What is the flower rule in mahjong?

Flowers/Seasons

If you draw a Flower (or Season; for simplicity's sake these are usually referred to as just Flowers), it is immediately placed in your meld area and replaced by a tile from the back end of the Wall. Then if you go out, you'll get four points for any Flowers you drew.

How does flowers work in mahjong?

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. The Flowers are represented by a plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo.

What do the flowers on the mahjong tiles mean?

It is common to see the Flower tiles in sets of four, as four plants or flowers, and as the seasons of the year. 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.

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.

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How many flowers in a standard mahjong set?

A set of 144 Mahjong tiles consists of 36 tiles in the Dot/ Circle suit, 36 in the Bamboo suit, 36 in the Character suit, 16 Wind tiles, 12 Dragon tiles and 8 bonus tiles (4 Flowers and 4 Seasons). Players are seated around a squared table, signifying the four directions East, South, West, North.

How many flowers and jokers are in a mah-jongg set?

The normal Chinese set has 144 tiles: the dots, bams, craks, winds, dragons, and 8 flowers. The modern American set has 152 tiles: essentially, it's a Chinese set, plus 8 jokers (right).

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!

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.

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 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.

Why is one bamboo a bird in mahjong?

According to one of the historic stories, mahjong was invented during a time in China when sparrows (meaning of mahjong in chinese) were a problem (too many).

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.

When can you not use a joker 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.

Can you call a tile in Mah Jongg for a pair?

A tile may not be called to make a pair, unless it is your mah-jongg tile. Once you call a tile, you must expose the pung or kong and you may not make any further changes to the exposed tiles. If two players call for the same tile, the one whose turn is next gets the tile.

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 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 the best strategy for mahjong?

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.

Can you take jokers from a dead hand in mahjong?

Can you redeem a Joker from a “dead” hand? A. Yes. You may exchange Jokers from any exposures that were made before the hand was declared “dead.” Once a hand is declared “dead,” any Jokers that were exposed at the same time as that declaration cannot be redeemed as that is when the error was made.

What does the red dragon mean in mahjong?

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 are the flowers in American mahjong?

Two patterns of American Mahjong flowers, the upper one is "Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter; Plum blossom, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo" and the lower one is "Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter; Fortunate, Luxurious, Longevity, Noble".