The objective of the tile-based game Mahjong is for each player to create four sets and one pair of tiles first. Any two of the same tile make up a pair. Three identical tiles (Pung), three same-suit tiles (Chow), or four identical tiles (Kong) make up a set. If this doesn't work, you can still win by outscoring your rivals in points.

The Fundamentals of Mahjong Play

- A typical mahjong game has four players.
- A total of 144 numbered tiles featuring various images are used in the game: 36 bamboo, 36 circles, 36 characters, 16 wind, and 12 dragon.
- During gameplay, dice are used to identify who is the dealer.
- To create four sets and one pair of tiles before the other player is the aim. It's the same idea as drawing winning poker hands.
- Any two tiles that are identical constitute a pair. Three identical tiles (Pung), three tiles from the same suit (Chow), or four identical tiles (Kong) make up a set.
- In a set, no tile may be used more than once.

Understanding Mahjong Tiles

Most games use 136 tiles without bonuses, although 144 tiles were previously used, with 8 bonus symbols (4 flowers and 4 seasons). The following tiles can be used in a mahjong game:

Row 1: Circles

There are 36 circle tiles, also called dots (four identical groups of nine tiles). In Chinese, circles with nine or more circles on them are referred to as 筒子tǒngzi.

Row 2: Bamboos

36 bamboo tiles total—four sets of nine identical tiles each. The first bamboo, called 竹zhú in Chinese, typically represents a bird, whereas the remaining bamboos are stick bamboos.

Row 3: Characters

Another set of 36 tiles are called character tiles (four sets of nine identical tiles). They write the Chinese characters 1 through 9 along with the character's meaning, 渇 wàn, on the tile.

Row 4: Winds and Dragons

16 wind tiles total—four sets of four similar tiles each. The directions are represented by each group of four (east, south, west, and north). This is the order that wind tiles, or 风牌 Fēngpái, are always in.

Twelve dragon tiles total—four sets of three identical tiles each. They show white, green, and red dragons. Known in Chinese as 渉煃牌 Sān yuán pái, the white dragon tiles may be blank, but the dragon symbols are their corresponding colors.

Row 5: Seasons/Flowers

In certain mahjong versions, bonus tiles consist of four flower and four season symbols. Even if they are not included in your version, it is still beneficial to be aware of them when learning how to play Chinese mahjong.

Mahjong Game Instructions: Step-by-Step

You have practically mastered the game of mahjong, whether online and offline, after you understand the tiles and basic guidelines! Let's now examine the gameplay:

Set Up The Game

1. Each player receives one wind tile from the shuffled dealer. This establishes the players' positions with respect to the symbol (north, west, south, east) in a clockwise manner. In several games, the dealer is determined by rolling the dice.

2. Every mahjong tile is shuffled simultaneously, and each player builds a 34-tile “wall” that faces downward. A wall can only be two tiles high and 17 tiles long. All of this occurs automatically while playing online, so you won't have to build it yourself.

3. The dealer now throws the dice to decide where to place the first tile from the stacked tile "wall" to be dealt. When counting from the right side, the number that appears on the dice corresponds to a certain location on the wall. This adds a degree of unpredictability to the distribution of tiles.

4. After that, the wall is divided, or "broken." From the left of the wall's split, the dealer will now distribute tiles to the players in a clockwise direction. Thirteen tiles are dealt to each player; the dealer receives an additional tile.

5. After that, participants can arrange their tiles such that they face one another and are hidden from view.

Remove And Gather Tiles

1. With that, the dealer discards a tile, and the player seated to the dealer's right initiates play.

2. The objective of the first player is to construct a winning combination, or "meld," by drawing a tile from the wall and discarding one. The player after them follows suit, and so forth.

3. A player can claim each tile that is discarded in order to assist them in creating a winning meld of 14 tiles.

4. The next tile from the wall's open side is taken if no player claims the tile that was discarded.

5. As before, discard this tile and carry on with the game if it is not helpful.

6. A player wins the game when they call "Mah Jong" after making a pair and four sets of tiles.

How to Become a Winner at Mahjong

Being the first player to form a pair and four sets of tiles is necessary to win in mahjong. Three fundamental tile sets exist:

Pung: Three of any kind of similar tiles, for example, three Green Dragons.
Kong: Any four similar tiles, for example, four times two circles.
Chow: Three tiles in a row of the same suit, as Bamboo's 4-5-6.

You win the game when you call "Mah Jong" after gathering all the required tiles. You can also win by outscoring your opponents in points if you don't win four sets and a pair.

Points for Mahjong

- A Pung receives two points for being seen and four for being hidden.

- If uncovered, a Pung of 1s and 9s, dragons, or winds receives four points; if concealed, it receives eight.

- A Kong receives 16 points when hidden and 8 points when exposed.

- A Kong of 1s and 9s awards 16 points if exposed and 32 if hidden to dragons or winds.

- A season or bloom receives four points.

- Two points are awarded for two dragons or winds.

- Chows don't score, but they can assist form a meld that could result in a 14-tile set that wins

How to Play Two-Player Mahjong

Mahjong is a game that can be played by two people in addition to four players. Two-player mahjong does not involve changing the rules of the game; instead, players are given two racks of tiles to play with, and they must win both. To put it another way, it just doubles everything and makes one player act like two players.

Thus, you construct two walls and try to play Mah Jong twice. In certain two-player versions, players just take shuffled tiles from the center of the table in the absence of any boundaries. In any case, the gameplay is identical to that of normal mahjong with the exception that the dealer receives 28 tiles while the other player receives 27.

How to Play Three-Player Mahjong 

Although it's simple to learn, three-player mahjong differs from two-player mahjong in its principles. The gameplay of three-player mahjong is precisely the same as that of conventional four-player versions, without doubling up everything for players. The dealer will only deal tiles to the three players; the other four walls are constructed normally. To put it another way, gaming begins from the East rather than the North, and one wall is practically empty.