2022 American Mahjong Handbook E-Book

Mill Evelyn

• Herausgeber: AMD
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

About the Book
Mahjong is a four-player game that is easily lovable when the rules surrounding it are well comprehended. It is also a game that is mentally played with a bit of luck on what made available for you. Mahjongg, a game that originated in China has spread round the world with different variations to it nowadays.
American Mahjongg is a variation of the original Mahjongg that follows the official National Mah Jongg League rules. Making the game of Mahjongg American Mahjongg Handbook gives a detailed, easy-to-follow and clear illustrations to help the reader through the nitty-gritty of the Mahjongg the game including a foundational knowledge of the game, the flow of the game at each step and tips and strategies to give you an edge over the opposition player. 
An interesting about this handbook is that even existing Mahjong players would be equipped with new tactics and strategies that would enhance their gameflow and further develop their play style.

Leseprobe

2022

AMERICAN MAHJONG

HANDBOOK

A Comprehensive Guide to the Gameplay, Rules and Strategies of the Mahjong Game

EVELYN

MILL

Copyright

2022 American Mahjong Handbook

Copyright © 2022 Evelyn Mill

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.

Disclaimer

This book is geared towards providing information in regards to the topic and issue covered. The publication is sold with the idea that the publisher is not required to render accounting, officially permitted, or otherwise, qualified services. If advice is necessary. Legal or health professional, a practiced individual in the profession should be ordered.

Printed on acid-free paper.

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Contents

Copyright      i

Introduction      1

Origin of the Mahjong      2

Mahjong and the American Society      4

Terminologies of Mahjong      5

CHAPTER ONE      13

ELEMENTS OF MAHJONG      13

The Tiles      13

Joker Tiles      15

The Dices      16

The Tally Sticks      16

Wind Indicator      16

Scoring Sticks and Racks      17

Main Objective of the American Mahjong Game      17

CHAPTER TWO      19

HOW TO PLAY?      19

The Pre-Game      19

Mahjong Card      22

Types of Hands      25

Value of the Hands      26

Categories of NMJL Card      29

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The Charleston      31

The Gameplay      33

CHAPTER THREE      36

RULES, SCORING AND PENALTY      36

Important Rules of Gameplay      36

Scoring      38

Penalties      39

Etiquettes/Golden Rules of American Mahjong      40

CHAPTER FOUR      43

TIPS AND STRATEGIES OF AMERICAN MAHJONG      43

Tactics on Winning American Mahjong      43

Tips on Winning American Mahjong      46

General Guidelines      48

Initial Analysis/Choosing a Hand      50

Charleston Strategy      53

Reading Mahjong Hands      56

Strategic Phases of the Game      60

Early-in-the-Game Strategies (DEVELOP)      60

Mid-Game Strategies (ATTACK or BUILD)      64

End-of-Game Strategies (DEFEND)      66

About the Author      69

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Introduction

Mahjong is a game whose name may not be widespread but it happens to be one of the most popular games in the world. The word Mahjong though is a lot like saying the word Cards. When a person is playing Cards he/she might be playing Bridge, Canasta, Rummy, Gin Rummy or Spit. Mahjong likewise has several variations of it as well as versions such as American, Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese. Most variations of the game are played with the same types of tiles. When talking about tiles, try to think of lovely things in your life that you like to have on your set of tiles, because Mahjong was really a celebration of all things Chinese. The images that can be seen on the tiles are things that the people of China loved. So it’s a bit of their history, part of their landscape, architecture, transportation and all things that make for China as a nation.

Mahjong itself is not a complicated game, the real challenge is actually understanding how the gameplay works and the ability to put a winning Hand together. It is a four player game (although the rules still makes it adaptable to be played by 2 or more players) that employs both luck and skill. The American Mahjong also known as the AM style is a very exciting style of Mahjong played in the United States. In 1935, this style became very popular, and in 1937 it was standardized in New York.

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Origin of the Mahjong

Mahjong or Mahjongg, pronounced either way, is a legendary tile game that is complex enough to exercise the mind. Mahjong is said to have originated in China before it traveled the rest of the world. The Chinese have always claimed to be the first one to play mahjong in the mid 1800’s and there have been a lot of conclusions from whom it truly began because, until now, no one had ever claimed to be the inventor of this well-known tile game. But there is good evidence that Mahjong was created in the provinces of AnHui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang since the only records can be located from those provinces. It has also been proven that dominoes were being played in China during 1120 AD.

A Theory states that Mahjong was invented during the Taiping rebellion and the persons behind its creation were Chinese officers. This theory also explains that during this period the Mahjong game is being played illegally because it involves gambling and represents capitalist corruption. This resulted in the game getting banned in China by 1949 and was only reopened in the Cultural Revolution. However during this time, the gambling aspect of it has been ejected. In 1985, the Mahjong game was legalized in China. A theory from Canton declares that the inventor of Mahjong was Hung Hsui-Ch'uan. He had himself declared as the emperor of Wanking. He is known to pursue pleasure and entertainment. It can therefore be concluded that Mahjong appeared on his table during his reign. Another idea explains that the inventor was an inhabitant of Ningbo in Zhejiang

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which is famous for its ivory carving, which has later been recreated as ivory-tablets. A different theory was of the view that there were brothers that had been in the act of transporting playing cards used for the game in Ma-tiao that is similar enough to Mahjong. There had been a lot of conclusions about Mahjong’s source, but till this day, nobody can state a fact about its true origin.

In 1905, Mahjong was not that famous outside the said original area in China. But over the next few years, it rapidly spread around most of China and around the world. Around 1920, the West discovered the game and that caused its popularity around the world. And at the same time, different versions of the game sprouted despite many arguments that the game should be played in Chinese because it is more complex and fun. The Far Eastern region played the traditional way but others like the British, Americans and Japanese took and ran with the game until they had their own versions created. After China, the first place the Mahjong game hit was Japan, Japanese played Mahjong but they have altered its true nature.

After Japan, Mahjong was introduced to the Americans by Joseph P. Babock who sold the first set of Mahjong in the United States. And in order to improve the sales, he simplified the rules. Many parts of the game had been removed, creating the short version of the game in which the game quickly became popular because of its renewed version. After the invasion of Mahjong in different countries, the game had been able to reach the ends of the earth,

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leaving different kinds of versions in each land according to the invaded country’s understanding and desire. Today, many people in Chinese-speaking communities play Mahjong as a recreational and social activity.

Mahjong and the American Society

The Mahjong is a beautiful game that has been played since the 1920s. The men went to work, the women were home with their children who didn’t work that much and it really became a woman’s game. But then women’s lives began to metamorphose. They weren’t staying home and playing Mahjong any more. Families became smaller and playing of the Mahjong game sort of went to the background. Then, there came a shift when 9/11 happened. People began huddling together and didn’t travel too far and Mahjong became a common denominator for people to learn to become close to each other and stay in the neighborhood like it used to be a long time before then. The version of rules that the American Mahjong uses is the one based on the National Mah Jongg League card; their card is issued every year in April. It basically mentions the rules of the game and shows the Hands scored every year.

What Differentiates the Chinese Mahjong from the American Mahjong?

The Joker tiles are not used in Chinese Mahjong. The Chinese Mahjong allows for the formation of Chow combination. Also, in the Chinese version of Mahjong, there is a more

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elaborate pre-game in determining the turn order, thereby bringing about longer games.

Terminologies of Mahjong

Abandoned Game: A player stops making play and forfeits a play.

Accept: Making a play – Pung, Kong or Chow.

Basic Mahjong: Playing the Mahjong game without the usual basic tiles.

Bonus Tiles: Each of the four Flower and four Season tiles, also called optional tiles. These are tiles that cannot be possessed by a player, they must be declared or revealed on a turn.

Breaking the Wall: A process of deciding from which side of the wall are the tiles dealt to each player.

Building the Wall: The arranging an 18 or 17 tiles long and two tiles high wall. The structure of the wall of each player is done in a way that a square called Mahjong wall is formed.

Call: Picking up a tile that has just been discarded.

Character Suit: The suit tiles are written in Chinese.

Charleston: The act of passing tiles to players in Mahjong.

Chi: The Chinese word used in describing a sequence of three tiles of a particular suit. This is also called Chow.