So you want to learn mahjong?

So you want to learn mahjong? Here's a super basic guide, specifically for Singaporean style I encourage anyone interested to try this game out, doing so with respect for the origins of the game. It originated in the mid-to-late 1800s in China, becoming internationally popular in the 1920s because of the globalization/ export market. In the US it was seen as an elite game, before it spread more generally through women. Mahjong's history (which I'm still learning) shows an intersection between race, gender, and class throughout international communities **disclaimer** I'm in no way an expert. I started learning in January at my local library and fell in love with it, and recently have helped teach it at my library branch. So beginner to beginner, here's what I know Sharing because I love this game so much + just want to share it with others Start by building your walls Double stack of tiles **depends on specific set. Ours has extra jokers so we do 19 each side but generally it's set up as shown Roll the dice to determine the dealer Highest number wins The dealer rolls the dice again. starting to their right they count around the table for the number on the dice. This determines which side of the wall to start at. Once the side is chosen, use the same dice number and starting from the right tile of that side, count the tiles. This creates the flower wall The flower wall (7 tiles as the dice shows) Then deal the tiles. We do 4 tiles per person x 3, so everyone has 12. Then the dealer takes 2 more and everyone else gets 1. The dealer should end up with a total of 14, since to start the game they lay down 1 tile. Everyone else has 13 Once you have your tiles, pull out any flower/joker tiles and set them to the side (these are for points which I'm not getting into today!) Replace those tiles with ones from the flower wall (anytime you pull a flower/ animal in the game, replace from that wall) I recommend lining up all your tiles by category so you can clearly see what you're working with There are three core categories: dots, crak, and bamboo (aka bam) going from 1-9, and there are 4 of each tile Your goal is to get 4 sets of 3, which can be created as either: "Pong" which is 3 of the same Or "chow" which is a run This is a pong of 2 dot Chow of 123 crak Pong of 5 bam There's also specialty tiles! Also 4 of each. You can only use these as pongs (3 of the same). You cannot combine them, aka you can't do green, red, and white dragon as shown here nor can you do NESW for winds. It must be 3 red dragons or 3 north tiles (NNNN) to play. These are the dragons These are the winds (there's NSEW!) To play your turn, select a tile from the wall. You can either keep it, or discard. You must discard a tile to complete your turn, ensuring you always have 13 tiles. Then it moves to the person on your right. Now this is where things can get a bit complicated You can only take from the discard pile if you can immediately use it. By this I mean, if you have a 2 dot tile and someone discards another one, you cannot take that to use for later. If you had two 2 dot tiles, you could immediately create a pong of three, so you could take it. (You can keep tiles to save for later if you pull them from the wall on your turn) And this person had two other 2 dots, they could call it Skipping this person Two other rules: If any person discards a tile that you can immediately use in a pong, you can "call" it, even if your turn isn't next. This makes it your turn, skipping anyone between you and the person who laid the tile down. (Example shown around the mat) If this seat laid down a 2 dot Only this seat could use it to complete a 2 dot, 3 dot run Even if this person had two 2 dots. They cannot call it But that only works for pong (3 of the same tiles). The biggest rule in mahjong is that a chow (a run) can only be completed using a discard if it comes from the person TO YOUR IMMEDIATE LEFT. This person discards a 1 dot This person can't use it because it's now "dead" This person didn't use it Oh, and once the player to the right plays, the previous discard tile is "dead" and cannot be used by anyone the rest of the game Discarded tile You win at mahjong when you have 4 sets of 3 (can be chow or pong) and a pair (2 of same) Chow Pair Pong Flower tiles (These don't count towards mahjong!) That's it for now! Good luck and have fun. It really is a calming game once you get the hang of it. Took me about 2-3 times playing to feel comfortable