The rules of Mahjong differ depending on the difficulty level. We want to introduce you to a simple variant of the Chinese game for beginners that you can also play with your children.
Mahjong: The rules explained in an understandable way
Mahjong is an ancient Chinese parlour game. The rules can vary depending on who is playing. With children, it is advisable to choose an easier version to start with. You can play the game with two or four players. It is best to sit around a square table to play. The game box contains 144 or 136 rectangular playing pieces, also called tiles, and two dice. Symbols are printed on the playing pieces: dragons, coins, bamboo, numbers and winds. You will use these to form your figures later. There are also bonus tiles (flower tiles and season tiles).
- First, shuffle the tiles facing down. With 144 tiles, each player now gets 36 tiles and builds them in two rows, one on top of the other, with 18 tiles each, in front of them. The tiles face down. The finished rows are pushed together at the corners to form a square wall.
- Now each player rolls the dice once. The player with the highest number becomes the game leader and may start. The game is played in a clockwise direction. But first, each player takes 13 stones from the wall, but in such a way that the square wall is preserved. The drawn stones are placed in front of you so that the other players cannot see what is on them.
- Each player has the goal of getting four figures (triplet (three identical tiles), row (three consecutive numbers of the same base color) and a pair (two identical tiles). If you succeed, you win the game round. You call out “Mah Jongg” and show your tiles to the other players. The winner is then the game master for the next round. There are also quadruplets (Kong), but then you have to draw an extra tile from the wall to balance the fourth tile.
- Now it starts and the player who starts draws a stone from the wall. He can either place it openly in the middle of the wall or – if he can use it for his figures – place another stone from his 13 stones in the middle.
- As soon as a player places a piece in the middle of the wall that another player can use to form a figure, the other player may call “pong” for a triple or “kong” for a quadruplet and take the piece. However, as proof, the player must then place his figure face up in the middle of the wall. For a quadruplet, an additional piece is taken from the wall. When a row is completed, you shout “chow”. However, you can only take a number from the middle if it is your turn. In this case, the row is also uncovered.
- Tip: When buying your tiles, you should make sure that small Arabic numbers or letters are also printed in the top corner. This makes it easier for you and your children to play.
Classic computer game: Rules of PC Mahjong
Mahjong is also available as a computer game – however, this is different from the above-mentioned variant and is more like the well-known memory game. The rules of this Mahjong variant are not difficult and can be learned in a few minutes. The aim of the game is to remove all tiles from the board. This is how it works:
- Depending on the variant, you have to remove all the tiles with as high a score as possible or as quickly as possible. You achieve this by always clicking on two tiles with the same motif. These are then removed and you can search for the next identical motifs.
- You cannot click on tiles that have neighbors to the right and left. You also cannot select tiles that still have a tile above them. So you can only use tiles that either have only one tile to the right or left or that are completely free.
- Always try to remove the tiles that will uncover new tiles for you. If a combination will uncover few or no tiles, leave it for later.
- Try to clear the horizontal lines first, as these are usually more difficult to remove.
- You can also download and install Mahjong on your PC. There is a free version in our download area.
