What do the flowers mean in mahjong?

They are strictly bonus points. Flower tiles are an optional game play element. In American mahjong flower tiles are used just like any suit or honor tile, in which they can be used as pairs or triplets towards completion of your hand.

What are the flowers on the mahjong tiles?

Did you ever wonder about the flowers on the Mah Jongg tiles? These flowers represent the four Confucian plants: bamboo (summer), chrysanthemum (autumn), orchid (spring), and plum (winter). They are known as the Four Gentlemen of China.

Why do Mahjong sets come with extra flowers?

From the founding of the National Mah Jongg League 70 years ago (in 1937), the NMJL treated flowers as jokers (wild flowers). Beginning with the 1943 card, more flowers were added to increase the luck ratio and to allow for more challenging hands.

Why does my Mahjong set have 16 flowers?

The set above has just the standard count of exactly eight flowers, but it is not unusual for sets to come with 16 or more flowers. Flower tiles might represent flowers, seasons, trades (occupations), virtues, historical scenes, games, or animals.

What do the symbols mean in Mahjong?

Both the circles and bamboo represent ancient Chinese currency. The former represents a tong, a coin with a square hole in the middle, and the latter, strings of such coins.

Mahjong Flowers

Can you call a flower in Mah Jongg?

There are only 4 flowers (1, 2, 3, and 4) and only 4 season tiles (1, 2, 3, and 4). When drawn, they are declared and a substitute tile is drawn. The flower(s) or season(s) corresponding with the winning player's wind may increase the score.

How many points is a flower in Mahjong?

Flowers numbered 1 match East, Flowers numbered 2 match South, Flowers numbered 3 match West, and Flowers numbered 4 match North. E-S-W-N = 1-2-3-4 (ESWN is the order of play around the table). If you get four Flowers in a row (all the Seasons or all the Flowers), you get 1000 points immediately from all players.

What are the 4 flowers in Mahjong?

Depending on the Mahjong set, the flowers are commonly the Plum Blossom, Iris, Bamboo, and the Chrysanthemum. These four flowers/plants represent the Four Confucian Gentlemen/women.

What is the rarest win in Mahjong?

No prize for guessing, but the Big Four Winds/Big Four Blessings winning hand has the lowest probability in a game of mahjong. With a rare 1 in 57,856 chance of happening, this combination definitely needs to go onto your Instastory!

How many flowers are there in American mahjong?

There are 8 flower tiles (right), which can depict all kinds of things; some of them might be named for the 4 seasons.

Is there a secret to mahjong?

Have a clear plan of attack – Think about the direction you want to take your hand and stick with it, while also remaining flexible. Picking up tiles for the sake of it won't work, and patience will always win out in the end. If your strategy isn't working, change tactics and look for other winning possibilities.

What are the most luxurious mahjong sets?

What is the most expensive mahjong set in the world?

Are flowers and seasons interchangeable in mahjong?

There are 8 flower tiles in the game. In some sets, they are represented as different varieties of flowers and may also have seasons printed on them. These differences are irrelevant for American Mah Jongg and all flower tiles are interchangeable.

What is a hot tile in Mah Jongg?

The last stacks of tiles in the wall to be played are sometimes referred to as a "hot wall." If a discarder throws a "hot" tile during this wall (a "hot tile" is one that the discarder can't account for at least 3 of the same tile - either in an exposure, or in their hand, or on the table) and that tile gives someone ...

What is the Joker used for in mahjong?

One of the most important rules of Mahjong is that a player cannot use a joker for a single or pair. A joker can substitute for a tile(s) in a pung, kong, or quint combination. Accordingly, a player cannot use a joker for “NEWS” or for the year (ex. “2021”), as these are a group of singles.

What do you say when you win mahjong?

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

What is it called when no one wins in mahjong?

Within each round, the winds / seating position will rotate as follows: East, South, West, North (counterclockwise). This also happens in the event of a dead hand (where nobody wins).

What is the best strategy for mahjong?

What is the difference between Chinese and American 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 are the flowers in Hong Kong mahjong?

The Flowers are represented by a plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo, and Seasons by a fisher, woodcutter, farmer and scholar.

What is the biggest win in mahjong?

The highest score you can get is the limit of 1,000 points, even though – when you make the doubling calculation – the 'value' of your tiles can get much higher than this. Given the power of doubling, it's an interesting exercise to determine what the highest possible score could be if you ignore the limit.

Is mahjong skill or luck based?

Mahjong game is dependent on skills , not luck. Although sometimes , getting a wrong card can also result to winning a game. There are instances where a player have very poor basic cards but good skills, thus they utilized rigorous card control to prevent other players from winning.

Can you call yourself dead in mahjong?

If a player makes an incorrect exposure, declares Mah Jongg in error or is playing a hand not on the current card, her hand is considered “dead.” However, it is not the player's responsibility or in their best interests to declare their own hand “dead.” They can continue to play until another player challenges them.