Mah Jongg is played by choosing and discarding tiles, until a player has assembled a winning combination of tiles, at which time, "Mah Jongg" is declared, and that round of the game ends.
Typically, Mah Jongg is played with four people, but it is possible to play Mah Jongg with three players. The table is laid out with all four racks, even if there are not four players. If more than four people want to play, players take turns sitting out a round.
[Click on the images below to enlarge them.]
The tiles are placed, face down, in the center of the table, and "washed" by swirling them around to mix them up.
Building the Wall
The "wall" is built by stacking tiles two-tiles-high, along the inside of each of the four racks. American Mah Jongg uses 152 total tiles, so each player will have 19 stacks in her part of the wall.
Breaking the Wall
Players are designated by wind direction. "East Wind" (the player sitting on the east side of the table) begins play by rolling both dice and then pushing her part of the wall out, diagonally, into the middle space. She pulls back the same number of stacks as indicated by the dice. This is "breaking the wall." Starting with the end of her wall that extends into the middle of the table, East Wind pulls back the number of stacks as indicated by the dice. In the picture above, the dice dictate that East will retract seven stacks (14 total tiles). These will be the last tiles drawn in the game. Drawing from the wall proceeds clock-wise. The dice aren't used again until the next round begins.
East picks the first two stacks (4 tiles) and places them in front of her. The rotation of play in Mah Jongg is counter-clockwise, so the player to East's right goes next, choosing the next two stacks of tiles and placing them in front of her. Tile selection continues this way until each player has 6 stacks (12 tiles), still face down. When all the tiles in East's wall have been drawn, the person to her left will push out her wall diagonally, so drawing can continue around the table.
Because East Wind will begin play by discarding, she needs to start with 14 tiles, so she selects the first and third tile from the wall, and each successive player takes one additional tile to add to her rack. All players maintain 13 tiles on their racks throughout the game. A winning Mah Jongg hand consists of 14 tiles, so, the winner will be the person who draws or claims a final tile that completes her hand.
The Charleston
As far as I can tell, it is impossible to stack the wall in a way that benefits any one particular player. There are several built-in precautions against cheating that take place before play begins: the initial drawback of tiles dictated by the dice, the drawing of 4 tiles at a time to fill the racks, and, finally, an exchange of tiles called the Charleston. Younger players may not know that the Charleston was a popular dance in the 1920s, characterized by steps and gestures to the left and right.
After each player has had a chance to assess her hand (strategies for doing this are discussed in Part III of the tutorial), she will choose 3 tiles to pass to the person on her right. The tiles are passed face down, and a player may not look at the tiles passed to her until she has selected and passed 3 of her own tiles to the person on her right. After the pass to the right, a second set of three tiles are chosen to pass to the player opposite. After this pass, a third set of tiles is passed to the player on the left. A final exchange of tiles, called the Courtesy, is negotiated with the player sitting opposite. Opposite players may agree to pass 3, 2, 1, or no tiles during the Courtesy.
When the Charleston is complete, East Wind discards one of her 14 tiles. She places the tile face up and announces it clearly, saying, "Three Dot," "Green Dragon," "North Wind," "Flower," etc.
Play has begun.
Typically, Mah Jongg is played with four people, but it is possible to play Mah Jongg with three players. The table is laid out with all four racks, even if there are not four players. If more than four people want to play, players take turns sitting out a round.
[Click on the images below to enlarge them.]
The tiles are placed, face down, in the center of the table, and "washed" by swirling them around to mix them up.
Building the Wall
The "wall" is built by stacking tiles two-tiles-high, along the inside of each of the four racks. American Mah Jongg uses 152 total tiles, so each player will have 19 stacks in her part of the wall.
Players are designated by wind direction. "East Wind" (the player sitting on the east side of the table) begins play by rolling both dice and then pushing her part of the wall out, diagonally, into the middle space. She pulls back the same number of stacks as indicated by the dice. This is "breaking the wall." Starting with the end of her wall that extends into the middle of the table, East Wind pulls back the number of stacks as indicated by the dice. In the picture above, the dice dictate that East will retract seven stacks (14 total tiles). These will be the last tiles drawn in the game. Drawing from the wall proceeds clock-wise. The dice aren't used again until the next round begins.
Because East Wind will begin play by discarding, she needs to start with 14 tiles, so she selects the first and third tile from the wall, and each successive player takes one additional tile to add to her rack. All players maintain 13 tiles on their racks throughout the game. A winning Mah Jongg hand consists of 14 tiles, so, the winner will be the person who draws or claims a final tile that completes her hand.
As far as I can tell, it is impossible to stack the wall in a way that benefits any one particular player. There are several built-in precautions against cheating that take place before play begins: the initial drawback of tiles dictated by the dice, the drawing of 4 tiles at a time to fill the racks, and, finally, an exchange of tiles called the Charleston. Younger players may not know that the Charleston was a popular dance in the 1920s, characterized by steps and gestures to the left and right.
After each player has had a chance to assess her hand (strategies for doing this are discussed in Part III of the tutorial), she will choose 3 tiles to pass to the person on her right. The tiles are passed face down, and a player may not look at the tiles passed to her until she has selected and passed 3 of her own tiles to the person on her right. After the pass to the right, a second set of three tiles are chosen to pass to the player opposite. After this pass, a third set of tiles is passed to the player on the left. A final exchange of tiles, called the Courtesy, is negotiated with the player sitting opposite. Opposite players may agree to pass 3, 2, 1, or no tiles during the Courtesy.
When the Charleston is complete, East Wind discards one of her 14 tiles. She places the tile face up and announces it clearly, saying, "Three Dot," "Green Dragon," "North Wind," "Flower," etc.
Play has begun.
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