| Mahjong for Beginners |
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Mahjong is often called “the game of one hundred intelligences”. It is considered a game for clever people because it can be very challenging. It is engrossing, fast moving, mentally stimulating; it requires a versatile mind to complete a hand with the highest score.  More likely it developed from various tile and card games played by peasants as far back as 1100 A.D. Early cards were made from wood or ivory, not so different from tiles. Mahjong is definitely related to a game called “matiao” during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.) featuring 4 suits numbered 1-9 and included four different flowers. By the 1850's mahjong became the passion of the aristocracy. Tiles became prettier because they were commissioned by the wealthy. Where it is played?Are there different versions of mahjong? Which ones? Obviously, it is very popular in China where it is played by various rules. In fact, a traditional Chinese proverb says: “If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.” As the game evolved, different styles of play developed in different places. There is Hong Kong style, Shanghai style, Malaysian style.... And also there are French, Japanese and Australian styles. Foreigners became intrigued with the game and adapted it to yet other styles: International and American.    How many players can play Mahjong? Generally there are four players, although Malaysian style calls for three players. What do you need to play it? You need tiles or cards. Westerns often use racks to place their tiles on during the game. There are 144 tiles in a mahjong set divided into: 3 Suits: bamboos (bams), circles (dots), and characters (craks) from 1 to 9; 4 tiles for each (108) The 1s and 9s are major tiles, the others are minor tiles. 4 Winds: East, South, West and North - which represent the “Four regions of Earth”; 4 tiles for each (16) 3 Dragons: Green, Red and White; 4 tiles for each (12) 4 Seasons - which represent “Heaven”; (4) 4 Flowers - which represent the “Noblemen”; (4) Four players sit around a square table. The player who selects the “East Wind” chooses his seating position first; consequently, the other players sit at the table according to their chosen wind position. Play commences with the East Wind's first discard and proceeds anticlockwise. How does it work?  Mahjong is very much like gin rummy. Each player gets thirteen tiles dealt into his hand, except for the player designated as “East Wind”, who gets fourteen tiles. Wind, therefore, is the first to discard a tile to start the play.Mahjong is essentially a tile-matching game. Players aim to amass three or four of a kind of matching tiles, and/or they try to acquire a “run” or sequence of tiles, plus one pair of matching tiles. What is the aim of this game? The aim is to acquire a completed hand before anyone else does. A completed hand consists of three or four groups of “pungs” (pung = a group of three identical tiles) and a pair (which is also known as “a sparrow's head”). A “chow” (chow = sequence of three tiles i.e. 4, 5, 6) may be substituted for a pung. The first person to complete a hand with fourteen tiles declares “mahjong” and his scored is tallied. If another player is “calling” or “fishing” meaning he needs only one more tile to complete his hand, his scored is also tallied. Typically most Chinese play the game for money. Westerners, however, sometimes play for money and sometimes play only for points, simply for the joy of playing mahjong. |
