise. Note that the Chinese compass (placement of the directions) is not the same as the English compass.

Typically, each player begins the game with 2000 points. If playing with bones or chips, a certain number of bones/chips will = 500, some will = 100, and the remainder will = 10 points each (depends upon set).

Beginning the game

Building the wall

1. Mix, face down, the 144 tiles . . . with tremendous clatter
2. Arrange 18 stacks (a stack is two tiles, one on top of the other) in a horizontal row in front of each player, making a square. Once the wall is complete, it belongs to all the players.
3. To break the wall and determine where to begin distributing tiles to the players, the dealer rolls the dice and counts players counter clockwise, beginning with herself to the total number shown.
4. That chosen player then rolls the dice
5. From the right hand side count the total number of stacks from the two dice rolls break the wall AFTER the last stack counted, setting aside as the "dead wall" 7 stacks. (The break occurs AFTER the number rolled, counting from the right.) The dead wall must always contain 14 tiles.
6. East picks up the first two stacks to the left of the break (4 tiles); East then distributes the next 2 stacks (moving again left of the break) to South, then West, then North.
7. East repeats this distribution two more times so that each player has 12 tiles (or 6 stacks) in hand.
8. East then draws 2 more tiles (top one and top third tile at left) and distributes one more tile to S, W, and N.
9. If any player has flower(s) or seasons(s), they declare so right away, turn face up in front of them, and they draw a substitute tile from the dead wall for each flower/season.

Play begins

A SET is: a sequence of three consecutive suit tiles (same suit) (CHOW) or a triplet (three identical tiles) (PUNG) or a set of four (KONG) -- when drawing four of a kind, a supplemental tile is drawn from the dead wall..

Discards are thrown, face-up, to the middle, and declared by the discarder. Eg. "One character"

Players may only take a discard at the time it is discarded, and it must be used at that time. Players may not collect discards for future use. Once play has continued after a discard, that tile may not be drawn.

A CHOW: a player can take a discard to form a sequence, only if that discard comes from the player to one's left. (Therefore, a chow can only be done when it is that player's turn.) When a set is formed with a discard, this is a melded set, and must be placed face up in front of the player, with the discarded tile placed at a right angle to the adjacent tile(s).

*If the sequence is drawn from the wall, it should not be declared, and may remain concealed. Concealed sets are more valuable if the player wins.

Chow

A PUNG: a player has a pair of identical tiles in hand and a third is either discarded or drawn from the wall. Unlike chow, a pung may be declared on a discard regardless of whether it is the player's turn, and any players in line to go are skipped. Play continues to the right. Again, as with concealed chows, concealed pungs should not be declared.

Pung

A KONG: four of a kind. There are three ways to get a kong:

1. from a triplet in hand plus one discarded tile
2. a triplet in hand and one drawn from the wall
3. a melded triplet and a tile drawn from the wall.

Players must always have 13 playable tiles in hand (or more with kongs) including sets already formed, so that to go out, one will have 4 sets and a pair.

**A player may "Rob a Kong" if she needs one tile to go out, and another player makes a melded four with that tile by drawing it from the wall (adding it to a previously melded triplet). That tile may be taken to go "out."

Kong

Winning the game

A "draw" occurs if no one goes out by the time the wall is exhausted (excepting the 14 tiles of the "dead wall"). The hand stops. The deal passes and a new hand begins.

Dealers Extra Hand -- occurs when East wins. She keeps the deal, and this hand is played in addition to the four hands of that round. No limit exists on the number of extra hands a dealer may play.

At the end of the hand, the score is calculated and the losers all pay the winner and then pay each other the difference in their scores. Deal passes to the right (unless East wins), and a new dealer assumes the name East, with other players assuming new directions accordingly. The dice are placed upon the dead wall in front of the dealer as a marker of where the dead wall and dealer are.

Rounds

A double wind occurs when a player's own wind coincides with the prevailing wind. This situation has special value to a winning player when the score is tallied.

Penalties

1. If mah jong is declared mistakenly AND other players have displayed their hands, the hand ends. If a non-dealer, the player must pay 250 to each other non-dealers and 500 to dealer (1000 penalty points). If a dealer, player pays 500 to each player (1500 penalty points). If no other players' hands are displayed at the time of the false "out" the hand continues and the penalty sustained is that the offender can't go out until after her next turn.
2. "Long hand," "Short hand," "Foul hand," or "Intentional Display": If at any time a player (for whatever reason) has more or less than 13 tiles (and one extra for each kong), that player may not go out and must continue to play. This player may try to cause a draw by playing defensively.
3. If a player melds an incorrect sequence, triplet or four and the next player has begun, the same penalty as above is levied. If the next player has not begun, no penalty is assessed.
4. If a chow, pung or kong is improperly declared, or if player changes mind, the player must forfeit 100 points to go in the "kitty" to go to the eventual winner of the game. If the game ends in a draw or if the offender wins the hand, the penalty is withdrawn.
5. If a tile is discarded by mistake, it may not be reclaimed.
6. If a player is ready and misses the needed discard, the player may not get the next discards until after her next draw from the wall.

Scoring

Points: 20 points are given as a reward for winning the hand. Depending upon the combinations held in the winning hand, additional points are added. For example, sequences do not add points, but triplets do. Melded triplets score fewer additional points than do concealed triplets. Simple triplets score fewer points than do terminals or honors. Pairs only score points if the pair is a dragon, prevailing wind or the player's own wind OR if it is a pair of "double wind" tiles(see scoring table). If the last tile is drawn from the wall, the player scores 2 additional points; if the hand was concealed throughout the hand but went out with a discard, the player scores 10 additional points; if the last tile was a last chance tile (the 2nd tile of a pair, the middle tile of a sequence, or the "inside" tile of a terminal sequence . . . the 3 of a 1,2,3 or the 7 of a 7,8,9, the player scores an additional 2 points. Please refer to the Scoring Table to run down the list of point options.

Doubles: After the points are decided (rounded to the nearest 10), the winner shows the ways a hand is worthy of doubles. 1 double is 2x; 2 doubles are 4x; 3 doubles are 8x, etc. the points accrued. There are eight possibilities for earning doubles: lucky sets, concealed hand, groups of sets, ways of going out, special inclusions, no points, consistency, or flowers/seasons. Please refer to the Scoring Table for further explanation.

Payments: Each player begins with 2000, and points are rounded to the nearest 10th prior to determining the doubles. The east wind player must alway pay double or be paid double.

Initial Points and the "Limit": Max score is 500 points AFTER DOUBLING (the limit is the highest final score after doubling). Therefore, the maximum payment would be 500 points for a non-dealer (S, W, N), and 1000 points for a dealer (E).

To score: the winning player begins with 20 points. He then looks at each of the four sets and the pair and computes applicable points. Then the winner assesses how the last tile affects points. If "no points," and the score is 20, a double will be earned for "no points." The winner then computes any applicable doubles, and then figures out payment. Each player then pays the winner (Dealer (E) pays double unless dealer wins, in which case all other players pay double)

Ideally, each player should score own her hand, with other players serving as a "check" for mistakes. The losers then pay the difference in their scores to each other (remembering that E pays/receives double)

Limit hands

Any winning hand with 5 or more doubles has automatically reached the limit and need not be tallied.
Any hand with 32 or more points and 4 or more doubles is automatically at the limit.

These special hands are automatically limit hands:

1. Big Three Dragons - a hand with one triplet of each of the three dragons (red, green and white)

          

2. Little Four Winds - a hand with one triplet of each of 3 winds and a pair with the 4th wind.

          

3. Big Four Winds - a hand with one triplet of each of the 4 winds and any pair.

          

4. All Honors - any hand with only wind and dragon tiles (four triplets and a pair).

          

5. All Terminals - (1s and 9s) any hand with only terminals (four triplets and a pair).

          

6. Four Concealed Triplets (Hidden Treasure) - four triplets of any kind, only drawn from the wall. The pair alone can use a discard.

          

7. Heavenly Hand - if dealer goes out immediately with hand she is dealt.

8. Earthly Hand - if a non-dealer goes out on the 1st discard by the dealer OR if by self-drawn tile on her 1st turn (before a pung, chow or kong is declared).

9. Nine Gates - the winner's hand contains only one suit AND has a triplet of 1s, a run from 2-8, and a triplet of 9s. A 2, 5 or 8 tile completes the set (making 2 chows and a pair of the simple tiles). The hand must be completely concealed, and the player can go out on any tile.

        

10. Thirteen Orphans - a hand of entirely terminals and honors, and contains 1 tile of each: 3 different dragons, 4 different winds, 3 different 1s, 3 different 9s. The 14th tile can match any of these. The hand must be concealed, but the player can go out on a discard of the tile needed.

           

11. Moon from the Bottom of the Sea - Going out on the last tile of the Wall or on the last discard, tile being Dot 1.

    

12. Plum Blossom on the Roof - Going out on a supplement tile, tile being Dot 5

    

13. Scratching a Carrying Pole - Going out on robbed Kong, tile being Bamboo 2

    

14. All Kong - Hand containing any four Kongs, concealed or melded

15. All Green - Going out with sets composed only of Green Dragons, Bamboo 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 6’s and 8’s

           

16. Jade Dragon - Pung of Green Dragon, three Pungs of Bamboo suit, and any pair.

           

17. Ruby Dragon - Pung of Red Dragon, three Pungs of Character suit, and any pair.

           

18. Pearl Dragon - Pung of White Dragon, three Pungs of Dot suit, and any pair.

           

19. Great Snake - Consecutive Chows of the same suit, Pung or Kong of Winds or Dragons, and a pair of Winds or Dragons.

           

Special Hands

1. Seven Pairs - Hand containing any seven pairs. This hand pays 100 points, but can earn additional points when combined with Honors and Terminals, or completed in one of the special ways (e.g., on the last tile of the Wall).

              

2. Little Three Dragons - Two Pungs or Kongs of Dragons, Pair of Dragons and any other tiles to complete the hand - Worth One extra double. (e.g. Total of 3 doubles - One for each Pung/Kong, One for Special Hand)

          

3. Picked by the Golden Cock - Going out on tile Dot 5. This special hand pays 100 points.

   

Mahjong scoring table

Sets

Pairs

• Suit Tiles 0 points
• Ordinary Winds 0 points
• Lucky Tiles 2 points (Dragons, prevailing wind, own wind)
• Double Winds 4 points (Own wind is prevailing wind)

Last Tile

• Winning 20 points
• Discarded 0 points
• Self-Drawn 2 points
• One chance 2 points (2nd of pair/ middle of sequence/ or 3 or 7 of terminal sequence)

Concealed Hand

• with discard 10 points
• with self-drawn 1x

Lucky set

• Lucky triplet/four 1x (dragons, prevailing wind, own wind)
• Double wind triplet/four 2x (own wind is prevailing wind)

Ways of Going Out

• Last tile of wall 1x
• Last discarded tile 1x (after last tile of wall is drawn)
• Robbing a kong 1x
• Supplemental Tile 1x

Special Inclusions

• 3 consecutive sequences (1-9 in one suit) 1x
• No Chows 1x
• No Points 1x

Consistency

• All simples 1x
• All terminals/honors 1x
• Terminal or honor in each set 1x
• One suit with honors 1x
• One suit only 3x
• 3 little dragons 1x (2 dragons triplets and a pair of dragons)

Flowers/Seasons

• Each Flower/Season 4 points
• Corresponding Flower/Season 1x (to own wind)
• Corresponding Flower/Season 1x (to prevailing wind)
• All four Flowers/Seasons 3x

Sample Hand for Scoring:

Wind of the round: West
Players Wind: East (Dealer)

Flowers/Seasons

Spring, Autumn, Orchid

Hand ended with Red Dragon drawn from the wall

       

Score:

Winning - 20
3 flowers/seasons - 12
Declared Pung of Winds - 4
Concealed Pung of Terminals - 8
Declared Chow - 0
Concealed Chow - 0
Pair of Dragons - 2
Self-drawn last tile - 2
One Chance tile - 2

Subtotal - 50
Rounded to - 50

Doubles:

Pung of Prevailing Wind - 1x
Own Season - 1x
Terminal/Honor in each set - 1x

Total - 50 x2 x2 x2 = 400

N.B. Winner is East - points claimed from each player = 800
Grand Total received - 800 x3 = 2400