Thank you SO much for making this video! Back when I was 17 or so, I went on vacation with my family and visited Chinatown, where I bought my first mahjong set. The rules were so poorly translated they were incomprehensible and I put the whole thing out of mind. After finding this video, though, I brushed off the dust, tried out a few games, and got my friends all hooked on it. We played it every day for a MONTH and we all still love it. Thanks again!
Awesome work! Even the proper English instructions left me scratching my head. Not talking about poorly translated Engrish.your effort is truly appreciated.
I grew up in San Francisco surrounded by Chinese people, and no one I knew played Mah Jong with this method of scoring. Rather, we used a system involving fan (pronounced like fawn). I believe that method of play is more common in China. Look it up for those interested in it. It's a lot simpler in my opinion. Also, throwing your tiles in the center is way more fun.
Thanks for this. It is the only good Mahjong video tutorial I could find. Everything else listed as such are either DVD trailers or in another language. I really can't tell you how happy I was to find this.
You are awesome, I've been looking for 2 weeks how to play Mahjong, and had little results, this was clear, concise, and explained the rules better than anything else I found A++ :D
This is a very good introduction to the game, with very clear instruction. When I went to my first game of (sorry, Scott) American Mah Jong, I had a solid understanding of the basics and terminology. Thanks.
It's about how we play except we don't have a dead wall. We use the 12 tiles and on other side of the break to make a flower wall that is used to replace flowers and extra tile from kongs.
Thanks for making this! A few years back, I purchased a mahjong set while visiting Chinatown in California, but the directions that came with it were in broken English and utterly incomprehensible. This makes a LOT more sense! :D
I got a mahjon game for my husband who grew up playing it. I read the rules and it was nothing like my husband grew up playing. Thank you for defining the two different versions. His family is from the Philippines. The American version was the only rules that came in the box. I enjoy the Asian version much more.
Great video! Kudos to the maker of this video. Mahjong is a great game and people of all ages can enjoy. Indeed mj is a time consuming game and requires stamina. I was kinda amused when Scott mention he didn't complete a game @ 17:22. Here in Singapore we usually play 2 complete games lasting 5hours.
Depends on the variant. Search "sloperama" for Mahjong FAQs Tons of Links (4B). Cantonese/HKOS is 14 tiles. Japanese is also 14 but replenishing. There are at least 30 variants of Mahjong that exist today. The rules here are explained as Chinese Classical.
This is great work and really promoted Mahjong well. I am a chinese and I know its a complex game, many western ppl try to learn this and failed. So its really good that you have spent sometime to produce this video and the self-make instruction sheet. For this, I just want to drop you a note to say thank you. P.S. I think you haven't mention in the video that Mahjong is really a 4 players game.
This guy's great! Mahjong tutorials are far and few between, and this has really helped a lay person like me learn how to play. Now I just need to figure out the nuances of Japanese-style playing..
Took me a couple minutes to realize he is talking about Chinese Mah Jong and not the Japanese variant I've been trying to decipher. I find the differences interesting.
Thanks for another awesome review, Scott. You have saved me so much money by reviewing games I'm considering. I was intimidated by mahjong, but am sitting next to my new set and eager to start playing with it. (bambird, too funny)(barrelin, island of crate, this is why I enjoy you so!) lol
Great video, as usual. It'd be great if you could make another video where you show a couple of variants. Speaking of Asian games, there's a fantastic Japanese chess variant calles Shogi, I think you should make a video of that.
Most sets for American Mahjong have tiles labeled as jokers. I think the blank tiles are used if you want a blank tile for the white dragon, as the white dragon is either depicted as being blank, or having a blue frame.
13 років тому
00:57 Mahjong is actually not about winning with your hands, but its rather about bringing down your opponents.
Thanks for the overview on how the real game is played. The group I'm playing with is playing American style. Yes, it is more stressful, but I'm very competitive anyway and am finding it very enjoy.
in malaysia, there are 4 more bonus tile which is chicken, centipide, cat and mouse. if u get a chicken and centipide u can count 1 more bonus as chicken eat centipide XD. same as cat n mouse.
thanks so much! well i get a game where you have to unlock images... and to do that you have to play this board game.. the problem was.. that the gmae was complete in chinese XD i didnt understand anything.. but now i know a bit more well thank you alot... i dont catch everything... because i speak spañish.. and its dificult for me understand you.. but its ok =)
nice video! I did notice one inconsistency though: you recommend putting the discards in front of you, lined up so everyone knows what everyone discarded (which hasn't been done in any games I've seen). But you also say that the element of the game you don't like is people holding back tiles to force a draw. Doesn't lining up the tiles in front of you encourage that kind of play that you don't like though?
Great video, Scott. You should consider putting them ALL here, as they will get more coverage. I like the Kung Fu pajamas, and Chinese phrases. I just got back from China (Guangzhou) and learned Mah Jong from my girlfriend there. Going to order up a set pretty soon. One thing you should be aware of is that there are MANY different sub-styles of Asian Mah Jong. Every Asian country has its own style with minor variants. Going to check out your site now, and see what you think of chess. ;)
Hi Scott, We've had a mahjong set for many years, but with a set of rules that appear to have been translated to English from chinese, and don't really make much sense! we finally sat down and muddled through last night, and weren't that far wrong! We were scoring runs and we only had hands of 12, but thank you for putting this video up - it now makes a lot more sense. One question though - are the blank ("Joker") tiles used at all in Asian Mahjong?
Dots=coins. Bamboo=strings of 100 coins. Characters=100 strings of 100 coins/10,000 coins. Red dragons=animal. Green dragons=plant. White dragons=spirit.
Nice review, but you should comment on Japanese version of mahjong. It's more gambling oriented and the tiles are slightly different like White Dragons in Japanese version is blank. You forgot to mention a little more about the dead wall and kan. Specially closed kans. Anyway, it's just nitpicking. You did a nice summarizing on Asian style mahjong.
Great Video!! I am having trouble understanding the sacred discard rule. Some games that I play will not let me go out when I have Mah Jong, and I can't understand why. Do you have any knowledge of this problem?
@meloveissa Are you playing the japanese/ancient (old form of HK) mahjong? Because you can't win off a tile you threw from someone else, you have to draw it yourself to declare a win.
My family doesn't gamble while playing so we don't use points/chips. Basically we just play so that the first person who gets mah jong wins. And we just go around the table using that NWES tracker and see who got the most wins mah jongs in the end.
...the dead pile...I'm kind of confused. So you break the wall (however that's done) and keep playing until you get down to the beginning of where the last 7 rows are...and you don't draw from there unless you've made a 4-of-a-kind. That correct?
Actually discarding every tile in the middle is better because it forces you to focus not only on your tiles but also on your opponents. One moment of focus lose could actually cost you a game. When you`re playing for money, you want to make it as difficult as you can for your opponent . and it teaches you not to make dumb decision if there`s money at stake even if it`s not a lot of money.
Yes but he didn't go over what the marker was for. He also didn't go over how to break the wall, how to end the game and what the penalties are for certain things like calling mahjong when you really don't.
I've heard dots being called "pin" tiles and characters as "man" tiles. This could also be due to poor translation, who knows. dustinhaze said[][][][][] that goes there
im chinese and i already know the scoring systems and all the possible special hands etc etc. but he also missed one thing. when u already have 3 of a kind and u draw the 4th one urself, u turn all of them upside down without revealing it. get 2 of those and its 10 points.
is there a website where i can download mahjong? not the solitaire version, but i want the one he's referring to in this video. thank you if you can help me.
all i know is doing Pung,Kang,Chii and little Ron's.... Pung is easy,if someone putted a tile that you have more than 2 in our hand (lets say,player B discarded bamboo7,and you got 2 bamboo 7 yourself)then you declare pung
Scott, Question: I recently accumulated 3 Jokers.. Can I match them to make a pong? Do they have value? Are they wild? If they are wild, how many can you have when making a pong? Two of one kind, and one Joker? ALSO I am trying to learn, please use the proper name instead of "my,my,my. Thank you for starting me out with easy language.
Don't use jokers if you are using this method of play in the video, as the scoring system doesn't account for them. If you want to use jokers, look up the rules for American Mahjong, as it is designed for using jokers.
When you make an instructional video, you have to make decisions as to what is important to cover. My goal with my videos is to help someone decide if they want to get the game and to know enough to get started. All of these are minor details that will serve to confuse someone who knows nothing about the game, so I decided not to include them.
They are additional tiles that provide bonus points only if you win. They are revealed immediately once you draw one. For each flower you reveal, you must draw a supplementary tile from the back wall, like if you made a kong. If you draw the flower or season corresponding to your seat or the round, that may give you even more points. If you are lucky enough to draw many flowers, special rules come into effect. If you draw all 8 of these tiles, you automatically win; do not reveal your hand. If you draw 7 of the 8 flowers and seasons, you are allowed to steal the 8th one if it has already been revealed or later arises. If you have 7 flowers and seasons and the hand is drawn, you are allowed to check all the other players' hands for the final flower; if they are found out to have withheld the final flower, you win and they are penalised double.
i'm only watching this so i can understand what's happening in Akagi
even 9 years later... one of the best introductions to Mahjong on UA-cam. Thanks Scott!
Thank you SO much for making this video! Back when I was 17 or so, I went on vacation with my family and visited Chinatown, where I bought my first mahjong set. The rules were so poorly translated they were incomprehensible and I put the whole thing out of mind. After finding this video, though, I brushed off the dust, tried out a few games, and got my friends all hooked on it. We played it every day for a MONTH and we all still love it.
Thanks again!
The only Mahjong instructor ! After looking for one hour on youtube !!!!! Thanks, now I get it .
Excellent instruction. Very clear, very concise and easy to understand. Well done, Scott! And thank you.
Awesome work! Even the proper English instructions left me scratching my head. Not talking about poorly translated Engrish.your effort is truly appreciated.
Thank you, I am glad this is still on UA-cam! Very helpful!
Great video. I just ordered my mahjong set tonight and this video was useful to understand the rules so I can teach my friends how to play it with me.
I grew up in San Francisco surrounded by Chinese people, and no one I knew played Mah Jong with this method of scoring. Rather, we used a system involving fan (pronounced like fawn). I believe that method of play is more common in China. Look it up for those interested in it. It's a lot simpler in my opinion. Also, throwing your tiles in the center is way more fun.
Thanks for this. It is the only good Mahjong video tutorial I could find. Everything else listed as such are either DVD trailers or in another language. I really can't tell you how happy I was to find this.
You are awesome, I've been looking for 2 weeks how to play Mahjong, and had little results, this was clear, concise, and explained the rules better than anything else I found A++ :D
This is a very good introduction to the game, with very clear instruction. When I went to my first game of (sorry, Scott) American Mah Jong, I had a solid understanding of the basics and terminology.
Thanks.
It's about how we play except we don't have a dead wall. We use the 12 tiles and on other side of the break to make a flower wall that is used to replace flowers and extra tile from kongs.
Thanks for making this! A few years back, I purchased a mahjong set while visiting Chinatown in California, but the directions that came with it were in broken English and utterly incomprehensible. This makes a LOT more sense! :D
This has been THE BEST and easiest explanation of Mahjong that I have come across. Thank you!
Thank you. Best introduction on youtube
It was because of this video that I learned most about mahjong and purchased a game myself. I hope to learn even more with he next video.
thankyou scott i have had troubles finding scoring and you explained it wonderfully
You don't sound stupid, man. This is really helpful. Thanks for taking the time to help everyone out. Keep up the good work.
Cheers Scott for an in-depth & informative video. I'm still picking up the details but you've cleared up a lot of things for me so thanks again.
I got a mahjon game for my husband who grew up playing it. I read the rules and it was nothing like my husband grew up playing. Thank you for defining the two different versions. His family is from the Philippines. The American version was the only rules that came in the box. I enjoy the Asian version much more.
Great review and instructions. I was so confused when I fist bought the game. This was great. Thank you so much.
Thanks. Live in Taiwan, have to learn Mahjong for Chinese New Year. This really helped me get oriented. Keep up the good work.
I picked up Riichi Mahjong a couple months ago and one of my first hands was the three times three dragons hand. :P
Great video! Kudos to the maker of this video. Mahjong is a great game and people of all ages can enjoy.
Indeed mj is a time consuming game and requires stamina. I was kinda amused when Scott mention he didn't complete a game @ 17:22. Here in Singapore we usually play 2 complete games lasting 5hours.
Depends on the variant. Search "sloperama" for Mahjong FAQs Tons of Links (4B). Cantonese/HKOS is 14 tiles. Japanese is also 14 but replenishing. There are at least 30 variants of Mahjong that exist today. The rules here are explained as Chinese Classical.
I paid $49.00 for my deluxe set at barn & noble. I usually see it thier, around the hoildays. Also check any oriental import store in big cities!
@MattTheSpratt The ruleset(s) where you use riichi are usually referred to as riichi mahjong, or more loosely Japanese mahjong.
Wow! Finally found the instructions for Chinese Mahjong that I was looking for! Thank you!
This is great work and really promoted Mahjong well. I am a chinese and I know its a complex game, many western ppl try to learn this and failed. So its really good that you have spent sometime to produce this video and the self-make instruction sheet.
For this, I just want to drop you a note to say thank you.
P.S. I think you haven't mention in the video that Mahjong is really a 4 players game.
This guy's great! Mahjong tutorials are far and few between, and this has really helped a lay person like me learn how to play. Now I just need to figure out the nuances of Japanese-style playing..
This helps me so much, I too have a horrible rulebook that came with my mahjongg set.
remembering things and endurance are part of the game.
This video is 9 years old... my god
No, i'm pretty sure he meant 12
Took me a couple minutes to realize he is talking about Chinese Mah Jong and not the Japanese variant I've been trying to decipher. I find the differences interesting.
Thanks for another awesome review, Scott. You have saved me so much money by reviewing games I'm considering. I was intimidated by mahjong, but am sitting next to my new set and eager to start playing with it. (bambird, too funny)(barrelin, island of crate, this is why I enjoy you so!) lol
A great primer video for Hong Kong Old Style mahjong 🀄 Worth the watch, particularly regarding the scoring 😀
So glad you made this video!! ThNk you so much 🎉
Great video, as usual.
It'd be great if you could make another video where you show a couple of variants.
Speaking of Asian games, there's a fantastic Japanese chess variant calles Shogi, I think you should make a video of that.
Most sets for American Mahjong have tiles labeled as jokers. I think the blank tiles are used if you want a blank tile for the white dragon, as the white dragon is either depicted as being blank, or having a blue frame.
00:57 Mahjong is actually not about winning with your hands, but its rather about bringing down your opponents.
Thanks for the overview on how the real game is played. The group I'm playing with is playing American style. Yes, it is more stressful, but I'm very competitive anyway and am finding it very enjoy.
Pretty good introduction. I would have liked to see more about the mechanics of starting the game, with an actual run-through of the start.
nice, you only missed a few of the scoring rules for the special hands.
in malaysia, there are 4 more bonus tile which is chicken, centipide, cat and mouse. if u get a chicken and centipide u can count 1 more bonus as chicken eat centipide XD. same as cat n mouse.
Don't change a thing Scott, you're the shit, and this really helped
thanks so much!
well i get a game where you have to unlock images... and to do that you have to play this board game.. the problem was.. that the gmae was complete in chinese XD i didnt understand anything.. but now i know a bit more
well thank you alot...
i dont catch everything... because i speak spañish.. and its dificult for me understand you.. but its ok
=)
Did anyone else notice one of the tiles moving by itself?
This was a fantastic find on youtube. Thank you!
nice video!
I did notice one inconsistency though: you recommend putting the discards in front of you, lined up so everyone knows what everyone discarded (which hasn't been done in any games I've seen). But you also say that the element of the game you don't like is people holding back tiles to force a draw.
Doesn't lining up the tiles in front of you encourage that kind of play that you don't like though?
Great video, Scott. You should consider putting them ALL here, as they will get more coverage. I like the Kung Fu pajamas, and Chinese phrases. I just got back from China (Guangzhou) and learned Mah Jong from my girlfriend there. Going to order up a set pretty soon. One thing you should be aware of is that there are MANY different sub-styles of Asian Mah Jong. Every Asian country has its own style with minor variants. Going to check out your site now, and see what you think of chess. ;)
Are you speaking about Riichi style then (RCR)? I know a bit about it as i find it the most fun to play, HK and the others are not as much fun.
Hi Scott,
We've had a mahjong set for many years, but with a set of rules that appear to have been translated to English from chinese, and don't really make much sense! we finally sat down and muddled through last night, and weren't that far wrong! We were scoring runs and we only had hands of 12, but thank you for putting this video up - it now makes a lot more sense.
One question though - are the blank ("Joker") tiles used at all in Asian Mahjong?
Dots=coins. Bamboo=strings of 100 coins. Characters=100 strings of 100 coins/10,000 coins. Red dragons=animal. Green dragons=plant. White dragons=spirit.
Hmm perhaps, but i cant see how thats related to the letters on wind/word tiles :p
Nice review, but you should comment on Japanese version of mahjong. It's more gambling oriented and the tiles are slightly different like White Dragons in Japanese version is blank.
You forgot to mention a little more about the dead wall and kan. Specially closed kans. Anyway, it's just nitpicking. You did a nice summarizing on Asian style mahjong.
Great Video!! I am having trouble understanding the sacred discard rule. Some games that I play will not let me go out when I have Mah Jong, and I can't understand why. Do you have any knowledge of this problem?
@meloveissa Are you playing the japanese/ancient (old form of HK) mahjong? Because you can't win off a tile you threw from someone else, you have to draw it yourself to declare a win.
Google Nine Dragons Software. They have Mahjong, Chinese rules for human player vs. a choice of three out of eight computer players.
So for the wind/dragon tiles, you CANNOT have a run of each and can only be used as pairs or triples of one wind/dragon tile?
My family doesn't gamble while playing so we don't use points/chips. Basically we just play so that the first person who gets mah jong wins. And we just go around the table using that NWES tracker and see who got the most wins mah jongs in the end.
I didn't see anything in here about breaking the wall. Is there another video?
@snicholson For some people, Mahjong is for bringing home the bacon.
Oh no! I used to use your 'handy reference sheet' all the time but now it doesn't exist anymore. Help!
...the dead pile...I'm kind of confused.
So you break the wall (however that's done) and keep playing until you get down to the beginning of where the last 7 rows are...and you don't draw from there unless you've made a 4-of-a-kind.
That correct?
@snicholson I love your beard! You've actually inspired me to grow my own! :)
Actually discarding every tile in the middle is better because it forces you to focus not only on your tiles but also on your opponents. One moment of focus lose could actually cost you a game. When you`re playing for money, you want to make it as difficult as you can for your opponent . and it teaches you not to make dumb decision if there`s money at stake even if it`s not a lot of money.
Yes but he didn't go over what the marker was for. He also didn't go over how to break the wall, how to end the game and what the penalties are for certain things like calling mahjong when you really don't.
I've heard dots being called "pin" tiles and characters as "man" tiles. This could also be due to poor translation, who knows. dustinhaze said[][][][][] that goes there
wow thanks man
i have been to wanting to learn about mah jong
im chinese and i already know the scoring systems and all the possible special hands etc etc. but he also missed one thing. when u already have 3 of a kind and u draw the 4th one urself, u turn all of them upside down without revealing it. get 2 of those and its 10 points.
can't find it on your website..
it would be good if someone makes a combination video like forming 13yiu( 13 wonders )or dasanyuan ( pong of 3 colour dragons )for example
is there a website where i can download mahjong?
not the solitaire version, but i want the one he's referring to in this video.
thank you if you can help me.
what is the name of the song at the beginning?
btw great vid!!!!
Very informative, I actually learned alot. Thanks!
hmm are there any online english mahjong multiplayer games?
Great video, very helpfull and keep up the good work!
I only played Japanese Mahjong so this is new to me. Can I ask one thing?
Is there any Yaku requirements when you go out?
Well if you play with Yaku you cant do Kans, pon and chi's that often if you dont got a pon of dragons/special hands thought
all i know is doing Pung,Kang,Chii and little Ron's....
Pung is easy,if someone putted a tile that you have more than 2 in our hand
(lets say,player B discarded bamboo7,and you got 2 bamboo 7 yourself)then you declare pung
Scott, Question: I recently accumulated 3 Jokers.. Can I match them to make a pong? Do they have value? Are they wild? If they are wild, how many can you have when making a pong? Two of one kind, and one Joker? ALSO I am trying to learn, please use the proper name instead of "my,my,my. Thank you for starting me out with easy language.
Don't use jokers if you are using this method of play in the video, as the scoring system doesn't account for them. If you want to use jokers, look up the rules for American Mahjong, as it is designed for using jokers.
When you make an instructional video, you have to make decisions as to what is important to cover. My goal with my videos is to help someone decide if they want to get the game and to know enough to get started. All of these are minor details that will serve to confuse someone who knows nothing about the game, so I decided not to include them.
I got a set on ebay, not much money, fun!
I'm wanting to learn Majong so i understand this anime i'm watching called Saki, its pretty cool.
How many boxes should you use?
Varies from ruleset to ruleset
So is Mahjongg essentially played like Rummy in Western countries?
Really cool man. Thanks.
Can you please tell me if you know of a Mahjong group near goodna 4300 Qld australia I want to play for sets on cards.
try the local Chinese community if there is one?
I love this but you never got ino the wind of the round marker.
you're right. it's called "順子" in Chinese.
I laughed like hell at every "MINE MINE MINE" hahaha
What are the flower/season tiles used for?
They are additional tiles that provide bonus points only if you win. They are revealed immediately once you draw one. For each flower you reveal, you must draw a supplementary tile from the back wall, like if you made a kong.
If you draw the flower or season corresponding to your seat or the round, that may give you even more points.
If you are lucky enough to draw many flowers, special rules come into effect. If you draw all 8 of these tiles, you automatically win; do not reveal your hand. If you draw 7 of the 8 flowers and seasons, you are allowed to steal the 8th one if it has already been revealed or later arises. If you have 7 flowers and seasons and the hand is drawn, you are allowed to check all the other players' hands for the final flower; if they are found out to have withheld the final flower, you win and they are penalised double.
I Really want to give this game a try but the only thing I dnt like about it is you need 4 people.
you're incorrect. You do not draw the last *16* tiles instead of 14 as you said it.
Actually dots & characters are commonly used terms. No reason to be hateful.
You say that as though it's a good thing...
@Thad2sana
Well calling pong, chow, chur and mah jong does also sound quite silly to me. Maybe some translation of these term would be better.