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Subject: User Review
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Adrian G
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Mah-jongg is a classic game. It has elements of luck, frustration, strategy, frustration, cool tiles, frustration, several modes of play, frustrasion, millions of special hands . . . did I mention frustration.;) Although can be a frustrating game to play, it is all the more rewarding when you finally beat off your rivals and score a big special hand.

The basic game is deceptively simple, sort of like super "rummy". Take 144 tiles, "twitter the sparrows" (mix tiles on table face down", build 4 walls, two tiles high (making sure no evil spirits escape) then each player takes a hand of 13 tiles from the wall. The object is to get a hand of four (4) lots of three (3) duplicate tiles (pung) (or run of three 3 tiles (chow)) and a pair of duplicate tiles. This can only be achieved by picking up a 14th tile from the wall or another players discard. If you don't meet this requirement (and hence go "mah jong"), you pick one of your tiles to discard. Generally you must pick a tile from the wall, as you can only pick up another player's discard if you are completing a pung or chow.

In the basic chinese game, players go mah-jong as quickly as possible and gambling is often involved. In the western version things are changed with the introduction of "special hands". These are very high scoring hands that give a lot more variety to what a player can collect to go mah-jong and allows players who don't have a "standard" hand to still be in the running to go "mah-jong".

The game can run for many rounds over several hours and is deep, involving and fun. The clear chinese flavor of the game is also a big plus, with the phrases to be used and names of special hands. This game is throughly recommended, and mah-jong sets are pretty plentiful on ebay and in jumble sales etc. All come with rules which are almost indecipherable. I'd recommend getting rules of this site, and start building a database of special hands you like, so that when you have a woeful hand going nowhere, you can grab for the "special hands" sheet and search for that "Imperial Plum blossom wind garden of dragonly delights" that will be your ticket to victory.

That is, until your spouse discards the only remaining tile you require when you can't pick it up.
Adrian G
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Re:User Review
I've now posted here on the BGG a scoring cheat sheet and a list of many special hands. Enjoy!
art cohen
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Re:User Review
Two points:

I believe the "special hands" come from China, and are the basis for the American NMJL variant (which is nothing but special hands).

Also, re: your last paragraph, you can always pick up a discard if you're going out (Mah Jong), so if your spouse (or anyone) discards it, you can grab it, even if you're completing a chow or pair.
Jonathan Tang
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Re:User Review
adriang (#4355),

In the western version things are changed with the introduction of "special hands".

Not true. The main part of the Mahjong has always been the special hands. And these have always existed. If you've been playing just to complete your hand, then you're probably playing it wrong.
Donald Wilbur III
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0607
A reasonable answer can be found at Tom Sloper's site: (www.sloperama.com)

I will summarize.

The classical game upon which all the variations seem to be based had very few special hands (and some of those like Nine Gates are all but impossible to actually make). It was simpler even than Hong-Kong Old Style (HKOS) in this respect. Only the scoring was complicated.

But people love complications so we have Japanese Modern with all its Dora, American Rules with practically nothing but special hands, and Chinese Official with it's 81 elements (at least in Chinese Official the scoring is simple).

The original game and HKOS are mostly fast games with an emphasis on going out rather than on special hands/elements. But people often play HKOS with high minimums which make it all about the special hands as well.

I suspect in the long run, the simpler Rummy style versions of the game will dissapear. Too bad. I love those games. There's something elegent about three sets, a triplet and a pair that "Knitted Dragon" just doesn't have. Oh well.
 
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