A concealed pong is worth 4 points, a concealed kong is worth 16 points, and a concealed chow is worth 0 points. An exposed pong is worth 2 points, an exposed kong is worth 8 points, and an exposed chow is worth 0 points. When scoring a winning mahjong, any melds made with tiles from the center of the square are considered “exposed,” and any melds made using just the tiles in the player's hand are considered “concealed.' Concealed melds are worth more points. When a player scores a mahjong, they reveal their 4 melds and the pair. The game is over when one player has created a mahjong, or 4 melds and a pair of matching tiles. Each time a player claims a tile to make a meld or pair, they must announce it out loud before picking up the tile and setting it face-up in front them. Players can also pick up a pair with the wind, dragon, flower, or season tiles. At any point in the game, any player can pick up a tile from the middle of the square to make a meld, whether it's their turn or not. Finally, they draw a new tile from their row to end their turn, and the player to their left goes next. After a player draws a tile and plays any melds they have, they discard a tile from their hand by placing it face-up in the middle of the square. If they draw a tile that makes a meld with the other tiles in their hand, they can call it out and lay the tiles in the meld face-down in front of them. On a player's turn, they start by drawing a new tile from their row. Next, each player rolls 2 dice and the highest number goes first. Each player picks up 13 tiles from the row on their side. Then, everyone pushes their rows together to form a square. Each player makes a wall in front of them with their 36 tiles by stacking 1 row of 18 tiles on another row of 18 tiles. To start the game, mix all 144 tiles together face-down, then divide them evenly among the players. There are also 4 wind tiles, 3 dragon tiles, 4 flower tiles, and 4 season tiles. The tiles within the suits are numbered 1 through 9. There are 3 suits: bamboos (or sticks), characters, and dots. A meld is a set of 3 matching tiles (pong meld), 4 matching tiles (kong meld), or 3 consecutive numbers in the same suit (chow meld). The goal of the game is to get the highest score by creating a mahjong, which is 4 melds and a pair. Mahjong is a fun 4-player game where players try to form melds with tiles to score points. ↑ /extraregolamenti/american-mahjong-rules.pdf.Melds laid on the table are called 'exposed melds.' Not showing melds gives you extra points. You can play a whole game without showing any melds from your hand, which is called 'concealed melds,' but you can't claim any discarded tiles.If you've played a 3-tile pong on the table, you can't claim the fourth tile, though you can play it if you draw it from the wall/draw pile.Some variations only allow you to claim the third tile of a chow from the person directly before you.X Research source /extraregolamenti/american-mahjong-rules.pdf X Research source This type of claiming goes in the order of players with one exception: if the tile would allow a player to win mahjong, they get the tile. Then, you must show the meld and put it on the table to prove it. Similarly, you can claim the tile if it completes a kong or chow in your hand, and you say it aloud when you claim it. If the tile completes a pong, meaning you already have the other 2 tiles in your hand, you can say 'pong' and claim the discarded tile. Whichever number is lower is the one used.Ĭlaim a tile as it's discarded if it fits one of your melds. This is optional, and both players must agree on the pass, stating how many tiles they want to exchange. You can also do a courtesy pass at the end, where the players across from each agree to exchange 1-3 tiles.Make sure you still pass 3, making up the extra from your hand. On the third pass, you can use a 'blind' pass, meaning you can move 1-3 tiles that are passed to you on to the next person without looking at them.If everyone agrees, you can do the whole process a second time, but if 1 person says 'no,' you don't. Then you do the same with the person across from you (second pass) and then for the person to your left (third pass). All you do is take 3 tiles from your hand that you want to discard and pass them to the right, called the first pass. You must do the Charleston the first time. This rule is a variant, and it's typically only used in the American version. Pass tiles using the 'Charleston' rule in American mahjong.

The mahjong