I am part of a birthday friend group of six women, three of whom play mahjong. Those three are wanting the remaining three of us to learn to play. The most enthusiastic is hostessing a gathering at her house in a week to teach us.
I have to say that I’m a little intimidated. I love playing games, in general, but I am not a fan of cards where you have a partner who relies on you. Is mahjong like that? I really know nothing about it.
Any suggestions for resources to study/look at, even before our, “Mahjong Madness” gathering? I’d kind of like a head start.
No idea why this is so intimidating to me.
I hate looking like a dummy, though. I think this is my fear.
It’s a four player game, not a partner game. So don’t worry!
You might like this (if you like this kind of thing):
But since you have friends who play, you can just pick it up from them. It’s not THAT complicated. We played it a lot in our family when I was a kid. The tiles also make great material for bored kids to build “igloos”
There are no partners in mah jong. You play for yourself.
The tiles (sort of like the cards) that are played are left face up so you can see them.
You must do a hand from the Mah Jong card….you don’t get to make up your own hands.
If someone is willing to teach you…go for it. I started playing about 3 1/2 years ago. My teacher is fabulous.
I’ve played Bridge, and lots of other card games. I think this is more fun!
I wouldn’t worry about getting a head start. Let the teacher guide you. It’s really the best way to learn this. Once you dip your toes in, there are some books for beginning Mah jong players that explain some of the consistent rules.
Don’t be intimidated!!
– First of all it is a game played as an individual. If you make a mistake it isn’t an issue for anyone else.
– Think of mahjongg tiles as being similar to a deck of cards. There are suits (cracks, bams, dots) wirh numbers on most tiles. There are jokers, dragons, and winds as well. But more or less a deck of cards.
–To me American mahjongg (Chinese mahjongg is different from what I understand) is a lot like gin rummy. But instead of getting any combination of 4-3-3 you need to get a combination of tiles on the mahjongg card.
I learned by sitting with friends and watching – then I played with someone helping me for a bit. I’m not great and I don’t play regularly, but I am good enough to pass a nice afternoon with friends which is what it is all about anyway.
Our neighborhood is becoming mahjong central. So many of us are learning.
It’s not hard.
I still feel like a beginner but I play with some neighbors and I sometimes play at the senior center. Everyone is very friendly. No partner, you just play your own set of tiles.
The first few times you play, I felt like it was very intense. It’s good to think that you’ll be concentrating on the game. Probably like bridge although I don’t play.
The biggest thing you need is a card. The new cards are coming out in April. Order the official card from the National mahjong league National Mah Jongg League : The Store im sure your friend has the 2024 card but soon there will be a 2025 card
Bridge is harder. You have to remember which cards were played. In mah Jong the tiles not used are placed face up on the table. You don’t have to remember them!
Yes - the card contains all the valid hands for American Mahjong.The card is updated yearly in April, as mentioned by previous posters. Rules differ greatly from American to Chinese mahjong and imagine your friends are playing American.
There is a paid app that is great for online practice and solo play -(you can play with friends, strangers or the computer) once I remember the name, I’ll post. The only thing missing from the app is the sound of the tiles clanking
I watched some UTube videos before learning to play from a friend’s mom. It was helpful to have a bit of a base.
The sets are beautiful and I love the sound of the tiles as you place them on the rack. I’m very much a beginner but it’s a fun activity with friends.
Actually…racking the tiles…especially if you are picking up something another player has discarded…important. Until you rack…another player can chime in that they want the tile. Once you rack…that is done!
That’s American mahjongg. I play Chinese (like on Crazy Rich Asians) and you do not play with a card and can make up your own hands like ‘all pairs’ or ‘all odd tiles’ (but I’m not that advanced). Chinese is a lot like gin rummy, with collecting tiles in runs of 3 or 3-4 of a kind.
I play on Monday and Friday afternoons. It’s fun. I play bridge once or twice a week and bridge is a lot harder. Some people in my mahjongg group play for points to make it more challenging but most of us just play to win the round.
There are a lot of versions (Chinese, Hong Kong, Japanese, American Military) and scoring is the main difference. The American sets have 166 tiles where the Chinese game has 144. American has jokers and wild cards (tiles).
