5 Easy Steps to Play Chinese Mahjong

Chinese Mahjong is one of the world’s oldest and most popular board games. It’s a game of skill, strategy, and calculation that players of all ages can enjoy.

Chinese Mahjong is a game of both luck and skill, and mastering the art of tile-stealing is essential to becoming a successful player. The key to winning at Chinese Mahjong is to be patient and wait for the right opportunity to strike. Players who are too aggressive will often find themselves losing their hard-earned points to more experienced opponents.

We have just what you need if you want to learn how to play this fun and challenging game. Our step-by-step guide will teach you the basic rules you need to know about mahjong. You’ll be able to start playing with your friends in no time!

Here now to go through our guide and start playing Chinese mahjong today!

The Basic Rules of Chinese Mahjong

Chinese Mahjong is a popular game that originated in China. The game is played with tiles, and the objective is to create melds with these tiles. There are different versions of Chinese Mahjong, but the most popular version is the one played with 148 tiles.

Chinese Mahjong can be played with either four or five players. If four players are playing, each player begins with 13 tiles. If five players are playing, each player begins with 10 tiles. The remaining tiles are placed in the middle of the players, and this is known as the wall. The game is played with a set of 144 tiles, which includes 36 character tiles, 36 dot tiles, 36 bamboo tiles, 16 wind tiles, and 12 dragon tiles.

What is a Meld?

A meld is a set of three or four tiles with the same number or suit. There are different types of melds in Chinese Mahjong:

- Pong: A pong is a set of three identical tiles, for example, three 2 Bams (②②②).

- Kong: A kong is a set of four identical tiles, for example, four 5 Dots (⑤⑤⑤⑤).

- Chow: A chow is a set of three sequential tiles in the same suit, for example, 3 Bams (①②③). Chows can only be made with suits that do not honor tiles.

What is a Pair?

The pair is the final component of a legal Chinese Mahjong hand, and it consists of any two identical tiles. For example, 2 Bams (②②) or 2 Dragons (red). Pairs can be either honor tiles or number tiles.

Scoring Chinese Mahjong

After a player has formed a legal hand, he can declare mahjong. When this happens, play ceases and all players reveal their tiles. The player who declared mahjong then scores points based on the content of the other players’ hands as well as the value of any flowers or seasons he may have collected. The game is then reset and play begins anew.

The following table lists the various combinations and their point values:

| Combination | Points |

| All Simples (no honors or terminals) | 1 |

| All Chows | 2 |

| All Pungs | 4 |

| Pure Straight | 8 |

| Mixed Straight | 4 |

| Full Flush | 16 |

| All Honors | 16 |

| Four Consecutive Winds | 16 |

| Four Consecutive Dragons | 32 |

The minimum number of points required to win Chinese Mahjong varies depending on the region but is typically set at 4,000 points. In order to score points in Chinese Mahjong, players must form special combinations of tiles known as “melds.” There are four different types of melds in Chinese Mahjong: chows, pungs, kongs, and pairs. Chows are sequences of three tiles in the same suit, while pungs and kongs are sets of either three or four identical tiles. Pairs can be formed with any two matching tiles. Players can score points by forming their own melds, as well as by stealing melds from other players. The most valuable melds in Chinese Mahjong are full flushes, which are sets of all honor tiles or all tiles in the same suit. A full flush is worth 48 points, making it the most valuable meld in the game.

5 Steps to Play Chinese Mahjong

Chinese Mahjong is typically played with what’s known as the “basic rule set.” This set of rules is standardized across most Chinese Mahjong competitions, and it’s also the version of the game that you’re likely to encounter if you play Chinese Mahjong online.

1. Choose a Dealer

The first step in playing Chinese Mahjong is to choose a dealer. This can be done by any method that players agree upon, such as drawing straws or playing rock-paper-scissors. The dealer then shuffles and rolls the dice, which determines which player will sit where. Once everyone is seated, the dealer distributes the tiles face down to the players clockwise around the table, making sure that each player has 13 tiles. The dealer then sets aside any tiles left over, as well as the four corner tiles, which are not used in Chinese Mahjong.

2. Building the Wall

Once everyone has their 13 tiles, it’s time to build the wall. The player to the right of the dealer starts by stacking their tiles two high in front of them, making sure that each row contains an equal number of tiles. The player to their right than does the same, and so on until all players have built a wall in front of them. Once the walls are built, any remaining tiles are set aside, as well as the four wind tiles (East, South, West, and North).

3. Breaking the Wall

The next step is to break the wall. The player to the right of the dealer starts by rolling the dice. They then use that number to count tiles from the right end of their wall and select that section of tiles. They then push that section of tiles toward the center of the table so that it’s accessible to all players. The player to their right then rolls the dice and does the same, and so on until all players have broken their wall.

4. Drawing Tiles

Once the wall is broken, it’s time to start drawing tiles. The player who rolled the dice starts by taking a tile from the section of the wall in front of them (the one they selected when breaking the wall). They then look at their hand and decide whether or not they want to keep that tile. If they do, they add it to their hand and discard a tile by placing it face up in front of them. If they don’t want the tile, they place it face up in the center of the table for the next player to take. Play then passes to the player on their right who does the same thing.

This continues until one player has a complete hand of 14 tiles (13 “regular” tiles plus one “honor” tile). This player can now declare mahjong!

5. Scoring

Once someone has declared mahjong, all other players must show their hands. The player who declared mahjong is then given points based on the value of the tiles in other players’ hands as well as any bonus tiles they may have collected. The game is then reset and played again until someone reaches the agreed-upon score (usually around 300 points).

And that’s it!

Chinese mahjong is a fun and addicting game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. So round up some friends, grab some tiles, and start playing today!

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