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 Mah
Jong is a Chinese game, very much similar
to rummy. It is an
exciting game requiring four players. Some
variations can be played by three. Playing the
game requires strategy, skills, calculations and
luck. The game is very popular in Asia as
gambling game. In western countries, the game
was introduced as a hobby game to while away
free time. In a typical game, you get 13 or 16
tiles and you have to make four groups, also
known as ‘melds’, and a pair or ‘head’ before
other players to win the game.
There are many
theories regarding the origin of the game. Some
believe that the renowned philosopher Confucius
invented the game in 500 BC. However, the first
evidence of the game as we know it has been
found as late as 1850, though forms of the game
have been known to be played in China for
centuries. The game was banned in China in 1949
by the newly formed Communist government, which
forbade gambling activities. After the Cultural
Revolution in China, the game was revived and
soon became popular in other neighboring
countries like Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, too.
Mah Jong was introduced into America in the
1920s. It soon became very popular. Joseph Park
Babcock wrote a book of rules for Mah Jong,
which later became popular as the ‘Red Book’.
Today, there are many organizations around the
world, which hold world tournaments for the game
and have varying rules.
The game was
very popular in Asia, and America as a hobby and
gambling game. Now all countries also play the
game with many variations. Apart from the
Chinese Classical Mah Jong, the other popular
forms are Hong Kong/Cantonese Mahjong, Sichuan
Mah Jong, Taiwanese Mah Jong, Japanese Mah Jong,
Western Classical Mah Jong, American Mah Jong
(it is very different from the original one),
3-player Mah Jong, Singapore Mah Jong and so on.
The Chinese government is trying to popularize
the game, and is putting in all efforts to make
the game popular as a friendly and social
activity. The game was converted into a “healthy
sport” (without gambling) in 1998 with the
introduction of Chinese Official Rules, also
known as International Tournament rules.
The game might
seem to be quite difficult on the onset as it
involves quite a bit of calculations and skills.
However, once you become used to it, it becomes
quite easy and entertaining. The basic
equipments of a game of Mah Jong are dice, chips
and tiles. It also includes bone tiles for
scoring and indicator tile denoting the dealer
and prevailing wind. In present times, Internet
friendly computer versions of the game have come
up where you can play against the computer or a
person online. The set of Mah Jong tiles differs
from place to place, numbering 136 or more and
divided into 3 categories namely honor, suits
and flowers.
There are three
types of suits namely Dots, Characters and
Bamboos. Numbered from 1 to 9 each suit has four
tiles of the same number. Thus, each suit has 36
tiles. Ones and nines are known as terminals and
are considered as most valuable tiles of every
suit. Honor tiles constitute of four types of
wind tiles and three types of Dragon tiles. Wind
tiles are namely East, West, North and South,
each wind having four tiles coming to 16 tiles.
Dragon tiles are namely Red Green and White,
which once again have four tiles each coming up
to 12 tiles. Seasons or Flower tiles are used
optionally in a game of Mah Jong. The four
seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter) and
Flowers (Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum and Bamboo)
are matched to East, South, West and North
respectively.
In order to
decide the prevailing wind and the dealer of the
game, each player throws three dice. The player
who has highest score becomes the dealer and has
East wind. Player sitting on his right has South
wind, the next player on the right has West wind
and the remaining player on dealer’s left has
North wind. Unless the dealer wins, game wind
changes to the next player following every
round. The prevailing wind changes and moves
from left to right after each player has lost
one game as a dealer.
All the tiles
are placed face down and shuffled. Each player
then has to stack a row that is two tiles high,
length depending upon the number of tiles to be
used. Each player has 17-stack row for 136 tiles
game, 18-stack row for 144 tiles, 19-stack row
for 152 tiles and 19 stacks for dealer and
player opposite to him and 18 stacks in a 148
tiles game. The dealer then throws three dice
and the sum total is found. A player’s stack is
chosen and the ‘sum’ tiles from the right edge
are shifted to the right hand side. The dealer
then takes four tiles from the left hand side.
Moving counterclockwise, each player takes a
block of four tiles from the row until each
player has 12 or 16 tiles for 13-tile or 16-tile
variations of the game. For the 13-tile
variation, each player takes one more tile.
The game is
ready to be played and each player has to draw
tiles in clockwise manner from where the drawing
was left off. The dealer starts the game by
drawing a tile and discarding an unwanted one.
Then the player on his right makes a move. In
different variation, the player has to either
declare the name of the discarded tile or place
it face down. Players who have flower tiles
should immediately replace it with tiles from
the remaining stacks. Joker tiles are a
significant part of the American variation of
the game. Rules vary from one version to the
other regarding the use of joker or wild card
tiles.
Each player has
to make a certain combination of tiles called
melds or groups and an identical pair before
other players to win the game. If a player wants
to use a discarded tile by other player to
complete a meld he/she has to show the meld to
other players. Most variations of the game have
three types of melds, the American version being
an exception. The three melds are Pung, Kong and
Chow. Pung is a set of three identical tiles,
Kong is a set of four identical tiles and Chow
is a sequence of three tiles of the same suite.
The pair of identical tiles is known as an Eye.
If multiple
players call for a discarded tile then the
player who needs it to win, the hand/round gets
precedence over others. The order of precedence
is then decided by Pung, Kong and lastly Chow
declarations. If two players have same
declaration then the player closest to the right
of the player discarding the tile gets the tile.
When a player is said to have a hand with jus 1
tile to finish the hand it is called the ‘ready
hand’. The player who first completes the
required number of melds and an Eye is said to
be the winner.
A great
diversity can be seen in the scoring system in
different variations of the game, though the
gameplay is more or less the same. Many attempts
have been made to establish internationally
recognized standards but have failed. Points not
only depend upon the wining hand but also upon
the wining condition, which has many sets and
subsets of criteria. Points are translated to
scores. When gambling, these scores are directly
translated to money.
This must have
provided you with a fair idea of the ancient
Chinese game Mah Jong. So, what are you waiting
for? Once you have unraveled your brains and
have the pungs, kongs and chows sorted out, get
the tiles, start plying Mah Jong, and make it
your favorite hobby.
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