What are the English mahjong pieces?

Mah-Jongg tiles are comprised of three suits of One through Nine: Craks (also called Characters, Wan, or Ten Thousand), Bams (also called Bamboos or Sticks), and Dots (also called Balls or Circles), and other tiles known as Winds, Dragons, and Flowers (in American Mah-Jongg, Seasons tiles are referred to as Flowers).

What is the difference between American and traditional mahjong?

What is the difference between American and Chinese mahjong? Traditional Chinese mahjong sets have 144 tiles, while American version is played with eight additional joker tiles and different score cards.

What is American version mahjong?

American mahjong is played with four players using mah jongg tiles. The goal of the game is to be the first, by picking and discarding, to match one's tiles to a specific hand from the annually distributed scorecard published by the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) and American Mah-Jongg Association (AMJA).

What are the four suits in Mah Jongg?

Mahjong Tiles Have Meaning

Each tile set contains 3 simple suits (stones, characters, and bamboos), 2 honor suits (winds and dragons), and 1 optional suit (flowers).

What is British mahjong?

Each player's objective is to arrange the tiles in their hand into four sets and an identical pair, allowing them to declare Mahjong and end the game. As a player only ever has 13 tiles in their hand, they can only end the game by picking up a tile, either from the Wall, Kong Box or discard pile.

Learn how to play mahjong in 2.5 minutes

Is national and American mahjong the same?

A: The biggest difference is that American Mah Jongg is played with a "rules" card that determines winning hands. Each year the card changes. (Cards can be ordered from the National Mah Jongg League, www. nationa… see more.

What is the best combination in mahjong?

Mahjong Combination: All Chows without any animal or bonus tiles (平和) and Mixed Suit (混一色) All Chows without any animal or bonus tiles (平和) and Mixed Suit (混一色) the more common winning hands in a game of Mahjong. These two combinations have a 1 in 16 chance of happening throughout a round of mahjong.

What does the white dragon mean in mahjong?

The Dragons

There are three "dragons": the red dragon (chun), symbolizing the middle or animal order (including humans), the green dragon (fa), symbolizing the lower or plant order of life, the white dragon (pai pan – white tile), symbolizing the higher or spirutual order of beings.

What suit is soap in mahjong?

The white dragon tile on the left is also known as "Soap". Soaps can be used as zeroes when putting together certain hands.

Which is better American or Chinese mahjong?

When in doubt, we recommend that you purchase an American mahjong set. American mahjong sets contain all of the tiles for Chinese mahjong as long as you substitute dragons for the "zhong"and "fa" tiles.

Should I get American or Chinese mahjong?

The set you buy will vary in the number of tiles and other game elements based on the rules of the particular version. When in doubt, buy an American mahjong set since they usually contain all the tiles used in Chinese mahjong and can be converted with some substitutions.

Should I learn American or Chinese mahjong?

If you want to be able to play the most variations of mahjong then a western set works well because they have the most tiles. Also the western numbers on the tiles makes it easier to teach new people how to play. People saying that American style is silly are very closed minded.

Is American mahjong played clockwise or counterclockwise?

Each player sits down at their respective position (called the wind position) at the table in positions of an inverted compass: East is dealer, the right of the dealer is South, across is West, and the left is North. The order of play is traditionally counter-clockwise.

Is American mahjong hard to learn?

In general, the rules of Mahjong are not that difficult to learn. However, American Mah Jongg requires players to familiarize themselves with the valid hands, and these hands change on a regular basis (generally annually).

What is the most popular version of mahjong?

Hong Kong: This is also known as the Cantonese version, and it is believed to be the most popular version of mahjong.

What is the secret to mahjong?

Always match tiles that will free and open up the most new tiles. If you have a pair that does not open anything yet, leave it until you need it. Concentrate on matching tiles on horizontal lines, as these are usually more difficult to remove.

Why does my mahjong set have 16 flowers?

Sometimes sets come with extra tiles: extra flowers, extra jokers, extra blank tiles. Don't get all a-twitter (or all a-Facebook) over it -- it's perfectly normal for a manufacturer to add more tiles. And sometimes a previous owner may have acquired extra tiles and thrown those in, too.

What do you say when you win Chinese mahjong?

It is traditional when you win a game of mahjong to say: "Sik wu." In Western circles sometimes winners will instead announce "mahjong."

Is there any skill in mahjong?

It is a game that requires both skill and a bit of luck. Like many other board games, mahjong has multiple variations, including Chinese Mahjong, Japanese Mahjong (also called Riichi Mahjong), and American Mahjong. Generally speaking, the rules of Mahjong are the same regardless of where it's played.

What does Dora mean mahjong?

Dora (ドラ) are bonus tiles that add han value to a winning hand. Every kind of tile can become a dora tile. A dora tile adds the same number of han value as the amount of its corresponding "dora indicator" tiles.

What does Kong mean in mahjong?

There are three main types of melds: a Pong (three identical tiles), a Kong (four identical tiles), and a Chow (three suited tiles of the same suit in numerical sequence).

What is a dead hand in mahjong?

A hand is considered “dead” if the player has too many or too few tiles. A player should always have 13 tiles, except in the middle of her turn (after picking up and before discarding), as the “dealer” (before discarding the first tile to start the game), and when she has called Mah Jongg.

What is Pung in mahjong?

A Pung - a set of 3 identical tiles e.g. 3 x Red Dragons, 3 x Two circles. A Kong - a set of 4 identical tiles. e.g. 4 x Eight of Bamboos or 4 x North Winds. A Chow - a run of 3 tiles in the same suit. A Chow does not score and so is only helpful because it can contribute to a hand that allows a player to call Mah Jong ...