These days, there is a great push for gaming companies to produce the next breakthrough electronic game which offers stunning graphics, interesting storylines and a fluid interface. However, there is something to be said for games that don't need gimmicks and which have been around for hundreds of years. A case in point is the game of mahjong which has been around since the days of Confucius approximately 500 B.C. The game's longevity just speaks to the fact that it has elements of gameplay for everybody.
The traditional Chinese game of mahjong is played by four players each seated at the position of East, South, West and North. In gameplay, the person at the East position gets first turn as the banker/dealer. If he wins the hand, he continues this role. The benefits of being the banker/dealer are to have extra chances of scoring higher on a hand.
In a Mahjong tile set you will have a total of 144 tiles. These consist of three different suits of 36 tiles per suit. These come in bamboo, characters and circles. You then also get 12 dragon tiles and 16 wind tiles. You will also get 8 flower tiles, but these ones are not actually part of the game play. They do however help in giving players extra points while drawing and distributing tiles.
The game starts with each player receiving 13 tiles. You should aim to create 4 melds of 3 each of which consists of pung (triplets) or chow (a series) by taking discarded tiles or drawing them yourself. To complete a winning hand you need to add a pair of eyes. That means that you will end up with a winning hand of 14 tiles.
Extra points are given to the winning hand if it has all pungs, all chows, all in the same suit, or if triplets were made from the dragon tiles, or if the winner was able to pung his own directional wind tiles.
The game might seem confusing to some at first but once you have a mahjong set in front of you, it's actually quite easy to understand. For people who have played gin rummy before, you'll be able to master this game right away because the games are similar.
The game of mahjong takes is fairly easy to learn, but takes a very long time to master. If you play a lot you will figure out the little subtleties of the game and constantly improve. You will also get better at playing your opponents and calculation odds
The traditional Chinese game of mahjong is played by four players each seated at the position of East, South, West and North. In gameplay, the person at the East position gets first turn as the banker/dealer. If he wins the hand, he continues this role. The benefits of being the banker/dealer are to have extra chances of scoring higher on a hand.
In a Mahjong tile set you will have a total of 144 tiles. These consist of three different suits of 36 tiles per suit. These come in bamboo, characters and circles. You then also get 12 dragon tiles and 16 wind tiles. You will also get 8 flower tiles, but these ones are not actually part of the game play. They do however help in giving players extra points while drawing and distributing tiles.
The game starts with each player receiving 13 tiles. You should aim to create 4 melds of 3 each of which consists of pung (triplets) or chow (a series) by taking discarded tiles or drawing them yourself. To complete a winning hand you need to add a pair of eyes. That means that you will end up with a winning hand of 14 tiles.
Extra points are given to the winning hand if it has all pungs, all chows, all in the same suit, or if triplets were made from the dragon tiles, or if the winner was able to pung his own directional wind tiles.
The game might seem confusing to some at first but once you have a mahjong set in front of you, it's actually quite easy to understand. For people who have played gin rummy before, you'll be able to master this game right away because the games are similar.
The game of mahjong takes is fairly easy to learn, but takes a very long time to master. If you play a lot you will figure out the little subtleties of the game and constantly improve. You will also get better at playing your opponents and calculation odds
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A very entertaining online variation of the game is mahjong solitaire which can be played along with many other online games.
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