mahjong
Sign in to saveMahjong is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is played by four players (with three-player variations found in parts of China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia). The game and its regional variants are played throughout the Sinosphere in East and Southeast Asia and have also become popular in Western countries. The game has been adapted into a widespread form of online entertainment. Similar to the Western card game rummy, mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, and luck. To distingu
AI overview
Mahjong is a tile-based game that originated in 19th-century China and has since spread worldwide, typically played by four players using skill, strategy, and luck in ways similar to the card game rummy. The game remains particularly popular throughout East and Southeast Asia and has become increasingly accessible through online versions and adaptations in Western countries.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Game.image
- File:Mahjong game.jpg
- Game.italic title
- no
- Game.name
- Mahjong
- Game.subject_name
- Mahjong
- Game.years
- Late 19th century to present
- Game.players
- 3–4
- Game.setup_time
- 1–5 minutes
- Game.playing_time
- Dependent on variation or rules
- Game.random_chance
- Moderate
- Game.skills
- Tactics, observation, risk management, adaptive strategies
- Chinese.pic
- Mahjong (Chinese characters).svg
- Chinese.piccap
- "Mahjong" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Article
70 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Old Hong Kong mahjong rules
- Game equipment
- Suited tiles
- Honors tiles
- Bonus tiles
- Choosing table positions and first dealer
- Hands, rounds, and matches
- Dealing tiles
- Shuffling tiles
- Stacking tiles
- Drawing tiles
- Game play starts
- Rules
- Legal hand
- Melds
- Interruption of play
- 1. Flower or season
- 2. Melding by seizing a tile from another player's discard
- 3. Winning a hand
- From a discard
- From the wall
- False win
- 4. Robbing a kong
- Examples of winning hands
- Repeated hands
- Rhythm of play
- Scoring
- Concealed vs. revealed meld and hand
- ''Faan'' value
- Basic ''faan'' value
- Bonus ''faan''
- Payment
- Examples
- Limit hands
- Other examples of high-scoring hands
- Variations
- Chinese variants
- Other variants
- Equipment
- Tables
- Tiles
- Wild cards and jokers
- Flowers
- Walls
- Dice, markers, and counting pieces
- Rules
- Charleston
- Hands
- Ready hands
- Draws
- Abortive draws
- Scoring
- Points
- Comparison
- Competition
- History
- Mahjong in the West
- Current development
- Superstitions
- Glossary
- In popular culture
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Historical research
- Chinese classic
- Chinese official
- Further reading
- External links
Mahjong is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is played by four players (with three-player variations found in parts of China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia). The game and its regional variants are played throughout the Sinosphere in East and Southeast Asia and have also become popular in Western countries. The game has been adapted into a widespread form of online entertainment. Similar to the Western card game rummy, mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, and luck. To distinguish it from mahjong solitaire, it is sometimes referred to as mahjong rummy.
The game is played with a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols, although regional variations may omit some tiles or add unique ones. In most variations, each player begins by receiving 13 tiles. In turn, players draw and discard tiles until they complete a legal hand using the 14th drawn tile to form four melds (or sets) and a pair (eye). A player can also win with a small class of special hands. While many variations of mahjong exist, most of them have basic rules in common including how a piece is drawn and discarded, the use of suits (numbered tiles) and honors (winds and dragons), the basic kinds of melds allowed, how to deal the tiles and the order of play. Beyond these basic common rules, numerous regional variations exist which may have different criteria for legal melds and winning hands, radically different scoring systems and even elaborate extra rules. A group of players may introduce their own house rules which can change the feel of play.