Mahjong

Mahjong Rules

Basic style of playing Mahjong:

The game of Mahjong originated from China. It is now being played by people all over the world.There are two major different style in playing the game, 13-tile version of Mahjong or 16- tile version of Mahjong. There is not much difference in how to play Mahjong, Both styles play with 144 tiles (with 8 flower tiles), 16-tile version play with one extra set for each player.

How Traditional Mahjong is played:

In a traditional Mahjong game, 4 players start the game by throwing the dice which determines the seating of
each player. People meet to play at least 16 hands (4 cycles). Once the game starts, each player take turns
to draw and discard the tile. The draw sequence can be interrupted and rearranged by the bid of "Tse",
"Pung", and "Gaung", or the game can be finished by any player declaring "Hu" (mahjong).

The myth of Mahjong rules:

There are a few organization that offer certain rules on how to play Mahjong, Most of them talk about how Mahjong is played. There is really no significant difference on how to play the game. People in different
places pretty much follow the same "Draw", "Discard", "Tse", "Pung", "Gaung", "Hu". The real difference lies in
"calculating the fan"or "scoring the winning pattern".

Mahjong Tile Suits:

Mahjong - Bamboo Suit

Mahjong - Circle Suit

Mahjong - Numbers Suit

The Dragon Tiles.
There are three unique tiles within the dragon suit with each unique tile having four tiles each for a
total of 12 tiles. Each unique tile is referred to as the Green Dragon, Red Dragon, and White Dragon.
These tiles are shown below.

Mahjong - Dragon Suit

The Wind Tiles.
There are four unique tiles within the wind suit with each unique tile having four tiles each for a
total of 16 tiles. Each unique tile is referred to as the East Wind, South Wind, West Wind, and North Wind.
These tiles are shown below.

Mahjong - Wind Suit

The Flower Suit

There are 2 sets of flower tiles called the Red Flower Suit and the Black Flower Suit with each set containing
four unique tiles for a total of 8 tiles. Each flower set has tiles numbered from 1 to 4. The number 1 corresponds to the East Wind, the number 2 corresponds to the South Wind, the number 3 corresponds to the West Wind, and the number 4 corresponds to the North Wind. The complete set of flower tiles are shown below.

Mahjong - Black Flower Suit

Mahjong - Red Flower Suit

The Animal Suit.
There are 4 animal tiles with each one displaying a unique animal. The animal set is shown below.

Mahjong - Animal Suit

Types of valid mahjong patterns
A "Tse" contains 3 tiles in numerical sequence of the same suit. For example a 5, 6, 7 of Circles
(shown below) is considered a "Tse". The Honor Suit Tiles, Flower Suit Tiles and Animal Tiles cannot be used in a Tse.

A "Pong" contains 3 tiles of the same number and suit. An example of a "Pong" is shown below. The Flower Suit Tiles and Animal Tiles cannot be used in a "Pong".

A "Gaung" contains 4 tiles of the same number and suit. An example of a "Gaung" is shown below. The Flower Suit Tiles and Animal Tiles cannot be used in a "Gaung".

An "Eye" contains 2 tiles of the same number and suit. An example of an "Eye" is shown below.
The Flower Suit Tiles and Animal Tiles cannot be used as an "Eye"..

Getting Mahjong
To get mahjong you must have one and only one "Eye"
Pong's, and Gaung's. Some examples of Mahjong are shown below.