FAQ 2a. Choosing a Mah-Jongg Variant

Like it says in FAQ 1, Mah-Jongg is played in many different ways. The first thing you have to do is make sure you know which kind of mah-jongg you want to invest your time and/or money in.

a. So, if you are new to mah-jongg, first you need to choose a rule set to study.
b. If you are already playing mah-jongg, and are not sure which of the 22 known varieties of mah-jongg you play, you need to find out.

This FAQ will help you with both. Click the following links to jump to the appropriate section of this FAQ.

"Which Mah-Jongg rules should I learn?"
How to find out which version of Mah-Jongg you or your friends play (FAQ2b).
Click here to see a detailed overview of many different types of mah-jongg (FAQ2b).
Click here to see an abbreviated overview of many different types of mah-jongg (FAQ 2b).

I live and teach in Los Angeles. Sometimes somebody asks me to teach but doesn't know which variant they should learn. I narrow it down to two choices:

• American mah-jongg is played primarily by women: empty nesters - a percentage of them are Jewish - mostly retirees, very few young players. Most players play weekly. This game is the most widely played in North America. It's a singles game (not a partners game like Bridge), and while it can be played by couples, not many men play. It is the most difficult version to learn, requiring multiple lessons to get over the steep learning curve.
• All other versions commonly played in North America are Asian: Hong Kong rules are the easiest to learn, and make an excellent gateway into all other Asian variants. Hong Kong rules can be learned in 1 lesson. In North America, Hong Kong rules are played by Chinese players (players of other Chinese variants will readily play Hong Kong rules when called upon to do so) but also by non-Asians in the United States. This is a good game for couples who enjoy occasional fun with other couples. It's also good for college students or working people or retirees, anybody who just enjoy getting together for a game now and then.

But if you want more choices (or if you don't live in North America), you can take the questionnaire below!

"Which Mah-Jongg rules should I learn?"

This questionnaire is intended to help people who are interested in learning Mah-Jongg but don't know where to begin. Print this FAQ. For each question, circle any and all answers that apply to you (including the mysterious letters that follow the answer).

1. I know some people who play Mah-Jongg, and I want to play with them:
(i) True - Find out what rules they play, and learn those rules! Stop fooling around with this questionnaire and just go read FAQ 2b.
(ii) False - Keep going with this questionnaire. Answer the below questions.
2. My gender is:
(i) Male - JONTCPIMGZ
(ii) Female - AVWONTCIMGZD
3. The place where I live is:
i) USA/Canada east coast - OAVWG
(ii) USA/Canada west coast - ONJTWG
(iii) USA/Canada middle - AVWG
(iv) Japan - JWG
(v) Hong Kong - ONGZ
(vi) Taiwan - TG
(vii) China mainland - ONG
(viii) Europe - CVG
(ix) Australia - VOCG
(x) Vietnam - I
(xi) Philippines - P
(xii) Malaysia - M
(xiii) India - DV
(xiv) Other - OW
4. I enjoy gambling:
(i) True - TJAOPIMZ
(ii) False - GNVWCD
5. The languages I can speak and read are:
(i) English - AVOWCMPGD
(ii) Cantonese - ONGZ
(iii) Mandarin - ONTG
(iv) Japanese - J
(v) Vietnamese - I
(vi) Tagalog - P
(vii) none of the above - OCM
6. My heritage is:
(i) Chinese (mainland) - ONG
(ii) Chinese (Hong Kong/Canton/Macau) - ONTGZ
(iii) Chinese (Taiwan) - TG
(iv) Japanese - JG
(v) Jewish American - A
(vi) Vietnamese - I
(vii) Filipino - P
(viii) Malaysian - M
(ix) Indian - D
(x) Other - VWOCG
7. I am (or will be) in the U.S. military, or am (or will be) married to someone in the U.S. military:
(i) True - W
(ii) False - AVONJTCIPMBZ
8. I have a [reasonably powerful and up-to-date Windows or Mac] computer:
(i) Yes - OJVCAG
(ii) No - WNTIPMZD
9. I want to learn a game with simple rules. Complex rules give me a headache.
(i) Yes (simple rules only please) - O*
(ii) We can deal with a little complexity - JNIPMTGZ
(iii) Bring it on, baby! - ACVWD
* Hong Kong Old Style has simple scoring and very few special hands. (Other forms may have few special hands but complex scoring - or simple scoring but many special hands to learn - or complex scoring _and_ many special hands to learn). For ultra-simplified rules click here to read FAQ 10.
10. Answer this question only if you already have a set that you want to use to play the game. Circle the number of tiles in your set (or round the number of tiles down to the nearest number shown):
(i) 136 - CJBOZ
(ii) 144 - CJVWONTPGDZ
(iii) 152 - CJVWONTPAGDZ
(iv) 160 - CJVWONTPAIGDZ
(v) More than 160 - CJVWONTPAIMGDZ
11. I want to learn a style that's well described in English-language books:
(i) Yes (want a selection of books about the style I choose) - CVOG
(ii) Sort of (as long as there's one book or website I'll be happy) - NAWBZJ
(iii) No (don't care if there are books or not; I'll learn from friends or the Web) - TPIMD
12. I want to compete in international competitions:
(i) Yes - GZ
(ii) Naah - CJVWONTPAIMD
13. I like Olympic-style competitions (playing for rank and status, not money prizes):
(i) Yes - G
(ii) Are you nuts? $how me the money! - AZJ
14. I don't know 3 other people to play with - only 2 (so therefore I need a 3-player game)
(i) Yes - 3
(ii) Nope, I can get 3 other people - CJVWONTPAIMGZ

FIGURING OUT THE QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS.

MAH-JONGG RULES YOU SHOULD STUDY (which letter did you circle the most?) Note: the names of the various flavors of MJ are not necessarily universally recognized. Some authorities may call a particular style of MJ by a different name.

A - American (AMJA or NMJL)
V - Western Classical ("Vanilla Western" or "British Empire style") (sometimes erroneously called "American")
W - Wright-Patterson AFB OWC
O - Hong Kong (Cantonese) "Old Style" (may also be called "Hakka style" for "countryside style")
N - New Style
E - JapanEse Classical (à la Kanai & Farrell) (no references above)
J - Japanese (Modern Riichi/Dora)
T - Taiwanese
C - Chinese Classical
I - Vietnamese
P - Filipino
M - Malaysian
G - Chinese Government Official = "Mah-Jongg Competition Rules" ("MCR")
3 - 3-player Malaysian or Bashi-Bashi
Z - Alan Kwan's "Zung Jung"
D - India / Mumbai-Style see FAQ 2b )

OTHER STYLES OF MAH-JONGG NOT REFERENCED ABOVE

S - Singaporean (probably same thing as "Malaysian")
B - Babcock (simplified/commercialized Classical Chinese)
U - Hunan
L - The 12-tile game
H - Mhing

Thanks to Alan Kwan for helping fine-tune this questionnaire.

Want to know more about the various kinds of mah-jongg existing in the world today? Click here to go to PART B: "How to find out which version of Mah-Jongg you or your friends play."

Got a question about this FAQ? Ask the expert -- visit http://www.sloperama.com/majexchange/bulletinbd.htm to get answers to your mah-jongg questions. Like this...

---

I know how to play American Mahjong but would like to learn Chinese Mahjong

>From: Kim x
>Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2018 10:55 AM
>Subject: Chinese Mahjong
>Hi Tom
>I know how to play America Mahjong but would like to learn Chinese Mahjong. I also would like to learn how to score Chinese Mahjong.
>Are there any books or websites you would recommend? I also wanted to know if there are any Chinese Mahjong tournaments inside the USA?
>I live near Buffalo, NY.
>Kim

Hi, Kim! You asked:

how to score Chinese Mahjong.
There are many regional Chinese scoring systems. You need to choose one. I created a brief questionnaire you can take, to find out which one to start with. The questionnaire is in FAQ 2A.

Are there any books
FAQ 3. And there's also my book; it describes Chinese Majiang Competition Rules, MCR. These rules have also been called "Chinese Official" (and other names) elsewhere on my site.

or websites
FAQ 4B.

if there are any Chinese Mahjong tournaments inside the USA?
I haven't been keeping track. People send me announcements and I post them on the Find Players bulletin board, and then I promptly forget them.

near Buffalo, NY.
The land of my origins! But I expect that a Chinese tournament would be more likely on the coasts, or in Las Vegas. I think your best bet is to bookmark MahjongNews as the best resource for "un-American"* mah-jongg tournaments. American-rule events are not listed there, which made me think.

It's too bad that there's a sort of "Mah-Jongg Great Wall" between American and all the other mah-jongg variants. There are a few of us who play on both sides of the wall; I have met several. But we are a minority among players of the American variant. The play mechanics are similar, but the details and scoring are so different that players on both sides of the wall tend towards provinciality, staying with the rule set that is most prevalent among their local acquaintances or their circle of friends globally. Thing is, there are a lot fewer of "us" (players of American rules) compared to "them" (players who play other variants of mah-jongg) - we are a minority, and not many of us visit the other side. We miss out on a lot by not joining the wider mah-jongg community. So I applaud you in your goal, Kim.

*This terminology has long been a problem for me.
I have been chided for the unpleasant connotations of "un-American," due to that phrase's historic use and today's political environment - so forgive me if I feel compelled to elaborate on why I keep using it.
As a writer, I need a blanket term for "mah-jongg that encompasses all variants except American/NMJL rules." You can't call it "Chinese," and you can't even call it all "Asian;" neither is accurate. But if I call it all "mah-jongg," or "normal mah-jongg," then players of American mah-jongg will think I'm talking about American mah-jongg. American mah-jongg is the oddball of the mah-jongg world, as I've said before.

Most players in Europe, Asia, and other continents (just not North America) are aware of the existence of American mah-jongg, but many think of it as "Jewish mah-jongg," rightly or wrongly. Since this variant was created in the USA and has members in the US and Canada primarily, I think the best thing to call it is "American." But then what about Wright-Patterson rules? W-P is similar to the majority of variants (it is not similar to NMJL); it shares roots with Western/British/Australian mah-jongg (one may be a parent of the other, or they may be siblings). So W-P should not fall under the umbrella category "American," even though it originated with Americans (wives of Air Force officers, who spent time in many countries). Those on that side of the wall (the un-American* side) are often willing to try out other variants, but what little they know of American rules puts them off wanting to try it (or at least, it's hard to get four friends interested in trying it out).

Most players of American mah-jongg become aware at some point of the existence of mah-jongg beyond American shores, and assume it's called "Chinese." But that ignores Western/British/Australian mah-jongg (which itself is a fairly significant departure from the Chinese trunk) and Japanese rules, and Filipino, and Vietnamese, and the numerous Chinese regional variants, as well as past variants not still played much. You can see the mah-jongg family tree at http://sloperama.com/mjfaq/tree.htm - note how NMJL sticks way out on the right.

Maybe rather than a tree, I should visualize it as a planetary system. Might make it easier to see my point (that American mah-jongg differs from the rest, and there is a "Great Wall" between them). It was a lot of work to create that tree sketch! Will have to think on this planetary paradigm... But now I've digressed far too much!

May the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
トム·スローパー
湯姆 斯洛珀
Creator of the Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Los Angeles, California, USA
June 19, 2018 4:30 PM

Archive-name: mjfaq02a.htm
Newsgroups: rec.games.mahjong; fj.rec.games.mahjong
Posting-frequency: n/a (only FAQ 0 is posted on the NG, and it is posted weekly)
Last-modified: January 2, 2002
Version: 2.20
The other mah-jongg FAQ articles are located at: http://www.sloperama.com/mjfaq.html

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UPDATE LOG

FAQ 2a (How to choose a rule set)

Feb. 9, 1999 -- added clarification about names of various MJ rule sets. ("Note: the names of the various flavors of MJ are not necessarily universally recognized. Some authorities may call a particular style of MJ by a different name. ")
June 22, 1999 -- more clearly differentiated "American" MJ from "Western" MJ.
October 26, 1999 -- changed "Filipino" to "Philippine"
November 24, 1999 -- added American MJ to the computer question.
July 8, 2000 -- combined two older FAQs together into one concatenated FAQ.
September 29, 2000 -- changed FAQ URL from activision.com to thegameguru.net, added Glass book to list of Western authors.
October 18, 2000 -- corrected the FAQs' URL to match actual direct URL
December 8, 2000 -- changed thegameguru.net to sloperama.com
January 3, 2001 -- updated the Babcock Red Book information; updated info re the HKOS-VS.-CC controversy and added info to the Vietnamese section; changed "Philippine" back to "Filipino"
January 5, 2000 -- added Chinese Official style (CMCR).
January 28, 2001 -- various wording improvements throughout.
February 19, 2001 -- added WMPA style and made a couple of adjustments. Finished a sentence.
March 15, 2001 -- changed the Taiwanese/Filipino question in Part II, thanks to a suggestion from J. R. Fitch.
May 4, 2001 -- added Hunan style mah-jongg. Thanks to Sehat Nauli for the information. Added details regarding WMPA and Zung Jung styles.
May 25, 2001 -- added info about Korean mah-jongg.
May 25, 2001 -- clarified the info about Korean mah-jongg (I ought to research before I publish!) Thanks very much to Sangchol Sheen for all the help!
May 25, 2001 -- further clarified the Korean info
June 4, 2001 -- added carriage returns (this is a TXT file and displays as is)
July 13, 2001 -- added the Tjoa and Lo books under the New Style category
July 16, 2001 -- cleaned up the Overview section; Lo describes not only New Style but also Taiwanese and HKOS.
July 30, 2001 -- modified references to Hakka style, now that I've learned it's HKOS.
August 21, 2001 -- minor cleanups
September 2, 2001 -- Added 12-tile mah-jongg.
October 1, 2001 -- added Pritchard book.
November 17, 2001 -- added Mhing to the list of mah-jongg variants.
December 12, 2001 -- changed a couple URLs is all.
December 14, 2001 -- converted FAQ to HTML format. And of course I had to touch up here and there in the process.
January 2, 2002 -- divided the FAQ into its separate sub-parts again. It wasn't a mistake to combine them in the first place, but it's just easier if they're separate.
September 16, 2002 -- heretofore, all updates are logged at http://www.sloperama.com/mjfaq/log.html

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Copyright 2000-2019 Tom Sloper. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this and my other FAQs by written permission only.