Reflections of an unabashed political and social progressive, Gen-X poet, and Episcopal Religious…

A Primer for Getting Started

By PunkMonkSF and the Mame Dennis Mahjong League

Introduction

Mahjong is taking the country by storm again for the first time since the 1920s. That such a brilliant game should have such staying power is not surprising. It is challenging, fun, social, and rewarding. But it seems that many people are daunted by the prospect of learning to play. They shouldn’t be! The fear stems from a couple of things. First, the unique nature of the tiles with their Chinese characters make some feel as though they need to learn a foreign language in order to play. You don’t. Secondly, there are so many varieties of the game that it is hard to know which version to choose. Some are, indeed, very complicated. And some are not.

This primer is intended to answer a lot of questions about Mahjong and to give some helpful advice for those who are dying to learn but are still hesitant. Much of it stems from my own experience and the experience of those I taught and with whom I now play on a regular basis. I have developed a way to teach them and others so that it can be fun for those who want to play without being frustrating to learn.

This primer will talk about what version to play, hints for buying a mahjong set, your game table, scoring made simpler, and the basic mechanics of gameplay. There are a number of resources out there for learning to play the game. I would not presume to put myself in the exalted company of those who know the game so much better than I do, or who have played it for so much longer. But I do know, through trial and error and a whole lot of investigation, what to avoid and what to look for when beginning to learn. And I know how to teach the newcomer to the game by approaching the game in stages. This is not a book, only a primer.

If you want a really good book as an intro to Mahjong, I highly recommend Jelte Rep’s “The Great Mahjong Book: History, Lore, and Play.” It is one of the best I’ve read and Mr. Rep really demonstrates his great love of the game. It is filled with wonderful tidbits of information, musings and stories, and fun facts as well as the rules and standards of game play.

In this primer, I will focus mainly on Hong Kong Old Style since I think it is the easiest for beginners. I wish you all luck as you begin the journey into the Game of a Hundred Wonders! Now, let’s begin with some things to consider before you start playing.

Which version of Mahjong do I play?

The first thing to consider, even before you buy a Mahjong set, is which version of the game you want to learn to play. Mahjong comes in many varieties, from tournament and competition variety to recreational, from the gambling variety to the sport. There are versions from America, China, Hong Kong (Old and New), Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Great Britain, France, and many other nations as well. Many of the tournament variety – from Chinese International Rules to Japanese Competition Riichi are daunting with the number of possible hands that you can create. The American version has some peculiarities that make it very different from other versions of the game. Hong Kong Old Style is the most widely played version in the world and has a manageable number of hands (22 means of scoring with 15 special hands). Hong Kong New Style, however, has a large number of hands (60) which makes it complicated. I don’t find it as elegant as Chinese International Rules with 81 hands. Modern Japanese Riichi is every bit as elegant as you would expect and has some interesting variations which make it fun to play. But it’s scoring system can be a bit daunting. For the newcomer, I recommend Hong Kong Old Style to start with. You can always move to a new version from there. If the American version sounds fun, by all means start there. But the Hong Kong version is rapidly replacing American style as the most played version in the United States, especially among the under 40 crowd.

In the same way as Poker or other card games, Mahjong allows for variation and house rules. So you can always add or change possible hands and scoring options for your own house and your own group of players. In my own league, we use a variation on Hong Kong Old Style with additional hands from the New Style just to add some variety. Our rule is that all players have to agree on the additions before game play. This is particularly helpful when you have a new player at the table who wants to take it easy the first few times they play.

Tips for Buying a Mahjong Set:

1 – Make sure that the set you are looking at has the American (Roman) numbers on the front of the tiles. Don’t believe those who say they are “easy to remember” when you play for a while. The suit tiles (Bamboos, Characters, and Dots) are numbered 1-9, seasons and flowers 1-4, and the dragons (Red, White, and Green) and winds (East, South, West, North) should be easily recognizable even though these last ones are not numbered. The winds, however, will have either letters or the directions spelled out.

Bamboos

Characters

Dots

Winds

Dragons

Flowers and Seasons

2 – Look for a set that has at least 144 tiles. That is the set most often used throughout the world and in most variants of the game. 36 Bamboos, 36 Characters, and 36 Dots; 16 Winds and 12 Dragons; 4 Seasons and 4 Flowers. Many sets will also come with anywhere from 4-8 blanks to use for lost tiles.

3 – American Mahjong is very different from regular Mahjong. Some don’t even consider it the same game. The American version has 166 tiles. Many of these are Jokers. Unless you really intend on playing the American version of the game, I don’t recommend buying an American set.

4 – Tile racks are an important component of the game. I personally don’t like the Lucite ones with the chip pegs on the side and the built in tile pushers. They are a bit cheap, and unless you are using the chips with the holes (which come standard with the American version while the racks don’t always), you will never use the pegs on the side. I prefer large wooden racks, like jumbo Scrabble racks, myself. You can find these in most game stores. Just make sure they are long enough to comfortably hold about 17 tiles. The size of your tiles and the length of your tile racks should be considered together.

5 – When buying a set you want to look at the following:

            a. tile size. The ones sold in Chinatowns across the USA tend to use very large and chunky plastic tiles. These are relatively good, even though not often the prettiest tiles. The advantage is that they stand on their side easily so you don’t need tile racks if you don’t want them. Many travel editions of Mahjong have tiles that simply cannot stand on their side without a rack. Additionally, if you are like me, the smaller the tile, the harder they can be to see. See if you can find a set in between.

            b. Tile quality. Many of the better sets are the new ones sold at local game stores, or that can be found online if you are good at researching. Amazon is a bit better than eBay for new tile sets, but you can find a more interesting variety of vintage sets on eBay. However, be careful when buying antique Mahjong sets. Many of the faces are not good quality – they are dirty, scratched, or worn off. AND, if the back sides of any of the tiles have damage or visible scratches, they will render your whole set useless. Players will quickly come to recognize the tile from the scratch or mark. Make sure that the vendor on eBay has clear pictures of both the front and back of the tiles, and that the tiles are a complete set for the version you are buying.

            c. pretty tiles. The drawings on the tiles are part of the aesthetic of Mahjong. If they are not beautiful, you will not get as much enjoyment from the game. Look for a Mahjong set that is relatively new, but aesthetically pleasing. The 1 Bamboo and the flowers and seasons are the tiles to look at for artistry. Most of the rest of them have standard designs that don’t deviate much from set to set.

6 – Many traditional non-American Mahjong games will come with scoring sticks. These are fine as a curiosity, but in all likelihood, you won’t use them for scoring much. This is mainly due to the fact the you will have to memorize the values of the sticks in addition to all those new tiles. We use poker chips that can be found at a game store or bought online. Not the really pricey, Las Vegas kind, but the small plastic ones with denominations printed on the front: 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50. They are cheap and don’t take a lot of table space.

Your Mahjong Table

Many folks use a folding card table to play. If you do, make sure it is sized at about 36” square. Especially if you go for a bigger tile set. Our league uses my dining room table.

Tiles can get dirty easily, or scratch and be scratched if used on a plain surface. Buy yourself a piece of dark green (or red for luck) velveteen fabric suitable for the size of your table after seaming the edges, and a rubber carpet pad (the kind you put under a rug to keep it from sliding around). You can usually find both at your local fabric store. Cut the carpet pad to the size of your table and put it down at game time, followed by the velveteen table cloth. The velveteen offers a game table feel and is easily washed when it gets dirty. The rubber pad offers a little bounce – just like a game table – and offers a bit more protection for the table, especially when shuffling tiles.

The Mechanics of Game Play

Mahjong is very much like cards, in fact very much like Rummy. Some say that the card game Rummy originated with Mahjong! The goal of the game is to make a complete hand composed of sets; either three of a kind (called a Pung) or a run of three (i.e. 1,2,3 in the same suit called a Chow). A complete Mahjong hand is composed of four sets of three and a pair for a total of 14 tiles.

First, the dealer (East) is chosen and the wall is built. Generally, if you play with all 144 tiles, the wall is built with each player stacking 36 tiles into a row of 18 stacked 2 high. These rows are then placed in a square in the center of the table. Each Mahjong game has a great deal of ritual involved in determining East and where the wall is broken and the tiles are dealt. Don’t worry about this for now. But when you decide what version of Mahjong you wish to play, learn how to select the dealer and the winds and stick to it. Otherwise the Mahjong ghosts will get upset and your luck at the table may turn bad!

Like a card game, you are dealt a number of tiles (13) at the beginning of the game. You pick a tile and discard a tile in each turn just like cards, and you put your hand together until you have reached the desired number of sets and a pair to declare Mahjong and go out.

What makes Mahjong a little different are a couple of elements of play that are particular to the game:

1 – You are dealt 13 tiles at the beginning of the game, and when a tile you pick completes your hand you will have 14 tiles. You do not discard after the final tile that completes your hand.

2 – You are, in some instances, allowed to create a set with four of a kind (called a Kong). When you do this, you meld this set (place it on the table) and you must select an additional tile from the Dead Wall so that you have enough tiles to complete your hand (remember 4 sets and a pair). You can read about the Dead Wall later. Remember, you cannot create a run of four, only a set or sets with four of a kind!

3 – Like cards, you are allowed to steal a tile that someone discards to make a set of three of a kind. Call “PUNG!” and take it. But you must meld the set when you do so. This also results in the turn order being changed, since the person after you will go next and someone may be skipped. You can do the same for a run of three, BUT you can only do that on your turn by stealing a discard from the person to your left. This way, the turn order remains the same. No one gets skipped.

When you create a complete hand, you declare Mahjong and go out. The winner scores points that are “paid” by the other players. Who pays what depends on a couple of things: 1) the value of your hand, and 2) whether you got your final tile by picking it from the wall or by stealing it from someone who discarded it. In the first case, the winner receives double points from each of the remaining three players. In the second, the player who discarded the tile that allows someone to go Mahjong pays the winner double, the others only pay the regular value of the winning hand.

What makes Mahjong have such interesting variety are the ways in which hands score points and the way in which that value is determined when paying the winner.

For beginning Mahjong players, first learn simply how to complete a typical Mahjong hand of four sets of three and a pair. Learn the basic mechanics of making Pungs, Chows and even try your hand at making Kongs. Don’t worry about points at first.

There are three elements to scoring: elements within the hand, special (limit hands) that are worth a LOT of points, and points for how you got the last tile to complete your hand. Because Hong Kong Old Style has simplified its scoring, these points are called Fan (meaning Doubles) and are the only point counted. In the old days, you used to have to count the points of the hand and the Doubles separately. It was very complicated.

Once you’ve got the hang of it, it is time to introduce the concept of a “legal” Mahjong hand. You see, just because you have created a hand with four sets of three and a pair, doesn’t mean the hand is worth anything at all. Most variations of Mahjong have a minimum number of points (fan) that a hand must be worth in order for it to be a legal hand. Hong Kong Old Style is three points (three fan) minimum. Let us turn to what makes a hand legal.

A Legal Mahjong Hand

The Chinese value skill, luck, and elegance when it comes to Mahjong. And so, it places higher value on hands that are harder to make than others. Once you have learned how to make a typical Mahjong hand, it is time to learn which elements of a legal hand are actually worth anything. A complete chart is included later for reference.

Because Chows (runs of three tiles) are easy to make, in Mahjong they are worth nothing unless they are certain kinds. If you hand is composed of All Chows and a pair, then it is worth something. If you have two or three Chows that are identical (meaning they are they same sequence in the same suit) then they are worth points. Otherwise, they are worth nothing at all.

Pungs (three of a kind) and Kongs (four of a kind) are a bit harder to make, so there are more opportunities for them to score points. For example, All Pungs is worth points, and so are Pungs of the Honor tiles like Dragons. All Kongs is a very special hand worth the maximum (limit) number of points.

Points in a Mahjong hand can be gained for Honor tiles (Winds or Dragons), especially if they correspond to your seat wind or the table wind. We will get to that later. You can score points for having All Honor tiles and for having none; for having flowers and seasons or for having none. 1s and 9s in Mahjong are called Terminals (meaning they begin and end the suits). Terminal Pungs have value and so do hands where each element (four sets of three and a pair) have Terminals.

Additionally, you can score points in Mahjong for going out just by drawing a tile from the wall instead of stealing it. Even more points if you go out on the very last tile in the wall or the very last discard.

The following score chart lists all of the possible ways of scoring elements in a hand for Mahjong. It is quite possible to make a hand that does not meet the minimum three fan requirement as you can see. This is where the skill of Mahjong comes into play. We will look at these before we look at the special hands, some of which don’t even fit the normal pattern at all (four sets of three and a pair).

The hands listed in red are from my house league rules. These hands come from Hong Kong New Style and I’ve added them to give our players more opportunities to score fan. Otherwise, the hands in black represent to complete scoring system for Hong Kong Old Style except for the special hands which are listed later.

Let’s turn to a couple of ideas that come up often in Mahjong play. The first if the difference between melded and concealed. When you steal a tile discarded by another player to make a Pung or a Chow, you must meld the set face up on the table, just like in some versions of Rummy. Otherwise, when you complete sets by drawing tiles from the wall, you leave them in your hand so as not to give away what you are working on in your hand. These sets are called concealed.

Mahjong rewards points for anyone who manages to keep their entire hand concealed during the game. This means never stealing. Some special hands allow for everything to be melded. Because when you make a Kong you MUST meld it on the table since you have to then take an extra tile to be able to complete your hand, melded Kongs are considered concealed. You cannot steal a discarded tile to make a Kong out of a Pung that has already been melded.

A Chicken Hand is literally a hand with no point value for Pungs, Chows and the pair. But, don’t despair, even though it is worth nothing, there are still opportunities for you to meet the minimum three fan requirement if 1) it is entirely concealed and won on self-drawn (worth 2 points), and 2) won by taking the last tile or the last discard or has flowers and seasons that score.

Flowers and seasons are not a part of the Mahjong hand or its four sets of three and a pair. When you draw them from the wall, you place them face up in front of you on the table and choose a new tile from the dead wall. (The dead wall will be discussed later). So if you have all flowers or all seasons or none of them, they can also make a Chicken Hand meet the minimum three fan requirement.

Once you start to make hands that are worth fan, this simple chart will help you determine how to “pay” the winner of a Mahjong hand by converting the fan (doubles) value into points.

A three fan hand is worth 8 points. So, if you win by drawing a tile from the wall, every player pays you double or 16 points each for a total of 48 points. If you steal a discard to make Mahjong, the person who discarded the tile who helped you win pays double (16) and the other two pay you 8 points each for a total of 32 points. You use the poker chips to pay the winner. In some versions of Mahjong, the three losers settle points among themselves based on the difference in their scores. Hong Kong Old Style doesn’t do this, so only the winners hand is counted.

Once you have played with the mechanics of building a legal Mahjong hand, becoming familiar with Flowers and Seasons, Dragons and Winds, Pungs and Chows that are worth points, then it is time to introduce the special hands. In HKOS, there are 15 of them. They are very difficult to make, but the payoff is HUGE. The winner gets the maximum number of points.

You will notice that the Seven Pairs, Nine Gates, and Thirteen Orphans hands do not meet the regular pattern (fours sets of three and a pair) of a Mahjong hand. These are the only three exceptions to what we have talked about so far. Otherwise, all of the Special Hands follow the typical pattern but are extremely difficult (though not impossible) to make. As such, they are worth the maximum number of points. Just look under the points section of the fan chart to see what the winner receives whether from self-drawn win or by discard.

That’s about all that can be said for the mechanics of game play. It is relatively simple:

1) Begin with a hand of thirteen tiles

2) Draw a tile and discard on each turn, just like cards, to build a hand that contains four sets of three and a pair to go Mahjong. Remember, a completed Mahjong hand will end with 14 tiles since you do not discard after you pick the last tile that makes you win.

3) Build a Mahjong hand that contains elements that score points or special hands, so that your hand ends up being worth a minimum of three fan.

4) You can occasionally steal a tile just discarded to build a set of three of a kind (Pung) or a run of three (Chow); but remember that you have to meld them and that may limit their value.

5) The winner declares Mahjong when their hand is complete, calculate the value of the hand, convert the value to points and pay the winner.

6) Shuffle, build the wall, deal and repeat!

A typical Mahjong game is 16 hands. Our league has never once made it through all 16. Just keep a score sheet and pick up where you left off the next time you play.

Now, for those of you who want a little bit more clarification, let’s take a look at the table, the wall, and the seating.

On Table and Seat Winds

Remember, when the dealer was selected, they were designated as East. This is because in Mahjong, just like Bridge, the seat positions represent directions. Of course, in Mahjong it is exactly the opposite of what you expect, since the directions run in the other way from what you’re used to. Everything in Mahjong runs counter clockwise instead of clockwise, including game turns.

At the opening of the game, East is determined and the other seats are assigned their winds as appropriate. West across from East, North to the left of East, and South across from North. I always remember it this way. Go around the table counter clock-wise and remember the phrase “Easy Win!” – EaSy WiN. Nothing like bringing a little self-confidence to the game.

The table wind at the opening of the game is also East. After each hand, East moves to the player at the right so that there is a new Dealer every hand. After 4 hands, when East returns to the first dealer, the table wind changes to South. After four hands to West, and after the four more to North. Again, EaSy WiN! Four hands for four directions is 16 hands and a completed game.

Remember the Flowers and Seasons? In the scoring table, you will remember that you score points for having flowers or seasons from your own wind or the table wind. It is important to remember during game play what your seat wind is and what the table wind is so that you have an opportunity to score these points.

Generally, the rack used by East (the Dealer) is colored red so that it is easy at a glance to see what the seat winds are. A marker can be used to remember what wind the table is. Some Mahjong sets come with markers for just such a purpose.

Here is a simple chart that shows you which flowers and seasons belong to which winds so that you can remember which ones will score points for you.

Breaking the Wall

Every Mahjong variation also has a rule for breaking the wall. Usually, at each hand, East – who is the dealer – rolls two dice and counts from the right of their wall the number thrown. They make a break in the wall after that number of spaces. Then they count backwards from there a total of 7. Break the wall again. Between those two breaks, you should end up with a stack of 14 tiles (7 rows, 2 tiles high). This is known as the Dead Wall. The Dead Wall is used for replacement tiles for flowers and seasons and for replacement tiles for Kongs if a player makes one during the game. Generally, HKOS calls for these Dead Wall tiles to be replaced every time one is taken by putting a tile from the Wall into the Dead Wall so that there are always 14 tiles. The dead wall is usually moved into the center of the table so that it is accessible to all and easily distinguished from the game Wall.

Picking from the Wall, game play continues until someone declares Mahjong or there are no tiles left in the Wall. The Dead Wall is not used. If you reach the end of the game wall and no one has Mahjong, the hand is Null and begins again with the same dealer. The winds don’t change.

Finally!

That’s about all the advice I can give you short of writing a book on the game. There are simply too many versions and too many peculiarities from region to region, from league to league, to cover everything. But I hope this primer is enough to get you started. Some of you will surely start out with a different version of the game than HKOS. Good for you! I hope that, at the very least, the information about picking a Mahjong set or choosing which version of the game to play was helpful in your decision making. For those of you who are planning to start with Hong Kong Old Style, I hope this information was useful and will help you learn the game without feeling daunted. It really isn’t as hard as it looks. And once you start to play, I’m hopeful that it will become your passion and that you’ll pass the joy along to your friends!

May the Mahjong ghosts bring luck to your table!

Karekin

Click here to download an 8 1/2″ x 11″ scorecard. Print on cardstock and laminate if you wish to keep it clean.

Click here to download a compass centerpiece for the table to help you remember what direction you are! It can be mounted on an 8″ square piece of gatorboard or some other material of your choice. Cut out the circle and mount it on the material you choose.