Mahjong
Setup
Building the Wall
Place all the tiles face-down on the table and shuffle them.Then,build them into a square structure known as the Wall.If you have Flowers and Seasons (for a total of 144 tiles),then each side will be eighteen tiles long; if you don't (for a total of 136 tiles),then each side will be seventeen tiles long.In either case,it is two tiles high and one tile deep.Place the tiles face-down with the long axis of the tile prependicular to the long axis of the section of wall it's in.
Breaking the Wall
The current East rolls the dice,and counts around the table to determine a player,who then rolls the dice again and counts that many tiles from the end of his or her section of wall.Staring with East,each player in turn takes four tiles at a time from the wall (a section two tiles wide and two tall),repeating until everyone has twelve tiles.East then takes the next tile from the edge of the wall,and the tile two over.Each other player then takes one tile,leaving the tile under the last tile East took as the next tile to be drawn when the game actually begins.The seventh pair of tiles from the other end of the wall is taken up,and a tile is placed on top of the last and third-to-last pairs in the wall.These fourteen tiles separated from the rest of the Wall form the Dead Wall.
Gameplay
Object of the Game
The object is to collect a set of fourteen tiles grouped into four melds of three tiles each and a matched pair.The melds can be either three identical tiles,known as a Pung,or a straight of three tiles of one suit marked with consecutive numbers,known as a Chow.(Actually,sets of four identical tiles,known as a Kong,can also be used to make up the melds,but they're described in more detail below,as they're more complicated.)
Standard Order of Play
The player whose turn it currently is will have fourteen tiles in his or her hand (actually,they may have more,due to Kongs,as explained below),while all others will have thirteen.East has fourteen to start with,and goes first.If they somehow have four melds and a pair,this termed a "Hand from Heaven",and East instantly wins the round,scoring the maximum number of points possible.Normally,however,East must simply continue as with a normal turn.
On a player's turn,he or she will have fourteen tiles,and must choose one tile and discard it face up into the courtyard in the center of the wall.If the next player could form a Chow using that tile and two from his hand,then he may call it,and place it and the other two tiles face up in front of his hand.It is then his turn.Alternately,if any player has two tiles identical to the one discarded,he may call it for a Pung,and place the three tiles face up in front of his hand,and it is then that player's turn,regardless whose turn it would normally have been next.Additionally,if another player has the other three of the discarded tile,he may claim it for a Kong,and place all four tiles face up in front of his hand.He then draws a loose tile from the top of the dead wall,and will have one more tile in his hand for the rest of the round.If this was the last loose tile,he takes up the last two tiles from the regular wall and places them on top of the dead wall as was done during setup.A claim for a Pung or a Kong takes precedence over a claim for a Chow.(Multiple claims for a Pungs or Kongs cannot happen,as there are only four of any given tile.) If no one wants the discarded tile,then it is out of play for the rest of the round,and the next player simply draws a tile (without showing it to the other players) from the front of the wall,and then takes his or her turn.
If a player forms a Chow or a Pung using only tiles drawn from the wall,he should keep it hidden in his hand until he can win.Not only is it worth more points this way,but other players don't know how close to victory he is,and he can still arrange those tiles into other melds if it becomes convenient,unlike exposed melds on the table.If a player gets four of a kind in his hand,he must reveal it if he wants to claim it as a Kong (otherwise,he wouldn't have enough tiles to be able to win).He shows the Kong to the other players,then places it on the table with the two outer tiles face up and the two inner tiles face down,to indicate that he completed it entirely from the wall,thus earning more points.Also,if a player previously formed an exposed Pung from another player's discard,and he later draws from the wall the fourth of that tile,he may add it to the Pung,turning it into an exposed Kong.This is not without some risk,as detailed below.
If a player needs only one tile to win,then he may claim that tile from any discard,even if it is to complete a Chow or the pair.This is referred to as "fishing",and a claim to win the game takes precedence over any other claim.If two players could win with the same discard,then the one whose turn would come next in the normal turn order gets to take it and win the hand.Also,a player who is fishing may claim a tile added to a Pung to turn it to a Kong,and thus win (and gets bonus points for doing so).
If a player draws a flower or a season,the tile is revealed and immediately set to the side of the player's hand.It does not count towards the number of tiles in the hand,and will provide bonus points at the end of the round.It is immediately replaced by drawing a loose tile,as described in the section on Kongs above.
When a player has a complete hand of melds and a pair,he may declare it and show it to the other players.