What is Hanchan?

Hanchan 「半荘」 encapsulates one game of Japanese mahjong. A typical game involves two rounds designated as East and then South. Even if a game ends early, such as when a player falls below zero points, then it is still considered to be a full game.

What is the difference between Hanchan and Tonpuusen?

In a hanchan, there are 2 rounds and each player gets to be dealer at least twice; in a tonpuusen, there is 1 round and each player gets to be dealer at least once. These rounds correspond to winds. As you may have guessed, a hanchan has an east round and a south round, whereas a tonpuusen only has an east round.

What is Han in Japanese mahjong?

There are two criteria for determining the winning points: han and fu, which correspond to a points table. Han is the unit for the value of yaku, which are particular patterns or conditions of a hand. Fu is the value of melds, waits and "going out".

How is Japanese mahjong different?

tldr: Japanese mahjong has stricter hand requirements that devalue open hands. The rule of furiten is also fairly exclusive to Japanese mahjong and encourages more defensive play. Dora are used which allow for bonus points if you incorporate certain tiles in your hand.

Is mahjong Chinese or Japanese?

Mahjong or mah-jongg (English pronunciation: /mɑːˈdʒɒŋ/ mah-JONG) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century.

What is HAN? 한

What is the American version of 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 is 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.

Is Japanese mahjong hard to learn?

And, although Mah Jongg is a difficult game to learn and master, avid players say, you can excel in the game. "It is not the easiest game, but you can learn it," Link added. "You don't learn it in one sitting. It's something you learn and build on what you learn."

What does mahjong mean in English?

or mah-jongg (ˌmɑːˈdʒɒŋ ) noun. a game of Chinese origin, usually played by four people, in which tiles bearing various designs are drawn and discarded until one player has an entire hand of winning combinations. Word origin. from Chinese, literally: sparrows.

Which is easier Chinese or American mahjong?

A: There are around forty known mah-jongg variants - and more than a dozen Chinese variants! Those other variants are not harder to learn than American mah-jongg. American is the hardest to learn of them all.

Which version of mahjong should I learn?

In my opinion, two absolutely the best Mahjong variants are Mahjong Competition Rules (MCR, a.k.a. Chinese Official) and Japanese “Riichi”, but they both are fairly complex. As the best variant for the beginners, I suggest Sichuan Bloody Rules (SBR). American Mahjong is also pretty good.

What is the strongest hand in mahjong?

Mahjong Combination: All Honours (字一色)

If you have a hand made up of either the four Winds or three Dragons, you have an All Honours winning hand. This combination only appears once every 5,200 round.

What is the Japanese equivalent of Han?

Chōshū, Japanese han (domain) that, along with the han of Satsuma, supported the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate (see Tokugawa period) and the creation of a new government headed by the emperor.

What do you yell in mahjong?

You can win mahjong by either yelling 'mahjong' and stealing the last tile you need from someone who has just discarded it, or by drawing the last tile from the deck. A single tile cannot be used in two sets at once.

What is the purpose of playing mahjong?

The primary aim of the game is to collect such tiles that allow a player to call "Mah Jong" and go out. In order to do this, a player must achieve one of the following: A pair, and 4 Pungs, Kongs or Chows. A special hand.

What is the point of mahjong?

Goal. The goal of the game is to get a mahjong, which consists of getting all 14 of your tiles into four sets and one pair. A pair is two identical tiles. A set can either be a "pung," which is three identical tiles, or a "chow," which is a run of three consecutive numbers in the same suit.

What are the disadvantages of mahjong?

The biggest problem in mahjong is that is's intolerably slow with new players. It's a simple game with rounds that are quite luck-heavy, but it all evens out when you play multiple rounds.

Is there a trick 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.

How long does a game of mahjong last?

This depends on the level of experience of the players (newbies tend to need more time to think). With experienced players, a game typically takes around 10 minutes.

Why is mahjong so expensive?

Why are American mahjong sets the most expensive? American mahjong sets have 166 tiles (Chinese sets only have 144) and include a set of racks to hold the tiles. More tiles, the addition of racks, and a larger box makes the entire set more expensive.

Can you play mahjong if you don't know Chinese?

There's no way around this, HSK haters: in order to play, you need to be able to read some Chinese and pronounce numbers in Mandarin, plus a few extra words to name the suits and announce your actions.

How heavy is a mahjong set?

Classic Chinese Mah Jonng Set with 146 cream white melamine tiles, 3 ivory dice, a wind indicator, color coded chips, and 1 easy to follow English instructions packed in a brown PVC case with a handle. This set weighs 12.2 pounds.

Why is it called mahjong?

The name, signifying “sparrow” (maque), has been variously transliterated as ma tsiang, ma chiang, ma cheuk, and ma ch'iau. The sparrow or a mythical “bird of 100 intelligences” appears on one of the tiles. The name mah-jongg was coined and copyrighted by Joseph P.

Can you play mahjong with 2 players?

Absolutely! When playing Mahjong with two players, players use two racks with the goal of declaring Mahjong twice. Each players builds two walls, one against each pusher. Another option is to not build walls and pick from the shuffled tiles in the middle of the mat.