Mahjong, a tile-based game with ancient origins, can seem daunting at first. But with this beginner's cheat sheet, you'll be picking up tiles and forming winning hands in no time! This guide breaks down the basics, from understanding the tiles to mastering winning strategies.
Understanding the Tiles
Mahjong uses a set of 144 tiles, categorized as follows:
1. Suits:
- Bamboo (or Sticks): Numbered 1 to 9, each with a distinct bamboo design.
- Characters (or Circles): Also numbered 1 to 9, depicted as circles.
- Dots: Numbered 1 to 9, shown as dots.
These three suits are the foundation of your hand, forming sequences (sets of three consecutive numbers).
2. Honors:
- Winds (East, South, West, North): Represent the four directions.
- Dragons (Red, Green, White): Symbolic tiles with unique colors.
Honors are typically used in pairs (two identical tiles) within a hand.
3. Flowers and Seasons:
These are bonus tiles that do not contribute to the winning hand but can add points if you collect a set. They are typically discarded immediately.
Forming a Hand: The Basics
The goal of Mahjong is to create a winning hand by collecting 14 tiles, forming specific combinations. These combinations include:
- Pung (Pon): Three identical tiles of any suit or honor.
- Chow (sequence): Three consecutive numbered tiles within the same suit (e.g., 2-3-4 Bamboo).
- Kong (quad): Four identical tiles. A kong can replace a pung or be made by adding a fourth tile from the draw pile or discard pile.
- Pair (Eye): Two identical tiles. Every winning hand must have one pair.
Winning Hand Examples:
A winning hand typically consists of four sets (pungs, kongs, or chows) and a pair. Here are a few examples:
- 1-2-3 Bamboo, 4-5-6 Bamboo, 7-8-9 Bamboo, East Wind, East Wind (Three chows and a pair of East Wind)
- 1-1-1 Dots, 2-2-2 Characters, 3-3-3 Bamboo, North Wind, North Wind (Three pungs and a pair of North Wind)
Gameplay Overview:
- Dealing: Each player receives 13 tiles.
- Drawing and Discarding: Players take turns drawing a tile and discarding one.
- Winning: A player wins by completing a winning hand. This usually involves forming four sets and a pair.
- Calling Tiles: If a player has two identical tiles in their hand and sees a third one discarded, they can call for it to create a pung.
- Winning the Round: The winning player calculates their score based on their hand and any bonus tiles.
Tips for Beginners:
- Focus on forming sets: Concentrate on completing sets of three (pungs and chows) before focusing on the pair.
- Watch your opponents: Observe their discards to get an idea of the tiles they are working towards.
- Discard strategically: Get rid of tiles that are not useful for completing sets.
- Practice: The more you play, the better you will become at recognizing patterns and forming winning hands.
Beyond the Basics:
Once you've mastered the basics, you can explore more advanced strategies like:
- Kan: A more complex variation of a kong that involves drawing a fourth tile instead of picking it from the discard pile.
- Different scoring variations: Each Mahjong variant has slightly different scoring rules.
Mahjong is a rich and rewarding game. This cheat sheet provides a solid foundation, but remember that practice and experience are key to becoming a skilled player. So grab some friends, some tiles, and start playing!
