How to Play Mahjong - The Unique American Way

If you don't yet know how to play Mahjong (American Mahjong) you are really missing out big time! Mahjong is a great strategic tile game which is social, addictive and will keep you and your family or friends entertained for hours! Don't hesitate, get up to speed with the Mahjong rules and join or form a Mahjong group.

American Mahjong is generally played with four people, but can also be played with three. The game is played with tiles. There are three suits - bam, crack and dot. The goal of Mahjong is to build a winning hand. Each hand is made up of a combination of tiles. Tiles are chosen and used or discarded until a player completes a hand. Some hands are more difficult to make than others. Understanding how winning hands are constructed is part and parcel of learning how to play mahjong.

Mahjong, which originated in China, remains an incredibly popular game today. American Mahjong is based on the original Chinese games but differs in a few key ways. In American Mahjong rules a "Charleston" occurs after the initial deal. This step is obligatory. Unwanted tiles are discarded in the 'Charleston' sequence, generally resulting in a player being much closer to a winning mahjong hand. A courtesy pass may also follow the Charleston if two players sitting across each other agree. In American Mahjong rules there are more special hands than in the Chinese form of the game. The hand consists of a combination of quint, pung, kong, pair or single tiles. Another key difference is that jokers are used in the American form of the game.

You will find that American Mahjong will provide your family and friends hours of fun, excitement and entertainment. If you are willing to take the risk of becoming a Mahjong addict then learn how to play mahjongg today. Learning how to play mahjongg used to be a extremely difficult, but now learning how to play mahjong is easier than ever.

Mah Jong Game Rules and Procedures Explained

An ancient and traditional Chinese game, Jah Jong has gone global in many forms. There are Chinese, Japanese, and even American versions of the rules. The game, no matter which way you play, involves a little luck, some skill, and a dash of intelligence. In fact, the name actually means "the game of a hundred intelligences." The game, traditionally, has been used as a gambling game in China.

Usually, Mah Jong is played by four people, however; it may be played by as few as two or as many as five people. In a full game of Mah Jong, there are 16 hands played. They are played in four rounds. Each round is named after a direction: east first, then south, then west, and finally north. Each of the players actually as a direction or wind corresponding with the order they play. The first player, or east, is determined by a roll of the dice.

The next part of Mah Jong game rules and procedures explained is to build the wall. This is done by arranging the tiles in stacks. There are 18 stacks formed once the tiles have been mixed well. The stack is broken and tiles are handed out among all of the players so that each player ends up with 13 tiles. The rest of the tiles will stay in the middle and are known as the wall.

Maj Jong game rules and procedures next include each player discarding tiles and drawing from the wall. The idea is to get 4 sets and a pair of tiles. A set is a sequence of three in a row of the same suit, known as a CHOW (like a mini straight flush in poker). You can also get three of a kind, or PUNG. Finally, four of a kind is also a set and is known as a KONG. Once a player has gotten four sets and one pair, the game ends. If nobody wins and the wall is gone, there is ad raw. There are many scoring variations depending on where you are playing and with whom you are playing.

There are a number of mah jong rules that have been formulated for international competition. There are world championships held around the world. Not only is it now a gambling game, but also an international sport. The international rules were used for the first time in 2002, which is when the first World Championship tournament was played. This new set of rules combines traditional scoring with many of the modern elements that have formed through the years.

Mah Jong is a game that is sweeping the world. Though simple, its tradition reaches far into Chinese history as a gambling game. Today, though, the game is played to gamble, for fun, and for sport. With the development of world tournaments, the game of mah jong has become global and a part of popular world culture. So pick up some tiles and be part of the movement. Sit down at that table and you will be addicted to the skill, intelligence, and luck of it in a matter of just a few hands.