Mahjong is a game of Chinese origin which uses tiles. The Chinese mahjong game can appear confusing if you are unfamiliar with the rules. Here we will look at some basic guidelines for playing the Chinese mahjong game.
Preparing a Chinese Mahjong Game
Before a Chinese mahjong game can begin, a dealer must be chosen and the players must be allocated the Winds that they represent. Each player throws the dice and the player with the highest roll becomes the dealer.
The dealer in a Chinese mahjong game becomes the East Wind. The player to the dealer’s right becomes the South Wind, the next player to the right becomes the West Wind and the next player is the North Wind. The prevailing Wind changes each round, unless the dealer wins the round.
The tiles are placed face down and shuffled. The players in a Chinese mahjong game then build a wall by stacking the tiles two high and one deep in front of them. The dealer throws the dice and counts anti-clockwise from himself until a player’s row is chosen.
Starting at the right edge of the wall, sum tiles are counted and moved to the right. The player seated to the left of the dealer takes four tiles from his left and the remaining players then take four tiles from their right.
Playing a Chinese Mahjong Game
Each player has a turn in a Chinese mahjong game to take one tile from the wall, add it to their hand and discard a tile onto the table. If a player draws a flower tile he must place it immediately from the dead wall (or if that is not available, from the back wall).
Forming Melds
Players need to make melds in a Chinese mahjong game. A player can call or bid for a tile that will help them to form a meld and when they do this, they must state the type of meld they are forming and then place it face up on the table.
There are three types of melds that can be formed in a Chinese mahjong game – pongs, kongs and chows.
Pongs
Pongs (or pungs) are a set of three identical tiles.
Kongs
Kongs are sets of four identical tiles. Players are able to form an exposed or a concealed kong. A concealed kong is a kong that is formed from four tiles held in the hand. An exposed kong is a kong that is formed using a discarded tile.
Chows
Chows are melds of three suited tiles in sequence. Players can only form exposed chows by using a tile discarded by the player to his left.
Ending a Chinese Mahjong Game
A Chinese mahjong game may end in a draw if there are no winners when only the dead wall is remaining. A player wins the Chinese mahjong game if he forms a standard mahjong hand, that is, he makes up a mahjong with a number of melds, depending on the number of tiles in the game.
