What is the order of mahjong?

In Chinese tradition, the four wind tiles are shuffled face down and dealt to the players. Players then sit according to their tile and sit clockwise in the order north, west, south, east. East starts as the dealer. Modern players may simply roll the dice to determine the dealer.

How is mahjong game structured?

4 players for a game. All 136 tiles are shuffled face down and 4 square walls are built with 34 tiles each. The turn order is determined by throwing the dices by the dealer and rotates anticlockwise. The dealer leads other players to draw 13 tiles in a clockwise direction around the wall.

Who goes first in mahjong?

Playing the game

The dealer in the 'east' begins the game by discarding their 14^th tile into the centre of the table. The player to the dealer's right (in the south position) takes his or her turn by picking up one tile and discarding one tile.

What is the breakdown of mahjong tiles?

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 tiles do you start with in Mah Jongg?

walls come out to the left.

PLAYERS MUST HAVE 13 TILES IN THEIR HANDS AT ALL TIMES. The only time a player may have 14 tiles is at the beginning of a game if she is East, at the moment of picking a tile and before discarding, and at the time she makes a Mah-Jongg.

Learn how to play mahjong in 2.5 minutes

What is the arrangement of tiles at the beginning of mahjong?

The game of Mahjong begins with the shuffling of tiles. All tiles are to be face-down at this stage. After shuffling, the tiles are arranged in walls that are 17 tiles wide and 2 tiles high. Each player moves a wall to their front, forming a square at the middle of the board.

How do you start a mahjong game?

In traditional mahjong, you make a wall of tiles in front of each player before dealing, 36 tiles each in stacks of 2. Then you push all the walls together to form a square. The East Wind throws 2 dice, then counts from the right to that point in the wall and pushes 2 stacks of tiles forward to put in their hand.

What is the best tile to discard in mahjong?

Honors tiles (Winds and Dragons) are the best choice for discarding because they are hardest to work with; you cannot make sequences out of them, only Pungs or Kongs ("sets").

What does the green dragon mean in mahjong tile?

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 do the middle tiles mean in mahjong?

One tile features a red 中 (zhōng, center). The Chinese character represents 紅中 (hóng zhōng), which connotes passing the imperial exam, a hit in archery, and the Confucian virtue of benevolence. Another tile features a green 發 (fā, wealth). This character is a part of the saying, 發財 (fā cái).

What is the secret to winning 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.

Who has priority Chow or Pong in mahjong?

Win has priority over Pung, Kong, and Chow. Pung & Kong has priority over Chow. If Two Players want to claim the same tile to win, 1st player to claim the tile who sits to the right of the thrower wins.

How long is a full game of mahjong?

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. When playing online against computer bots, games can be significantly faster and will typically take around 6 minutes on average.

How do you layout mahjong?

Although there are no strict layout rules, most traditional Mahjong setups use four jutting arms, fixed facing horizontally on the four corners of the square pyramid. More of these "arms" will open up more blocks for use, making the game easier. Templates for Mahjong solitaires are available to look up online.

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.

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 does the snowflake do in mahjong?

'Frost'(Snowflake) helps to freeze the combo counter until you collect 5 pairs of tiles. The multiplier grows without falling. It helps to earn a higher score in the game.

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.

Is there a strategy to mahjong tiles?

Always think one step ahead

Despite its simple premise, Mahjong Solitaire is a strategy game. One thoughtless move can be enough to lock the puzzle and turn it unsolvable. For this reason, players should always think one step ahead when matching the tiles.

What is a hot tile in mahjong?

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 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.

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.