October 21 2002 Special Over The Edge Page 14 Mah Jong g For Morons Simplified Rules presented by The Chinese Collegiate Association | Setting Up the Game 4 people sit around a square table. Turn all the tiles face down and mix’em all up real good. Now each player builds a wall (a row of tiles, 2 tiles high) 17 tiles long (each player makes a 34-tile wall). The 4 walls are set up like a square on the table. Now choose who will be dealer. Dealer rolls 3 dice. Dealer counts the stacks in his/her wall, counting from the right to the left. After the last stack counted, break the wall. The tiles to the right of the break are the tiles you just counted. The deal begins from the left of the break. Dealer takes 2 stacks (4 tiles). Player to deal- er’s right takes the next 2 stacks (taking next 2 stacks to dealers left). Player across from the dealer takes the next 2 stacks. Keep on going like that until every player has taken 6 stacks (12 tiles). Dealer takes one tile from the end of the wall. Player to dealer's right takes the tile under that. Player across from dealer takes one tile from end of the wall. Player to dealers left takes the tile under that. Dealer takes one more tile — from end of wall. The setup phase is now completed. Dealer now has 14 tiles. Every other player now has 13 tiles. Stand up your tiles on end in front of you, in a neat straight line with no gaps. The tiles should face you only — you don’t want the other play- ers to see what you have. Now you're ready to play mah- jongg. THE GOAL OF CHINESE MAH JONGG The goal of the game is to go out with a complete mah- jongg hand before anybody else does. A complete 14-tile mah-jongg hand is comprised of FOUR GROUPS AND A PAIR. A PAIR, of course, is two identical tiles. Each GROUP in the hand is three tiles, so the total in a complete hand (four groups and a pair) is fourteen tiles. There are two kinds of groups: “pungs” and “chows.” A PUNG is three identical tiles (a “triplet? or “triple”). For example, if you have a Two Dot tile, and another, and another, you have a “pung’” of Two Dots. A CHOW is three tiles in a row (a “sequence” or “run”). For example, if you have a Six Barn and a Seven Barn and an Eight Barn. You cannot make a chow with tiles in different suits (they must all be in the same suit). And you cannot make a chow with Dragons or Winds (the tiles in a chow must be numbered suit tiles). A hand does not have to be two chows, two pungs, and a pair (as in the example above). It can be four pungs and a pair, or four chows and a pair, or three chows and a pung anda pair... get the idea? Any four groups and a pair. HOW DO YOU PLAY? The dealer had 14 tiles and everybody else had 13 tiles. So, to begin, its the dealer's turn. The dealer examines the tiles in his/her hand to see if his/her hand is already a win- ner or not. Is the hand com- posed of four groups and a pair? If so, dealer wins instant- ly. If dealers hand is not yet composed of four groups and a pair, dealer must discard a tile. DISCARDING Dealer must take any one tile from the hand_and place it face-up in the center of the table. Dealer now has 13 tiles in the hand. Dealer’s turn is now over. And now there’s a discard on the table. CAN I TAKE A DISCARD? It sometimes happens that a . player's discarded tile helps complete your hand. When that happens, YES, you can take it. This move is only allowed under special circum- stances, however... You can . only take the tile discarded by the most recent player. And it is only available until the next player makes a move. You are only allowed to take some- one’s discard if it completes a three-tile grouping, or if it com- pletes the hand. TAKING A DISCARD TO MAKE A CHOW (RUN) To take a discard to make a CHOW (a run, like 1-2-3): You may only make a chow on your own turn (you may only take a discard to make a chow when it is discarded by the player whose turn goes just before yours, in orderly play going around the table). When you take a discard to make a chow, you must verbalize the action. TAKING A DISCARD TO MAKE A PUNG To take a discard to make a PUNG (a triplet, like E-E-E): You may take the discard instantly when it appears on the table, regardless of whose turn it is. If you have a pair of East Winds, and somebody discards a third East Wind, you are allowed to claim it even if it’s not your turn. Say “pung’” or “| want that,” and take it imme- diately. TAKING A DISCARD TO WIN THE HAND (MAH JONGG) To take a discard to WIN THE HAND (to make a com- plete “four groups and a pair” configuration): You may take the discard instantly when it CRAKS: Chinese characters numbe WINDS: Chinese characters labelled East, South, West and North. 4 of each for a total of 16 appears on the table, regard- less of whose turn it is. If your hand is complete except for one tile, and that tile is dis- carded, you are allowed to claim it even if its not your turn. Say “mah-jongg,” and take it immediately. Note: you can never take a discard to expose a PAIR by itself. You can take a discard to complete a pair only when you already have four complete three-tile groupings (i.e., when complet- ing the pair completes the hand). AFTER TAKING A DIS- -CARD a There is a price you must pay for taking a discard — you have to expose the completed grouping. After exposing the - completed grouping, if you did not win, you have to discard a tile. If you took a discard to make DOTS: Numbered 1-9, 4 of enk for a total of 36 Ed A Boca a pung, the player to your right goes next. It’s possible to skip a players turn when someone makes a pung. INSTEAD OF TAKING A DISCARD When Player 2 cannot use the tile discarded by the deal- er, Player 2 would just draw from the end of the wall. Remember how we took tiles in the deal? Keep going clock- wise around the wall when picking tiles. Player 2 now has 14 tiles. If the hand is not a complete “4 groups and a pair” yet, Player 2 must discard. NEXT PLAYER’S TURN Play progresses counter- clockwise around the table in mah-jongg. On your turn, you start with 13 tiles. Then you take a 14th tile into your hand (usually by picking it from the wall; sometimes you take a d - Continued on page 15 a r 1-9, there are 4 of each for a total of 36 DRAGONS: Green Dragon Red Dragon and White Dragon 4 of each for a total of 12 An example of Mah Jongg Tiles. To play Mah Jongg, the CCA is having a tournament on Friday october 25th, in the Cafeteria.