How to Set Up a Mah Jongg Game

All those tiles - what should you do with them?

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 4 Chairs
• Card Tables
• Pencils
• Pencils
• Spiral Notebooks
• Dice
• Mah Jongg
• Mah Jongg Tiles
• Pencils

1. Familiarize yourself with the mah jongg setup. There are 136 pieces ' 34 sets of 4 different pieces. The object of the game is to obtain a complete hand made up of 4 sets of 3 tiles plus a pair.

2. Play with four against each other, not as partners.

3. Have each player throw a pair of dice; the highest score becomes the dealer, or East. The other players, going clockwise, will be South, West and North.

4. Put all of the tiles face down on the table and mix them up.

5. Have each player take 34 tiles at random and build a wall 17 tiles wide and 2 tiles high. Each person's wall should butt up against the players' walls on both sides of him so that a square is formed.

6. East now throws the two dice. Total the number of pips showing, and beginning at the East wall, count that number to the left. This is where the wall will be "opened." For example, if the dice total 4, you would count East, South, West and North (4) and open the wall on North.

7. Count 7 tiles from the right end of that wall and remove the 2 tiles at that place, laying them face up to the right of the opening. This marks the end of the wall.

8. East picks up the first two stacks (4 tiles) to the left of the break and deals the next two stacks (moving to the left) to South, West and North.

9. Repeat the deal twice more so that each player has 12 tiles.

10. Complete the hand with 13 tiles by having East now deal 1 more to each player.

on 11/22/2005 Ever seen Filipinos play Mahjong? It's a lot simpler. They don't use flowers. But it's more interesting and less complicated that way.