In riichi mahjong a hand must contain at least one yaku to win. Here are the most common ones — riichi, tsumo, all simples, pinfu, dragon and wind triplets — and the bigger patterns worth chasing.
Faan are the units of value in Hong Kong mahjong. Here are the most common faan sources — self-draw, dragon pungs, wind pungs, flowers, mixed and pure one-suit hands — and how they add up.
The card lists every hand you may win with this year, grouped into families such as year hands, 2468, like numbers, quints, runs, 13579, winds and dragons, 369 and singles and pairs. Here is how to read it.
The tile-matching game found on almost every computer is a different game entirely. Here is where mahjong solitaire came from, how it works, and why it has nothing to do with four-player mahjong.
An American Standard Oil employee in Suzhou, Joseph Park Babcock simplified mahjong for Western players, trademarked the name "Mah-Jongg" and published the influential rule book known as the Red Book.
Long before tiles, Chinese players used narrow paper cards in money suits. Madiao and the drawing games that followed gave mahjong its three suits, its numbers and its idea of collecting sets.
Automatic tables shuffle the tiles and build the walls by themselves while players play the previous hand. Common in Japan, China and Hong Kong, they have transformed how mahjong is played in parlours.
The wall is the square of face-down tiles from which everyone draws. Building it, rolling the dice and breaking it in the right place are rituals that also protect the game from cheating.
The three numbered suits make up most of a mahjong set. Learn how to read dots, bamboo and characters, where their designs come from, and the many English nicknames they go by.
Every mahjong hand is a puzzle of thirteen tiles waiting for a fourteenth. Here is how runs, triplets, quads and pairs fit together, and what it means to be one tile from winning.
The fastest route into mahjong is a combination of a patient teacher, a few practice games with open hands and a clear focus on one style. Here is a step-by-step roadmap.
Mahjong scenes carry meaning on screen: family tension in The Joy Luck Club, a battle of wills in Crazy Rich Asians, political intrigue in Lust, Caution. Here are the most memorable appearances.
