Mahjong
Mahjong has a fascinating history, closely linked to Chinese culture and the evolution of board games in Asia and around the world.
it is often accepted that the game developed in China in the mid-nineteenth century. Some say that it is inspired by ancient Chinese card games, such as “Ma Tiao” or “Yen Tzu Pai”, played with similar tiles and rules.
There are legends attributing the creation of the game to military officers to keep their troops busy or to Confucius, but these stories are more folklore.
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Wacky Mahjong
Mahjong Bonkers
Maniac Mahjong
Maniacal Mahjong
Mahjong Co
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Mahjong became popular in the Chinese provinces. Rules and tiles are gradually becoming normalized.
egional variants appear, with each region bringing its own twist to the game. In Shanghai and Beijing, there are notable differences in the rules and configuration of the tiles.
With the gradual opening of China to international trade, Mahjong is beginning to attract the attention of foreigners in China, especially merchants and visitors.
Mahjong gained international popularity when Joseph Babcock, an American expat in China, imported the game to the United States in the 1920s. He wrote a simplified manual, “Rules of Mah-Jongg”, to make the game more accessible to Western audiences.
In the United States, the game was very popular, becoming a real fashion, especially among women in the 1920s and 1930s.
To accommodate American tastes, variations of the game appeared, including the introduction of specific rules and combination cards, now used in American Mahjong.
After World War II, Mahjong continued to spread in Asia, including Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, and other Southeast Asian countries. Each of these regions develops its own variants and rules.
In Japan, Mahjong became very popular, with the creation of a variant called “Riichi Mahjong”, incorporating complex scoring systems and rules for declaring a hand (“riichi”). The game is becoming so popular that it is sometimes associated with betting and even gambling hall culture.
Classical Chinese Mahjong began to be standardized in the 1990s, with the creation of official rules by the Chinese Mahjong Association. These rules are adopted in international competitions.
During the 2000s, Mahjong enjoyed a new popularity, thanks in part to the Chinese diaspora and the development of the Internet, which allowed players to play online. International competitions were created, with Mahjong championships held in different countries and harmonized rules for tournaments.
Mahjong is also recognized as a sport of thought, similar to chess or bridge, and is practiced all over the world, with official competitions and dedicated organizations.
Mahjong remains an iconic game, both in China and internationally. It is both a family pastime and a competitive game. With the development of mobile and online games, Mahjong is experiencing a renaissance, and variants adapted to digital platforms have become popular.
The game is often associated with moments of family gathering or friendship, particularly in Asia, where it is traditionally played during family gatherings or celebrations.
Mahjong symbolizes both cultural heritage and the ability of a traditional game to evolve to adapt to different cultures and eras.
Rules of the game
1. Configuration
- Players : Usually 4 players.
- Material : 144 tiles divided into three main families (Bamboo, Characters, Circles), as well as honors (Winds and Dragons) and seasonal and flower tiles in some versions.
- Objective : To be the first player to complete a 14-tile hand made up of winning combinations (sets and pairs).
2. Tiles and combinations
- Pairs : 2 identical tiles.
- Pung : 3 identical tiles.
- Chow : 3 consecutive tiles in the same family (e.g.: 3, 4 and 5 of Bamboo).
- Kong : 4 identical tiles.
- A winning hand is made up of 4 combinations (Chow, Pung, or Kong) and a pair.
3. Start of the game
- Players start by shuffling the tiles face down and build a “wall” in front of them.
- Each player then draws 13 tiles, except for the dealer who takes 14 to start.
- The game is played clockwise.
4. Gameplay
- The dealer player starts by discarding a tile from his deck. The next player can either draw a new tile or take the discarded tile if it completes a combination.
- Other players can claim a discarded tile to complete a Pung, Chow, or Kong, but only under certain conditions (the turn can be skipped to form a Chow, but not for a Pung or Kong).
- After taking a tile (fishing or discarding), the player adjusts his hand to have 14 tiles (if he has 14 tiles, he must discard one).
5. Win Conditions
- A player wins when they have made a winning hand consisting of 4 combinations (Chow, Pung, or Kong) and 1 pair.
- When they have a winning hand, the player announces “Mahjong” and shows their hand.
- Points are then calculated based on combinations, difficulty, and current scoring rules.
6. Counting points
- Points are calculated according to special combinations and winning hand configurations (such as “pure hands” with a single family, Kongs, Dragon or Wind Pungs, etc.).
- Some variations of the game add multipliers for rare or difficult hands.
Basic Tips
- Draw or Discard Intelligently : Avoid discarding tiles that can complement other players’ combinations.
- Observe other people’s discards : This helps you deduce possible combinations in opponents’ hands.
- Prioritize quick combinations: In a quick game, it’s often wiser to form Pungs or Kongs rather than Chows.
- Mahjong is both a strategic and tactical game, where luck also has its role to play.
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