The game of Mahjong is one that has made its way from ancient China to the West, bringing with it one of the finest forms of entertainment found today. Legend has it that the ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius created the game, and it was enjoyed in the Far East until it made its way to America in the 1920’s.

As Mahjong moved across the Western world, its rules and variations have changed to suit the gaming population. For that reason, there are Chinese versions of Mahjong, just as there are British versions, for example.

To understand British Mahjong rules, we first need to understand how classic Mahjong is played. Essentially, four players begin by throwing the dice to determine the seating arrangement. Each player then takes a turn to draw and discard tiles. The draw can be rearranged and interrupted by bids (pung, guang, tse) or ended with hu.

Tile suit calculations differ between versions.

The major differences between British and Chinese Mahjong are thus as follows:

1. Unique hands, over and above the 10 special hands in a Chinese game, are allowed. These include All Pair Honors, Fourfold Plenty, Knitting, Triple Knitting, The Gates of Heaven, Imperial Jade, Twofold Fortune, All Winds and Dragons.
2. In the case of Going Mahjong, this counts for 20 points and not 10 as in traditional Chinese Mahjong.
3. Double points are given in the case of Going Mahjong with the last discard, as well as All Three Dragons (ie. Two sets and one pair). These are two more than available in Chinese Mahjong.
4. It is rare to find players using Flower and Season tiles in Chinese Mahjong, but these are optional and fairly common in British Mahjong rules.
   • The Kong Box is a group of fourteen tiles in all that are separated from the main wall in order to provide placements for Flower, Season and Kong.
   • The wall in front of each player incorporates thirty six tiles and is 18 tiles long.
   • A player must declare to other players that he or she has been dealt a Flower or Season tile.
   • The Flower or Season tile is replaced from the Kong Box.
   • The Flower or Season is valued at four points.
   • A player holding his or her own season enjoys double.
   • A player holding a complete set of Flowers enjoys twice double.
   • A player holding a complete set of Seasons enjoys twice double.

All in all, it can safely be said that British Mahjong rules closely resemble the Chinese version, with some slight changes that have been set out by the British Mahjong Association (BMJA). While the game has gone (and continues to go through) changes to suit national tastes and local populations, nothing can take away the original excitement and skill of the game that makes it so popular so many thousands of years later.

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