Home How to Play Balls System Contact

How To Play

How to play

In mahjong, every move counts!

Mahjong is a strategy game for four players where the goal is to collect sets of tiles and win by finishing the game first. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you learn the rules of Mahjong.

Step 1: Setting Up the Game

Tile Deck: The game uses 144 tiles. There are several types of tiles:

  • Number tiles: 1 through 9 in three suits - bamboo, symbols, circles.
  • Dragons: Red, green, and white dragon.
  • Winds: East, South, West, North.
  • Flower and Seasonal Tiles: These are usually used for extra bonuses, but are not required for the basic game.
  • Tile Dealing: Players are dealt 13 tiles each, and the rest of the deck is placed in the center of the table to form a “wall.” Each player must take one tile from this wall so that each player has 14 tiles.

Step 2: Understanding Tile Combinations

The four basic combos are:

  • Pair: two identical tiles.
  • Pong: three identical tiles.
  • Chi: three consecutive tiles of the same suit (e.g. 1, 2, 3 bamboo).
  • Kang: four identical tiles (usually can be taken if you have already made a pong).
  • Completing the Game: In order to complete the game, you need to make 4 combos (pong, chi, kang) and a pair. This is called “Mahjong”.

Step 3: Playing the Game

Gameplay: Each turn consists of two actions:

  • Draw a Tile: At the beginning of a turn, a player draws one tile from the wall or from the discard pile.
  • Discard a Tile: After a player draws a tile, he discards one tile from his hand.
  • Making Combos: During the game, players try to make combinations with their tiles. If you can make a pong, chi or kang, you must announce it by showing your tiles to the other players.
  • Using discards: If a player discards a tile that can complete your combination (for example, if you want to make a chi), you can pick up that tile.

Step 4: Ending the Round

  • Announcing Mahjong: If a player makes all 4 combinations and a pair, he declares “Mahjong” and ends the round.
  • Scoring: After the round is finished, the scores for the combinations are calculated. The score depends on the complexity of the combinations made and whether additional tiles (such as season tiles) were used.
  • The more complex the combinations, the higher your score.
  • The player who declared Mahjong gets bonus points.
  • Progressing to the next round: If the game is not finished, a new set of tiles is dealt and the next round begins.

Step 5: End of the Game

  • End of the Game: The game can be ended after a certain number of rounds (usually 4 or 16), or when one player reaches a certain number of points.
  • Winner: The winner is the player who has the most points when the game is over.