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Mahjong

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Games

   This article contains Chinese text.
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                     Mahjong
       Players     3-4
      Age range    > Any
     Setup time    2-30 minutes
    Playing time   0-3 hours
    Random chance  Yes
   Skills required Tactics, observation, memory

   Mahjong ( Traditional Chinese: 麻將; Simplified Chinese: 麻将; Hanyu
   Pinyin: Májiàng; Cantonese: Màhjeung; or Chinese: 麻将; Hanyu Pinyin:
   Májiàng; Cantonese: Màhjeuk; other common English spellings include
   mahjongg, majiang, and hyphenated forms such as mah-jong or mah-jongg)
   is a game for four players that originated in China.

   It involves skill, strategy, and calculation, as well as luck.
   Depending on the variation which is played, luck can be anything from a
   minor to a dominant factor in success. In Asia, mahjong is as popular
   as gambling or computer games.

   The object of the game is to build complete suits - or melds (usually
   of threes) - from either 13 or 16 tiles. The first person to achieve
   this goal wins the game. The winning tile completes the player's set of
   either 14 or 17 tiles.

History

Mahjong in China

   One of the myths of the origin of Mahjong suggests that Confucius, the
   great Chinese philosopher, had developed the game in about 500 BC. This
   assertion is likely to be apocryphal. According to this myth, the
   appearance of the game in the various Chinese states coincided with
   Confucius' travels at the time he was teaching his new doctrines. The
   three dragon (Cardinal) tiles also agree with the three Cardinal
   virtues bequeathed by Confucius. Zhōng (中 , lit. middle) the Red, Fā (發
   , lit. prosperity) the Green, Bái (白 , lit. white) the White represent
   Benevolence, Sincerity, and Filial piety respectively, again under this
   myth. In fact, the "middle" is likely a reference to 中国
   (zhōngguó)—China's name in Chinese.

   Also, this myth claims that Confucius was fond of birds, which would
   explain the name "Mahjong" (sparrow). However, there is no evidence of
   Mahjong's existence prior to the Taiping era in the 19th century which
   eliminates Confucius as a likely inventor.

   Another theory implies the game was developed from existing Chinese
   card and domino games sometime around 1850. Many historians believe it
   was based on a Chinese card game called Mádiào (馬吊) (also known as Ma
   Tiae, lit. Hanging Horse; or Yèzí (葉子), lit. Leaf) in the early Ming
   dynasty. This game was played with 40 paper cards similar in appearance
   to the cards used in the game Ya Pei. These forty cards, numbered 1 to
   9 in four different suits along with four extra flower cards, are quite
   alike to the numbering of Mahjong tiles today. There is still a healthy
   debate about who created the game. One theory is that Chinese army
   officers serving during the Taiping Rebellion created the game to pass
   the time. Another theory is that a noble living in the Shanghai area
   created the game between 1870 and 1875. Others believe that around 1850
   in the city of Níngpō two brothers had created Mahjong from the earlier
   game of Mádiào.

   This traditional Chinese game was banned in its homeland in 1949, when
   the People's Republic of China was founded. The new Communist
   government forbade any gambling activities, which were regarded as
   symbols of capitalist corruption. After the Cultural Revolution, the
   game was revived, and once again Mahjong has become one of the favorite
   pastimes of the Chinese. In Hong Kong, Macao and elsewhere however,
   mahjong has always been popular, particularly amongst the Cantonese.

Mahjong in the Western world

   Students in the United States learning how to play Mahjong
   Students in the United States learning how to play Mahjong

   By 1895, Stewart Culin, an American anthropologist, wrote a paper in
   which Mahjong was mentioned. This is the first known written account of
   Mahjong in any language other than Chinese. By 1910, there were written
   accounts in many languages including French and Japanese. An important
   English book was Joseph Park Babcock's Rules of Mah-Jongg, which,
   simplified in 1920, was simply known as the "red book". Although this
   was the earliest version of Mahjong that had been introduced to
   America, many of Babcock's simplifications were abandoned when the
   1920s fad died out.

   The game was a sensation in America when it was imported from China in
   the 1920s, as the same Mahjong game took on a number of trademarked
   names, such as Pung Chow or the Game of Thousand Intelligences. Part of
   Mahjong nights in America was to decorate rooms in Chinese style and
   dress like Chinese. Several hit songs were also recorded during the
   mahjong fad, most notably "Since Ma is Playing Mah Jong" by Eddie
   Cantor.

   American mahjong, which was mainly played by women during the time,
   grew from this craze. By the 1930s, many revisions of the rules
   developed that were substantially different from Babcock's classical
   version (including some that were considered fundamentals in other
   variants, such as the notion of a standard hand). Standardization came
   with the formation of the National Mah Jongg League in 1937, along with
   the first American mahjong rulebook, Maajh: The American Version of the
   Ancient Chinese Game.

   While mahjong was accepted by U.S. players of all ethnic backgrounds
   during the Babcock era, many consider the modern American version a
   Jewish game, as many American mahjong players are of Jewish descent.
   (Also, the NMJL was founded by Jewish players and considered a Jewish
   organization.) In addition, players usually use the American game as a
   family-friendly social activity, not as gambling.

   British author Alan D. Millington revived the Chinese Classical game of
   the 1920s with his book, The Complete Book of Mah-jongg (1977). This
   handbook includes a formal rules set for the game. Many players in
   Western countries consider Millington's work authoritative.

Current development

   Today, the popularity and the characteristics of players of Mahjong
   varies from country to country. There are also many governing bodies,
   which often host exhibition games and tournaments. It remains far more
   popular in Asia than in the West.

   In Japan, there is a traditional emphasis on gambling and the typical
   player is male. Many devotees there believe the game is losing
   popularity and have taken efforts to revive it. In addition, Japanese
   video arcades have introduced Mahjong arcade machines that can be
   connected to others over the internet, as well as video games that
   allow a victorious player to view pictures of women in varying stages
   of undress.

   Mahjong culture is still deeply ingrained in the Chinese community: Sam
   Hui wrote Cantopop songs, using mahjong as their themes. Hong Kong
   movies have always included scenes of mahjong games. Gambling movies
   have been filmed time and again in Hong Kong, and a recent sub-genre is
   the mahjong movie.

Variants

   Beijing residents playing Mahjong in public.
   Beijing residents playing Mahjong in public.

   There are many variations of mahjong. In many places, players often
   observe one version -- and are either unaware of other variations or
   claim that different versions are incorrect. Although many variations
   today differ only by scoring, there are several main varieties:
     * Chinese Classical Mahjong is the oldest variety of Mahjong, and was
       the version introduced to America in the 1920s under various names.
       It has a small, loyal following in the West, although few play it
       in Asia.
     * Hong Kong Mahjong or Cantonese Mahjong is possibly the most common
       form of Mahjong, differing in minor scoring details with the
       Chinese Classical variety.
     * Taiwanese Mahjong is the variety prevalent in Taiwan and involves
       hands of 16 tiles, as opposed to the 13-tile hands in other
       versions. It also features bonuses for dealers and recurring
       dealerships, and allows for multiple players to win from a single
       discard.
     * Japanese Mahjong is a standardized form of Mahjong in Japan, found
       prevalently in video games. In addition to scoring changes, the
       rules of riichi and dora are unique highlights of Japanese Mahjong.
     * Western Classical Mahjong is a descendant of the version of Mahjong
       introduced by Babcock to America in the 1920s. Today, this term
       largely refers to the Wright-Patterson rules, used in the U.S.
       military, and other similar American-made variants that are closer
       to the Babcock rules.
     * American Mahjong is a form of Mahjong standardized by the National
       Mah Jongg League and the American Mah-Jongg Association -- and
       makes the greatest divergence from traditional Mahjong. It uses
       Joker tiles, the Charleston, plus melds of five or more tiles, and
       eschews the Chow and the notion of a standard hand. Purists claim
       that this makes American Mahjong a separate game. In addition, the
       NMJL and AMJA variations, which differ by minor scoring
       differences, are commonly referred to as Mahjongg or Mah-jongg
       (with two Gs, often hyphenated).

   Other variants include Fujian Mahjong (with Dàidì Joker 帶弟百搭),
   Vietnamese Mahjong (with 16 different kinds of joker), and Filipino
   Mahjong (with the Window Joker). In addition, Pussers Bones is a
   fast-moving variant developed by sailors in the Royal Australian Navy;
   it uses a creative alternative vocabulary, such as Eddie, Sammy, Wally,
   and Normie instead of East, South, West, and North.'

Competition rules

   The top three of the World Championship in Mahjong, Tokyo, October
   2002. In the middle: world champion Mai Hatsune from Japan.
   The top three of the World Championship in Mahjong, Tokyo, October
   2002. In the middle: world champion Mai Hatsune from Japan.
   The first Open European Mahjong Championship, Nijmegen, the
   Netherlands, June 2005.
   The first Open European Mahjong Championship, Nijmegen, the
   Netherlands, June 2005.

   In 1998, in the interest of changing mahjong from an illegal gambling
   game to an approved 'healthy sport', the China State Sports Commission
   published a new set of rules, now generally referred to as Chinese
   Official rules or International Tournament rules. The principles of the
   new, ‘healthy’ mahjong are: no gambling – no drinking – no smoking. In
   international tournaments, players are often grouped in teams to
   emphasize that mahjong from now on is considered a sport.

   The new rules are highly pattern-based. The rulebook contains 81
   combinations, based on patterns and scoring elements popular in both
   classic and modern regional Chinese variants. Some table practices of
   Japan have also been adopted. Points for flower tiles (each flower is
   worth 1 point) may not be added until the player has scored 8 points.
   The winner of a game receives the score from the player who discard the
   winning tile, plus 8 basic points from each player; in the case of zimo
   (self drawn win), he receives the value of this round plus 8 points
   from all players.

   The new rules were used in an international tournament first in Tokyo,
   where in 2002 the first World Championship in Mahjong was organized by
   the Mahjong Museum, the Japan Mahjong Organizing Committee and the city
   council of Ningbo, China, the town where it is believed mahjong most
   likely originated. One hundred players participated, mainly from Japan
   and China, but also from Europe and the United States. Miss Mai Hatsune
   from Japan became the first world champion. The following year saw the
   first annual China Majiang Championship, held in Hainan. The next two
   annual tournaments were held in Hong Kong and Beijing. Most players
   were Chinese, but players from other nations attended as well.

   In 2005 the first Open European Mahjong Championship was held in the
   Netherlands, with 108 players competing. The championship was won by
   Masato Chiba from Japan. The second European championship will be held
   in Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 21~24, 2007. The Second World Mahjong
   Championship will probably take place in Chengdu, China, 1~5 November,
   2007. The 'International Rules' were slightly modified in 2006 by the
   China based World Mahjong Organization and are now called Mahjong
   Competition Rules.

   Critics say that the new rules are unlikely to achieve great popularity
   outside of tournaments. They argue that regional versions are too
   well-entrenched, while the Mahjong Competition Rules use many
   unfamiliar patterns. The new mahjong's advocates claim that it meant to
   be a standard for international events, not to replace existing
   variations.

Equipment

   Basic equipment: chips, tiles and dice.
   Basic equipment: chips, tiles and dice.

   Mahjong, can be played either with a set of Mahjong tiles, or a set of
   Mahjong playing cards (sometimes spelled 'kards' to distinguish them
   from the list of standard hands used in American mahjong); one brand of
   Mahjong cards calls these Mhing. Playing cards are often used when
   travelling as it reduces space and is lighter than their tile
   counterparts, but are of a lower quality in return. In this article,
   "tile" will be used to denote both playing cards and tiles.

   Many Mahjong sets will also include a set of chips or bone tiles for
   scoring, as well as indicators denoting the dealer and the prevailing
   wind of the round. Some sets may also include racks to hold tiles or
   chips (although in many sets the tiles are generally sufficiently thick
   so that they can stand on their own), with one of them being different
   to denote the dealer's rack.

   Computer implementations of Mahjong are also available: these allow you
   to play against computer opponents, or against human opponents on the
   Internet.

   A set of Mahjong tiles will usually differ from place to place. It
   usually has at least 136 tiles, most commonly 144, although sets
   originating from America or Japan will have more. Mahjong tiles are
   split into these categories: suits, honour and flowers.

Suits:

     * Dots: named as each tile consists of a number of circles. Each
       circle is said to represent copper (銅, tóng) coins with a square
       hole in the middle.

   Image:MJt1.png Image:MJt2.png Image:MJt3.png Image:MJt4.png
   Image:MJt5.png Image:MJt6.png Image:MJt7.png Image:MJt8.png
   Image:MJt9.png
     * Bamboos: named as each tile (except the 1 Bamboo) consists of a
       number of bamboo sticks. Each stick is said to represent a string
       (索, sǔo) that holds a hundred coins. Note that 1 Bamboo is an
       exception. It has a bird sitting on a Bamboo. This is a belief that
       players cannot draw or add bamboo sticks to 1 Bamboo to change the
       tile to some other Bamboo.

   Image:MJs1.png Image:MJs2.png Image:MJs3.png Image:MJs4.png
   Image:MJs5.png Image:MJs6.png Image:MJs7.png Image:MJs8.png
   Image:MJs9.png
     * Characters: named as each tile represents ten thousand (萬, wàn)
       coins, or one hundred strings of one hundred coins.

   Image:MJw1.png Image:MJw2.png Image:MJw3.png Image:MJw4.png
   Image:MJw5.png Image:MJw6.png Image:MJw7.png Image:MJw8.png
   Image:MJw9.png

Honour:

     * Wind tiles: East (東, dōng), South (南, nán), West (西, xī), and North
       (北, běi).

   Image:MJf1.png Image:MJf2.png Image:MJf3.png Image:MJf4.png
     * Dragon tiles: red, green, and white. The term dragon tile is a
       western convention introduced by Joseph Park Babcock in his 1920
       book introducing Mahjong to America. Originally, these tiles are
       said to have something to do with the Chinese Imperial Examination.
       The red tile ("中"榜, zhōngbǎng) means you pass the examination and
       thus will be appointed a government official. The green tile ("發"財,
       fācái) means, consequently you will become financially well off.
       The white tile (a clean board) means that because a person is doing
       well they should act like a good, incorrupt official. In the
       original Chinese Majiong, the piece called "箭" (jiàn), represents
       archery, the red "中" represents a hit on the target. In ancient
       Chinese archery, one would put a red "中" to signify that the target
       was hit. White represents failure, green "發" means that one will
       release the draw.

   Image:MJd1.png Image:MJd2.png Image:MJd3.png

Flower:

     * Flower tiles: The last category and typically optional components
       to a set of mahjong tiles, often contain artwork on their tiles.

   Image:MJh1.png Image:MJh2.png Image:MJh3.png Image:MJh4.png
   Image:MJh5.png Image:MJh6.png Image:MJh7.png Image:MJh8.png

   The suits of the tiles are money-based. In ancient China, the copper
   coins had a square hole in the centre. People passed a rope through the
   holes to tie coins into strings. These strings are usually in groups of
   100 coins called diào (弔 or variant 吊) or 1000 coins called guàn (貫).
   Mahjong's connection to the ancient Chinese currency system is
   consistent with its alleged derivation from the game named mǎ diào
   (馬吊).

   In the mahjong suits, the coppers represent the coins; the ropes are
   actually strings of 100 coins; and the character myriad represents
   10,000 coins or 100 strings. When a hand received the maximium allowed
   winning of a round, it is called màn guàn (滿貫, lit. full string of
   coin.)

Setting up the board

   The following sequence is for setting up a standard Hong Kong (or
   Singapore) game. Casual or beginning players may wish to proceed
   directly to gameplay. Shuffling the tiles is needed before piling up.

Prevailing Wind and Game Wind

   To determine the Player Game Wind (門風 or 自風), each player throws three
   dice (two in some variants) and the player with the highest total is
   chosen as the dealer or the banker (莊家). The dealer's Wind is now East,
   the player to the right of the dealer has South wind, the next player
   to the right has West and the fourth player has North. Game Wind
   changes after every round, unless the dealer wins. In some variations,
   the longer the dealer remains as the dealer, the higher the value of
   each hand.

   The Prevailing Wind (場風) is always set to East when starting. It
   changes after the Game Wind has rotated around the board, that is,
   after each player has lost as the dealer.

   A Mahjong set with Winds in play will usually include a separate
   Prevailing Wind marker (typically a die marked with the Wind characters
   in a holder) and a pointer that can be oriented towards the dealer to
   show Player Game Wind. In sets with racks, a rack may be marked
   differently to denote the dealer.

   These winds are also significant as winds are often associated with a
   member of a Flower tile group, typically 1 with East, 2 with South, 3
   with West, and 4 with North.

Dealing tiles

   All tiles are placed face down and shuffled. Each player then stacks a
   row of tiles two deep in front of him, the length of the row depending
   on the number of tiles in use:
     * 136 tiles: 17 tiles for all players
     * 144 tiles: 18 tiles for all players
     * 148 tiles: 19 tiles for dealer and player opposite, 18 for rest
     * 152 tiles: 19 tiles for all players

   The dealer throws three dice and sums up the total. Counting
   counterclockwise so that the dealer is '1', a player's row is chosen.
   Starting at the right edge, 'sum' tiles are counted and shifted to the
   right.

   The dealer now takes a block of 4 tiles to the left of the divide.

   The player to the dealer's right takes 4 tiles to the left, and players
   (counterclockwise) take blocks of 4 tiles (clockwise) until all players
   have 12 tiles for 13-tile variations and 16 for 16-tile variations. In
   13-tile variations, each player then takes one more tile to make a
   13-tile hand. In practice, in order to speed up the dealing procedure,
   the dealer often takes one extra tile during the dealing procedure to
   start their turn.

   The board is now ready and new tiles will be taken from the wall where
   the dealing left off, proceeding clockwise. In some special cases
   discussed later, tiles are taken from the other end of the wall,
   commonly referred to as the back end of the wall. In some variations, a
   group of tiles at the back end, known as the dead wall, is reserved for
   this purpose instead. In such variations, the dead wall may be visually
   separated from the main wall, but it is not required.

   Unless the dealer has already won (see below), the dealer then discards
   a tile. The dealing process with tiles is ritualized and complex to
   prevent cheating. Casual players, or players with Mahjong playing
   cards, may wish to simply shuffle well and deal out the tiles with
   fewer ceremonial procedures.

Charleston

   In the American variations, it is required that before each hand
   begins, a Charleston is enacted. This consists of a procedure where
   three tiles are passed to the player on one's right, followed by three
   tiles passed to the player opposite, followed by three tiles passed to
   the left. If all players are in agreement, a second Charleston is
   performed, however, any player may decide to stop passing after the
   first Charleston is complete. The Charleston(s) are followed by an
   optional pass to the player across of one, two or three tiles. This is
   a distinctive feature of American-style Mahjong that may have been
   borrowed from card games.

Gameplay

   Each player is dealt either 13 tiles for 13-tile variations or 16 tiles
   for 16-tile variations.

   A turn involves a player drawing a tile from the wall (or draw pile)
   and then placing it in his or her hand. The player then discards a tile
   onto the table. This signals the end of his or her turn, prompting the
   player to the right to make his or her move. As a form of courtesy,
   each player is encouraged to announce loudly the name of the tile being
   discarded. Many variations require that discarded tiles be placed in an
   orderly fashion in front of the player, while some require that these
   be placed face down.

   During gameplay, the number of tiles maintained by each player should
   always be the same, ie. 13 or 16. A player must discard a tile after
   picking up one. Failure to do so rules that player effectively out of
   winning (since a winning combination could never be built with one
   extra tile or less), but he or she is obliged to continue until someone
   else wins.

   When three players ditch the West tile, the fourth player will usually
   avoid discarding another West the following turn. That is caused by a
   superstition that, when all the players discard a West ("西") together,
   all players will die ("歸西") or be cursed with bad luck (see
   Tetraphobia). Also, during the West Prevailing Wind Round, players will
   also avoid ditching the One Circle during the first move because One
   Circle in Chinese sounds like together.

Flower tiles

   Flower tiles, when dealt or drawn, must be immediately replaced by a
   tile from the dead wall, or if no dead wall exists, the back end of the
   wall. They are immediately exposed (placed in view on the table on
   front of the player's tiles). At the start of each round, where two or
   more players may have flower tiles, flower tiles are replaced starting
   with the dealer and moving to the right. Flower tiles may or may not
   have point value; and in some variations, possession of all the flower
   tiles wins the round regardless of the actual contents of the hand.

   In American Mahjong, however, Flower tiles are not instantly exposed
   and replaced, as they may be melded with other Flower tiles in the same
   group (in essence, they are treated as if they were another set of
   honour tiles) or be used as a requirement of a winning hand. Early
   versions of American Mahjong used Flower tiles as Joker tiles.

Joker tiles

   A feature of several variations, most notably American variations of
   Mahjong, is the notion of wild card or Joker tiles. They may be used as
   a substitute for any tile in a hand (or, in some variations, only tiles
   in melds). Depending on the variation, a player may replace a Joker
   tile that is part of an exposed meld belonging to any player with the
   tile it represents.

   Rules governing discarding Joker tiles also exist: some variations
   permit the Joker tile to take on the identity of any tile, and others
   only permit the Joker tile to take on the identity of the previously
   discarded tile (or the absence of a tile, if it is the first discard).

   Joker tiles may or may not have an impact on scoring, depending on the
   variation. Some special hands may require the use of Joker tiles (for
   example, to represent a "fifth tile" of a certain suited or honour
   tile).

   In American Mahjong, it is illegal to pass jokers during the
   Charleston.

Melds

   When a player discards a tile, any other player may "call" or "bid" for
   it in order to complete a meld (a certain set of tiles) in his or her
   own hand. The disadvantage of doing this is that the player must now
   expose the completed meld to the other players, giving them an idea of
   what type of hand he or she is creating. This also creates an element
   of strategy, as in many variations, discarding a tile that allows
   another player to win the game causes the discarding player to lose
   points (or pay the winner more in a game for money).

   Most variants (again, with the notable exception of American Mahjong)
   allow three types of melds. When a meld is declared through a discard,
   the player must state the type of the meld to be declared and place the
   meld face-up. The player must then discard a tile, and play continues
   to the right. Because of this, turns may be skipped in the process.
     * Pong or Pung (碰 pinyin peng, Japanese ポンpon) - A pong or pung is a
       set of three identical tiles. In American Mahjong, where it is
       possible to meld Flower tiles, a pong may also refer to a meld of
       three of the four flower tiles in a single group. American Mahjong
       may also have hands requiring a knitted triplet - three tiles of
       identical rank but of three different suits. For example: ; ; ; .

     * Kong (槓/杠 pinyin gang, Japanese カンkan) - A kong is a set of four
       identical tiles. Because all other melds contain three tiles, a
       Kong must be immediately exposed when explicitly declared. If the
       fourth tile is formed from a discard, it is said to be an exposed
       Kong (明槓/明杠, pinyin ming gang). If all four tiles were formed in
       the hand, it is said to be a concealed Kong (暗槓/暗杠, pinyin an
       gang). In some forms of play, the outer two tiles of a concealed
       Kong are flipped to indicate its concealed status. It is also
       possible to form an exposed Kong if the player has an exposed Pung
       and draws the fourth tile. In any case, a player must draw an extra
       tile from the back end of the wall (or from the dead wall, if it
       exists) and discard as normal. Play then continues to the right.
       Once a Kong is formed, it cannot be split up (say, if you wanted to
       instead use one tile as part of a Chow), and thus, it may be
       advantageous not to immediately declare a Kong. For example: ;

     * Chow (吃 chi, in some versions 上 shang Japanese チー) - A chow is a
       meld of three suited tiles in sequence. Unlike other melds, an
       exposed Chow may only be declared off the discard of the player on
       the left. The only exception is when the player needs that tile to
       form a chow to win. In this case, a chow can be declared at any 3
       opponents' turns. American Mahjong does not have a formal chow
       (that is, you cannot declare chows), but some hands may require
       that similar sequences be constructed in the hand. Some American
       variations may also have the knitted sequence, where the three
       tiles are of three different suits. Sequences of higher length are
       usually not permissible (unless it forms more than one meld). For
       example: ; ; ;

     * Eye (將 jiang, in some versions 眼 yan, also Pair) -The pair, while
       not a meld (and thus, cannot be declared or formed with a discard),
       is the final component to the standard hand. It consists of any two
       identical tiles. Two are the eyes in this case:

   Note that American mahjong hands may have tile constructions that are
   not melds, such as "NEWS" (having one of each wind). As they are not
   melds, they cannot be formed off discards, and in some variations,
   cannot be constructed in part or in whole by Joker tiles.

   When two or more players call for a discarded tile, a player taking the
   tile to win the hand has precedence over all others, followed by pong
   or kong declarations, and lastly chows. In American Mahjong, where it
   may be possible for two players needing the same tile for melds, the
   meld of a higher number of identical tiles takes precedence. If two or
   more players call for a meld of the same precedence (or to win), the
   player closest to the right wins out (but the game may be declared an
   abortive draw if two or more players call a tile for the win, again
   depending on the variation). In particular, if a call to win overrides
   a call to form a kong, such a move is called robbing the Kong, and may
   give a scoring bonus.

   There is generally an informal convention as to the amount of time
   allowed to make a call for a discarded tile before the next player
   takes their turn. In American Mahjong, this "window of opportunity" is
   explicitly stated in the rules, whereas in other variants, it is
   generally considered that when the next player's turn starts (i.e. the
   tile leaves the wall), the opportunity has been lost.

Ready hands

   When a hand is one tile short of winning (for example: , waiting for: ,
   or as can be eyes), the hand is said to be a ready hand (Traditional
   Chinese: 聽牌 Simplified Chinese: 听牌 Japanese: テンパイ), or more
   figuratively, "on the pot". The player holding a ready hand is said to
   be waiting for certain tiles. It is common to be waiting for two or
   three tiles, and some variations award points for a hand that is
   waiting for one tile. In 13-tile Mahjong, the most amount of tiles that
   you can wait for is 13 (the thirteen terminals, a nonstandard special
   hand).

   Some variations of Mahjong, most notably Japanese variations, allow a
   player to declare riichi (立直 - sometimes known as reach as it is
   phonetically similar). A declaration of riichi is a promise that any
   tile drawn by the player is immediately discarded unless it constitutes
   a win. A player who declares riichi and wins usually receives a point
   bonus for their hand, while a player who declares riichi and loses is
   usually penalized in some fashion. When four players declare a riichi,
   the game is a draw. Declaring a nonexistent riichi is penalized.

Draws

   If only the dead wall remains and no one has won, the round is drawn
   (流局 liu ju, Japanese Ryuukyoku) or " goulashed". A new round begins,
   and depending on the variant, game wind may change. For example, in
   most playing circles in Singapore, if there is at least one Kong in the
   round by any player, the following player becomes the dealer for the
   next round. If there is no Kong, then the existing dealer remains as
   the dealer for the next round.

Abortive draws

   In Japanese Mahjong, abortive draws (draws where the game is declared
   drawn while tiles are available) are possible. They can be declared
   under the following conditions:
     * 九種么九倒牌 (kyuu shu yao kyuu tou pai): If, on a player's first turn,
       and with no melds declared, a player has nine different terminal or
       honour tiles, the player may declare the round to be drawn (for
       example: ; but could also go for the nonstandard thirteen terminals
       hand as well).
     * 三家和 (san ka agari): If three players claim the same discard in
       order to win the round, the round is drawn.
     * 四風子連打 (suu fontsu renda): If, on the first turn without any meld
       declarations, all four players discard the same wind tile, the hand
       is drawn.
     * 四家立直 (suu ka riichi): If all four players declare riichi, the round
       is drawn.
     * 四槓流れ (suu kan nagare): The round is drawn when the fourth kong is
       declared, unless all four kongs were declared by a single player.
       In this case, the round is drawn when another player declares a
       kong.

Winning

   A player wins the round (Chinese: 糊, hu，　Japanese:ロン ) by creating a
   standard mahjong hand (in Western Classical variants, this is known as
   creating a Mahjong, and the process of winning is called going Mahjong)
   which consists of a certain number of melds, four for 13-tile
   variations and five for 16-tile variations, and a pair. Some variations
   may also require that winning hands be of some point value.

   If the player wins by drawing a tile from a wall during his turn, a
   special name is given to this type of win in Chinese and
   Japanese(Chinese: 自摸, Japanese: ツモ).

   Variations may also have special nonstandard hands that a player can
   make (in this sense, American Mahjong is a variant where only special
   hands exist).

Turns and rounds

   If the dealer wins the game, they will stay as the dealer. Otherwise,
   the player to the right becomes dealer and the player's wind becomes
   the Game Wind, in the sequence East-South-West-North.

   After the wind returns to East (ie. each player has been the dealer), a
   round is complete and the Prevailing Wind will change, again in the
   sequence East-South-West-North. A full game of mahjong ends after 4
   rounds, ie. when the North Prevailing Wind round is over. It is often
   regarded as an unlucky act to stop the gameplay at the West round, as
   West has a similar sound to death in Chinese.

   It is also generally considered poor etiquette to touch the shoulders
   of someone during the game as this is said to give bad luck to the
   player.

Scoring

   Scoring in Mahjong involves points, with a monetary value for points
   agreed upon by players. Although in many variations scoreless hands are
   possible, many require that hands be of some point value in order to
   win the round.

   While the basic gameplay is more or less the same throughout mahjong,
   the greatest divergence between variations lies in the scoring systems.
   Like the gameplay, there is a generalized system of scoring, based on
   the method of winning and the winning hand, from which Chinese and
   Japanese (among notable systems) base their roots. American mahjong
   generally has greatly divergent scoring rules (as well as greatly
   divergent gameplay rules).

   Because of the large differences between the various systems of scoring
   (especially for Chinese variants), groups of players will often agree
   on particular scoring rules before a game. As with gameplay, many
   attempts have been made to create an international standard of scoring,
   but most are not widely accepted.

   Points (terminology of which differs from variation to variation) are
   obtained by matching the winning hand and the winning condition with a
   specific set of criteria, with different criteria scoring different
   values. Some of these criteria may be subsets of other criteria (for
   example, having a meld of one Dragon versus having a meld of all of
   them), and in these cases, only the most general criterion is scored.
   The points obtained may be translated into scores for each player using
   some (typically exponential) functions. When gambling with mahjong,
   these scores are typically directly translated into sums of money. Some
   criteria may be also in terms of both points and score.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahjong"
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