28 Mahjong - Rules

Mahjong (also spelled Mah-Jong or Mah-jongg) is a Chinese tile game. It is similar in play to the card game Rummy. Both Rummy and Mahjong require players to select and discard units (cards in Rummy, tiles in Mahjong) to win and score points by forming same-suit pairs, triplets, quadruplets and/or same-suit runs of three sequential tiles.

The basic game uses 136 tiles , although 8 bonus tiles can be added for greater challenge. There are many rule variations on tile play and scoring, so be certain which rule set you are using before you begin!

Game Objective

There are two primary objectives in traditional games of Mahjong. The first is to make a series of matched sets with all the tiles in your hand before your opponents. The second is to assemble the highest scoring hand .

Tiles

The basic Mahjong set contains 136 tiles. The tiles are divided into two distinct groups: the common tiles group and the honor tiles group.

Common Tiles - The common tiles group is composed of three suits: characters, circles and bamboos. Each of these suits contains tiles numbered from 1 to 9, with each tile replicated four times apiece. Each suit therefore contains 36 tiles. The common tiles group contains 108 tiles in total.

Honor Tiles

The honor tiles group is composed of four "wind" suits (East, West, North, South) and three "dragon" suits (Green, Red, and White Dragon). Each honor tile is also replicated four times. The winds suit therefore contains 16 tiles and the dragons suit contains 12 tiles, for a total of 28 tiles.

Bonus Tiles

A complete Mahjong set comes equipped with 8 bonus tiles for additional complexity. The bonus tiles are the only tiles that are not replicated four times. Although they look remarkably alike to the untrained eye, each tile is unique. Four tiles represent the seasons (spring, summer, winter, autumn) and four tiles depict a flower (plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo).

What is the wall

The Wall is a four-sided structure built from all the Mahjong tiles. At game start, the tiles are shuffled and mixed face down. Each player then builds a two-storey high linear structure of tiles in front of them. (In the basic version of Mahjong, each line is 17 tiles long by 2 high for a total of 34 tiles per structure.) The four lines of tiles are then pushed together to build a square in the center of the table. This square is what is referred to as The Wall.

Seats and deals

Players are assigned specific places to sit at a Mahjong table. Designated seats are referred to by one of the four compass directions: North, South, East and West. The seats are also known as "the winds". There are many ways to choose player/wind seating, just as there are many ways to choose the dealer . Know which rule set you are playing with in order to know which conventions are followed!

Once seating is arranged, the tiles are dealt. The Wall must be separated at some location in order to begin dealing the tiles. There are several ways to determine where to 'break' the Wall. Although rolling a set of dice is usually required, who rolls the dice, in what order, and the number of rolls made can be quite complicated and differs from country to country.

Once the wall is broken, tiles are dealt counterclockwise around the table. The tiles are dealt in groups of four to each player, until each player has 12 tiles in their hand. The dealer then takes two more tiles for a total of fourteen. The other players take one tile each for a total of thirteen tiles. The dealer, who now has the extra tile needed to begin play, starts the game.

Play moves counter-clockwise around the table. Each player's turn begins with a tile pick and ends with a tile discard . The picked tile may either be a new tile chosen from the Wall, or a discarded tile thrown by another player. Matched sets that have been made by a "self-picked" tile from the Wall can be kept concealed as long as the player wishes to hide them. If a discarded tile is picked up, it must immediately make a matched set and the set must be revealed right away. A matched set is either three or four identical tiles in the same suit, or a run of three sequential tiles in the same suit. Matched sets are laid on the table after a tile pick and before a tile discard.

Play continues until a player makes and reveals a winning hand , or the game ends in a draw .

	You may pick up a discarded tile from the player directly to your left to make a Chow (a three-tile run in the same suit).
	You may pick up any player's discarded tile to make a Pong (a triplet, or three of a kind in the same suit)
	You may pick up any player's discarded tile to make a Kong (a quadruplet, or four of a kind in the same suit).

A complete " Go Mahjong " hand contains 14 tiles that form various matched sets.

Complete hands are classified as either " normal " or " special ". The normal hand usually contains four simple sets of matched tiles and a pair . (see illustration above) Special hands demand more specific and complicated combinations . See the What's In A Hand section for more information.

SCORING

A win can be declared when a player makes any type of complete hand. Play stops and the hands are then scored. Scoring can be quite complicated, with certain combinations of tiles, suits and numbers of pongs, kongs and chows adding up to a superior hand that is worth many points. Scoring methods (if scoring is used at all) must be agreed upon before the start of the game.

Hong Kong Rules

28 Mahjong makes use of the Hong Kong Rule set. At 28 Mahjong you’ll be playing multiplayer Mahjong, which requires 4 real Internet players.
A standard tile set is used, but no seasons or flowers. Here’s a breakdown of the basic tiles:

Common Tiles

Win at Mahjong by making either a "regular" hand or a "special" hand before your opponents.
A regular hand is composed of 4 simple matched sets (kongs, pongs and/or chows) and a pair.
A special hand is composed of more complicated tile combinations.
Both regular and special hands require at least 14 matching tiles to go Mahjong, or win.

Examples of Regular Hands
Following are some examples of the tile combination types that constitute a regular winning hand. Remember, a pair MUST accompany all of these hands.

Gay Woo (Chicken Hand - 0 Fan): a mixture of chows and pongs in more than one suit.

Ping Woo (Common Hand - 1 Fan): All chows only, in more than one suit.

Far Yiu (Terminal Triplets with Honor Tiles - 1 Fan):A winning hand is a mixture of Terminal Triplets of the common tiles and one or more Triplets of the Honor tiles, and a pair of Honor tiles or Terminal tiles.

Huen Fung (Wind of the Round - 1 Fan): A Triplet of Wind tiles that matches the round of the game.

Moon Fung (House Wind Tiles - 1 Fan): A Triplet of Wind tiles that matches the player’s position in a round.

Chi Mo (Self-draw - 1 Fan): When the winner draws the winning tile from the wall.

Moon Ching (All Concealed Hand - 1 Fan): When the winning hand is without any revealed set.

Cheung Kong (Robbing a Kong - 1 Fan): When the winner claims the winning tile (the fourth identical tile) from another player who has just declared a revealed Kong.

Gong Sheung Far (Added Glory to a Kong - 1 Fan): The Winning Tile is the make-up tile following a revealed or concealed Kong.

Hoi Day (Last tiles - 1 Fan): The Winning Tile is the last drawable tile or the last discard.

Huen Moon Fung (Prevailing Wind Tiles - 2 Fan): A winning hand containing a Triplet of Wind tiles when the Wind matches both the player’s seating position and the Wind of the round.

Won Yat Sik (Mixed One Suit - 3 Fans): 9 tiles in one suit (any type of matched sets) and a pong of any honors suit.

Kong Sheung Kong (Double Kong - 3 Fan): When a player draws or claims a fourth tile to declare a Kong, he or she must draw a make-up tile from the end of the wall. If the make-up tile is the fourth tile of another Triplet, the player declares Kong again and draws another make-up tile from the end of the wall. If the second make-up tile happens to be the Winning Tile of the hand.

Dui Dui Woo (All Triplets - 3 Fans):Four sets of pongs in any suit, using common tiles and/or honor tiles.

Ching Yat Sik (Pure One Suit - 6 Fans):All the tiles, including the pair, are from the same common suit.

Dai Sam Yuen (Grand 3 Chiefs - 6 Fans): Three pongs of dragon tiles plus any other type of pong or chow.

Siu Sei Hei (Junior 4 happiness - 8 Fans): Three pongs and a pair of wind tiles plus a pong or chow of anything else.

Dai Sei Hei (Grand 4 Happiness - 8 Fans): 4 sets of pongs made from all the wind tiles, plus any type of pair.

Sup Sam Yi (13 Terminal Tiles - 8 Fans): One each of the 1 and 9 tiles in each common suit, plus one each of all the honor tiles (4 winds, 3 dragons), and any matching honor tile to make a pair.

Ching-Yew (All Terminal Triplets - 8 Fans): All triplets made from common suit terminal tiles, plus a pair of common terminals.

Chuen Tse (All Honor Tiles - 8 Fans): 4 sets of pongs and a pair, all derived from any combination of honor tiles.

Kan Kan Woo (All Concealed Triplets - 8 Fans): A winning hand containing four concealed Triplets and the winning tile is self-drawn.

Tin Woo (Heavenly Hand - 8 Fans): When the Dealer picks up those 14 tiles at the very beginning from the wall and performs a winning tile.

Dei Woo (Earthly Hand - 8 Fans): When the winning tile is claimed from the first discarded tile by the Dealer.

Playing at 28 Mahjong

Playing at 28 Mahjong is easy and a lot of fun. The winner of our Mahjong game is decided after 1 round of Mahjong only.

Firstly, you will be randomly seated.

Then, the tiles are randomly shuffled and a 4 sided 'wall' is built, 17 tiles long and 2 high. Each player is dealt 13 tiles, with 1 extra for the dealer (East wind).

After the dealer discards, each player takes it in turn to take tiles from the remainder of the wall and to discard a tile from their hand.

Note! The game software will automatically inform you if you are able to Chow, Pong, Kong or go Mahjong! You can also decline the choice of course.

Priority Rule.

Should more than one player be able to pick up a discarded tile then which player gets it is decided by the effect that the tile will have; If it brings a Mahjong! that player always get the tile, followed in priority by a Pong or Kong and then finally a Chow. If after this rule is applied, two or more players claim a win, then the player closest in playing order to the discarder takes priority and wins.

Getting started

28 Mahjong makes things easy for you. Our game software uses Flash so there is no download and setup to worry about. Simply Click Here to begin the process! On the list of games, click the game you wish to play and then click the 'Play Game' button. Once 3 other players have joined your game, the game will start. If you opted to play for real money, then your account will be debited with the table stake. In our Real Money Game, you risk the amount equivalent to the table stake and you can win that much again. Let's explain;

There are three possible outcomes for each game:

Win by Discard.

What Happens : The winner picks up tile that has been discarded by another player Payout Rule : The player who discarded the tile pays the winner will more than the non-discarder. Example : In 2-5 fans game, 15 points table stakes. Players' accounts are debited by 15 points at game start. East picks up South's discarded tile from the table and wins for 4 fans. East is credited a total of 37.50 points (the original 15 points debit + the win of 25 points, minus the 10% house rake, in this case 2.50 points). West and North are credited 10 points, because they are losing 5 points. South is no any credited.

Win by Self Pick.

What Happens : The winner is dealt (“self-picks”) a tile from the wall on his turn. Payout Rule : Equal Payout. Unsuccessful players each pay 1/3 of the table stake value to the winner. Example : 15 points table stakes. Each player's account is debited 15 points at game start. West picks the winning tile and goes Mahjong. The three unsuccessful players pay 5 points each to cover the 15 points wager and each is credited back 10 points. West is credited 28.50 points: the initial debit of 15 points plus 13.50 points in winnings * ( * 15 points table stake, minus the 10% house rake of 1.50 points)

Tie.

What Happens : No player is able to make a winning hand. Payout Rule : Draw. Original debit is credited back to each player's account. No house rake taken . House Rake Generally, 28 Mahjong charges a ten percent rake to the winning player. Sadly, we all have to eat. Hope that's all quite clear! We've tried to make our Mahjong game as fair and as fun as possible and we really hope you enjoy playing it.

Glossary

Terminology & Glossary

Some terms used in Mahjong are interchangeable with similar words used elsewhere.

Glossary of Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

136 Tiles
The basic version of Mahjong employs 136 tiles, consisting of 108 common tiles made up of three suits , and 28 honor tiles made up of winds and dragons .

144 Tiles
Certain versions of Mahjong employ an additional 8 bonus tiles for added complexity. These tiles are called the flowers and seasons .

A

Abandoned Game
A player who forfeits the game does so by ceasing to make plays . This forces the system to play on his/her behalf to game end . A player who abandons the game cannot win . (Note: a player may rejoin a game s/he has abandoned at any time to avoid a forfeit - see FAQ s and the Speed Mahjong User Guide sections for details). Should an automatic discard made on that player's behalf result in a win for another player, the player who abandoned the game is still obliged to pay the penalty to the winning player.

Accept
To make a play ( pong , chow , kong or Win / Mahjong ) by clicking on an action button located on the action bar .

Action Bar
A graphic that is triggered when a player has the option to chow , pong , kong or Win . Click on the appropriate action button to lay down a set , or click on the “pass” button to refuse the option to play.

Action Buttons
The click-able buttons on the action bar that allow a player to either lay down a set , or to pass on the option to use the discarded tile.

Active Option
Option to make a play ( pong , chow , kong or Win ) during the time the action bar appears on screen.

All Honors Hand
A hand consisting of 14 honor tiles .

Auto Disconnect
As a security precaution to protect open accounts, the server will automatically disconnect a computer following 10 minutes of inactivity in any Mahjong screen.

Automatic Discard
Also called Default Discard . Should a player not discard a tile within the prescribed time limits, the last tile dealt to the player from the wall will be discarded automatically at timeout.

Auto Pass
Should a player fail to click on an action button located on the action bar within the prescribed time limits, the system will ignore the option and default to “pass”.

Auto Play
A computer-generated move made for an absent player on his/her turn. This is not a robot play. See also automatic discard , auto pass .

Avatar
Another word for the animated character representing each player.

B

Bamboo
One of the three common suits.

Basic
The game of Mahjong played without the bonus tiles. 136 tiles are used.

Bonus Tiles
The four flower tiles and the four season tiles. Also called optional tiles. These tiles cannot be kept in a hand. They must be revealed or declared on the player's turn. A replacement tile will be dealt for each bonus tile revealed.

Breaking The Wall
A procedure used to determine the area of the wall from which players are dealt tiles.

Building the Wall
After shuffling the tiles face down, players each build a linear structure 17 tiles (or 18, when using bonus tiles) long, stacked two high. The four structures are then pushed to the center of the table to form the square Mahjong wall.

C

Character
One of the three common suits; also called wan.

Chi
Chinese term for a sequence of three tiles of consecutive ranks in one common suit; also called chow, sheung or sequence. You cannot make a chi in runs of four and you cannot make them from honor tiles.

Chicken Hand
The lowest possible scoring hand, containing mixed suits and/or a mixture of chows, pongs, and/or kongs.

Chow
A sequence of three tiles of consecutive ranks in one common suit; also called Sheung, Chi or sequences. You cannot make chows in runs of four and you cannot make them from honor tiles. To chow also means to call the play and lay down the proper tile sequence.

Circles
One of the three common suits.

Claim a Discard
To pick up a tile that has been discarded by another player.

Combine / Combination
To match tiles in groups of three or more; also a matched set of at least three tiles, either a pong, kong, or chow.

Common Tiles
108 tiles composed of 4 sets of same-suit tiles, each set numbered 1 to 9 in three different suits: bamboo, circles and character.

Complete Hand
A winning, or "go Mahjong" hand which is composed of at least 14 tiles.

Concealed Hand
A complete hand that is not shown to the opponents until a Mahjong/Win is declared.

Concealed Meld
Pongs or kongs that are dealt to a player or obtained by picking a tile from the wall; compare to exposed meld in which they are made from tile discards and therefore revealed to other players.

D

Dead Tile
A discarded tile that is no longer available for play. Once a tile is thrown, the discarder cannot recall it. A discarded tile that is not picked up by another player on the next turn also becomes unusable thereafter.

Dead Wall
The portion of the wall used to deal players replacement tiles for kongs and bonus tiles. Also called the Kong Box, this is the wall opposite the wall from which tiles are dealt.

Deal
To distribute tiles from the live wall.

Dealer
The player who begins each game by breaking the wall. In Speed Mahjong, the player randomly chosen to be the East Wind automatically becomes the dealer.

Declare
Players must declare, or reveal, their bonus tiles to the other players at the start of their turn. Bonus tile(s) are then replaced with tile(s) from the dead wall. As bonus tiles are not currently used in Speed Mahjong , no declarations are necessary at this time.

Default Discard
Also called Automatic Discard . Should a player not discard a tile within the prescribed time limits, the last tile dealt to the player from the wall will be chosen automatically for discard at timeout.

Discard
Removing a tile from the hand and placing it face up into the discard area to end the turn.

Discard Area
The portion of the table in the front of the players where unwanted tiles are discarded, face up.

Dragon
One of the honor tiles. There are 4 tiles each of the three types of dragons: red, white, and green.

Draw
A situation in which all the tiles in the live wall are depleted before any player wins. No scores are recorded, the seating remains the same, and tiles are reshuffled to begin a new game.

E

East Wind
In Speed Mahjong, the Jong, or player who starts each game (also called the dealer).

Equal Payout
In Speed Mahjong , the losing players pay the table stake amount in three equal shares to the player who wins by self-pick.

Exposed Hand
A hand composed of one or more sets that have been revealed during the game. This indicates that they were formed from a discarded tile at some point. The opposite of a concealed hand.

Exposed Meld
A pong, kong or chow made by using a discarded tile ; compare with concealed meld.

Eyes
A matched pair . A pair is normally required to declare a Mahjong along with 4 matched sets of three (pong, chow) or four (kong) tiles.

F

Flower
Any of the four bonus or optional tiles showing a flower.

Forfeit
A player who leaves a game and whose moves are taken over by the Auto Play feature right to game end is considered to have abandoned the game and cannot win. The system will make automatic discards and automatic passes on the player's behalf. (Note that a player may rejoin a game s/he has abandoned at any time to avoid a forfeit - see FAQs or the Speed Mahjong User Guide for details).

Should an automatic discard made on that player's behalf result in a win (Mahjong) for another player, the player who abandoned the game is still obliged to pay the full penalty to the winner.

Four Winds
Represent the seating arrangements: East, West, North and South. The player chosen as the East Wind also acts as the dealer and starts the game.

G

Game
In Speed Mahjong, a game refers to a set of plays that takes place amongst four players, beginning with the East Wind . A game ends either when a player goes Mahjong, or a draw ensues.

Game End
The game finishes when once someone goes Mahjong, or a draw ensues.

Game ID
A unique number that identifies each Speed Mahjong game played. The Game ID appears on the Results Screen at the end of the game. This is an important reference number, which should be noted and given to customer service personnel when reporting problems.

Game Selection Menu
The list of options located in the lobby from which a user can select desired game criteria, such as table stakes amount.

Game Start
A game is considered to have started once table stakes funds have been transferred from players' accounts to the house account.

Game Step ID
A unique number assigned to each move of each player during the game. The game step ID is located in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.

Going Mahjong
Ending a game by obtaining a complete hand of tiles, composed of either a special hand or a traditional hand that includes a pair of identical tiles (eyes) and 4 sets of matched tiles.

Going Out
Another name for going Mahjong, or winning.

Gong
A set of four identical tiles. More commonly known as "Kong" and in traditional Chinese, "Gang", also referred to as a set of four and a quadruplet. To kong also means to call the play and lay down the four tiles.

Graphic Quality
This option changes the sharpness and clarity of the graphic images. Choosing high quality results in sharper graphical images but may slow down game play. Choosing low quality results in an inferior image quality but better performance. Graphic quality is defaulted to medium. You can change the graphic quality under the Help & Settings button through the Game Settings sub-menu.

Great Wall of China (The Wall)
The four lines of tiles pushed together to form a square.

H

Hand
In Speed Mahjong , this refers to the tiles held by a player at any given moment.

Help/Settings Button
This button is located in the bottom right-hand corner of all screens. Clicking on the toolbar icon opens up sub-menus that allow you to modify the default settings for animation & sound, obtain help and access your account.

Hong Kong Rules
The most common rule set used in Mahjong, also known as the old 13-tile rules. Hong Kong Bonus rules include the flowers and seasons tiles; Hong Kong Simple rules use the basic 136 tile set, no bonus tiles.

Honor Tiles
The winds and dragons, as distinguished from common suit tiles and bonus tiles.

House
The hosting operator.

House Rake
A share of money taken from the winnings and given to the house for hosting the game. Speed Mahjong takes a 10% house rake.

I

Identical Tiles
Tiles with the same numerical face value derived from the same suit.

K

Kong
A set of four identical tiles. Also known as Gong, Gang, set of four or quadruplet.

Kong Box
Another name for the dead wall.

Kong, robbing the
Taking the fourth tile of an exposed Kong from another player to win.

L

Leaping Tiles
A ritual performed by the dealer as the tiles are first distributed from the wall. The dealer does not wait until all players have the compulsory 13 tiles in hand before drawing his first tile to start play. He takes his 13th tile and skips over the next tile to take the 14th tile right away.

Live Wall
The portion of the wall from which tiles are dealt and players "pick" tiles during play.

Lobby
The main screen from where players can choose game criteria (through the Game Selection Menu), set game configuration options and obtain help with terminology and general game play.

Loose Tiles
Another name for replacement or makeup tiles; tiles which are picked from the dead wall to replace bonus tiles or to replace the fourth tile laid down in a Kong.

Lowest Scoring Hand
The chicken hand, composed of mixed chows, pongs, and/or kongs, and/or mixed suits.

M

Mahjong
A winning hand in which all the tiles have been matched into a special hand combination or regular hand combination of four sets (pongs, kongs, and/or chows) and a pair. To go Mahjong means to call the winning hand and lay down the 14 tiles.

Makeup Tiles
Another name for loose or replacement tiles which are picked from the dead wall to replace bonus tiles or to replace the fourth tile laid down in a kong.

Matched Pair
Two identical tiles (also called the "eyes").

Matched Set
A set of tiles that make up a chow, pong or kong.

Meld (n)
A matched set of at least three tiles, either a pong, kong, or chow; see also concealed meld and exposed meld.

Meld (v)
To combine or match tiles in groups of three or more, to complete a set; also a matched set of at least three tiles, either a pong, kong, or chow.

Mixed Hand
A hand that contains sets of tiles from two or more suits.

Mixed Suits
Similar to a mixed hand: Matched sets of tiles in different suits.

Move
Any play made by a player with a tile on his or her turn. This includes tile discard and calling pong, chow, kong and/or Mahjong.

N

Nameplate
The box beside each avatar that identifies the players by their online names, or screen ID, and shows their seating or Wind designation. The nameplate lights up green on when it is your turn.

Normal Hand
Also called a regular hand, this hand is normally composed of 4 simple matched sets of tiles (kongs, pongs and/or chows) and a pair.

O

Option
Opportunity to choose a play , which is represented by a button on the action bar.

Optional Tiles
The flower tiles and the season tiles. Also called bonus tiles.

Own Wind
The wind that corresponds to the player's seat.

P

Pair
A set of two identical tiles. Also called the eyes.

Pass
To decline the option to lay down a set of tiles. The PASS action button is located on the extreme right end of the action bar; when clicked, it permits a player to reject the option to chow, pong, kong or Mahjong.

Payout
The portion or share of the table stakes amount paid to the winning player by each losing player. Equal payouts amongst players occur when the winner self-picks the winning tile. When a player throws the tile that allows a player to win.

Penalty
In live Mahjong games, penalties may be given for errors in play, such as when a player has too many or too few tiles in their hand, discards a tile before picking one from the wall, and so forth.

The Speed Mahjong system referees all activity and will not permit players to make the mistakes that can occur in live play. A player who discards a tile that results in another player going Mahjong must pay more table stakes amount to the winner.

Pick
To take a tile from the live wall or from the discard area and place it in your hand.

Play
A move made by a player, such as a pong, as opposed to a computer-generated action, such as designating seats.

Plays
Any move that a player makes with a tile on his or her turn. This includes tile discard, and calling pong, chow, kong and/or Mahjong.

Pong
A set of three identical tiles, also referred to as a pung or a triplet. To pong also means to call the play and lay down the three matching tiles.

Priority Option
Different plays have different rank. The pong and kong options take precedence over the option to chow. The win option takes precedence over all possible moves. This hierarchy determines which player wins the right to pick up a tile in situations where more than one person can use it.

Pung
A set of three identical tiles, also referred to as pong or a triplet.

Q

Quadruplet
A set of four identical tiles. Also known as gong, gang, kong and set of four.

R

Rake, house
A percentage taken from the winnings and paid to the house for hosting the game. Speed Mahjong takes a 10% house rake.

Rank
The numerical value of a tile (1,2,3 etc).

Ready Hand
A hand that is one tile short of winning.

Refund
The return of a portion or the totality of, a player's table stakes deposit from the Table Stakes Account back to the player's account.

Regular Hand
Also called a normal hand, this hand is normally composed of 4 simple matched sets of tiles (kongs, pongs and/or chows) and a pair.

Replacement Tiles
Also called loose tiles or makeup tiles; tiles which are picked from the dead wall as replacements for bonus tiles or to replace the fourth tile laid down in a kong.

Results Screen
This screen appears at game end and displays the Game ID, information about the winner, the winning hand, and other info. From here you may choose to play another game with the same criteria by clicking on the "Play Again" button, or return to the Game Selection Menu and choose different criteria for a new game by clicking on the "Return to Lobby" button. You may also print the results info or save it to disk.

Reveal
To turn a tile a set of tiles face up on the table for opponents' viewing.

Revealed Hand
A hand containing one or more sets that have been shown, or turned face up. to opponents during the game.

Revealed Sets
Matched sets that are exposed to the opponents during game play.

Robbing The Kong
Taking the fourth tile of an exposed Kong from another player to complete a Mahjong hand.

Rule Variations
There are Mahjong rules for different countries. Chinese rules are most prevalent, but other rule variations exist, including Japanese, American and others. Speed Mahjong is based on the Hong Kong Rules.

Run
A straight, or a series of consecutive numbered tiles in the common suits.

S

Score, Scoring
The total points earned at the end of hand including points earned from bonus tiles.

Screen ID
A player's online name.

Season
Any of the four optional (bonus) tiles showing a season of the year.

Seating, Seat Assignment
Players are seated randomly at a table. The computer generates and shuffles the four wind tiles. The wind tiles are randomly assigned to each seat. The player assigned the East Wind tile becomes the dealer . The player assigned the South Wind tile will be seated to the right of the dealer. The West Wind will sit to the dealer's left, and the North Wind will be seated opposite the dealer.

Self-Pick or Self-Draw
A tile picked from the wall by a player on his/her turn.

Set
A matched group of tiles: run (chow), triplet (pong) or quadruplet (kong); also a pair (eyes).

Set of Four
Another name for a kong (gong, gang or quadruplet).

Set of Three
Another name for a pong (pong or triplet ).

Settle, Settling , Settlement
The act of comparing outcomes between players and transferring funds between them and the House.

Self-Draw
Also called self-pick, this occurs when a player chooses a tile from the wall.

Self-Pick
Also called "self-draw", this occurs when a player chooses a tile from the wall.

Sequence
Three suit tiles in successive order; another name for chow (or sheung).

Set
A chow, pong or kong; also a pair that completes a winning hand.

Sheung
A sequence of three tiles of consecutive rank in one common suit; also called chow, chi or sequence. You cannot make sheungs in runs of four and you cannot make them from honor tiles.

Simples
A suit tile with a rank of 2 through 8; compare with terminals.

Special Hand
Rare hands that are somewhat difficult to assemble. They earn the maximum number of points (if any) agreed upon at game start.

Stakes, Table
The sum(s) of money committed by players to play a game.

Suit
One of three symbols found on the common tiles, either bamboos, characters, or circles.

Suit Tile
On of the 108 tiles showing a number (from 1 through 9) in the bamboo, character, or circle suit.

System Queue
The Waiting Room . Players are grouped by selected game criteria and moved into a virtual waiting room until sufficient like players have amassed. The system queue moves players into game rooms and sits them randomly at tables as demand is created.

T

Table Stakes
The sum(s) of points committed by players to play a game. Maximum win and maximum loss.

Table Stakes account
Electronic repository to which all players' table stakes are moved at game start and from which payouts are made following a win, or refunds are made following a draw or technical problem.

Terminals
A suit tile with a rank of 1 or 9; compare with simples.

Thirteen Terminals
A special hand consisting of one of each of the terminal tiles (one and nine), plus one each of the honor tiles (4 winds , 3 dragons ) and a 14th tile that matches any of the other 13.

Tile
The rectangular objects used to play Mahjong ; similar in function to playing cards.

Timeout
Occurs when a play has not been made within the prescribed time limits. The automatic discard feature will take over and discard the last dealt tile. In cases where the action bar has been triggered and not responded to within the allotted time, the "auto pass" feature will take over.

Timer
The clock. The timer changes color and will warn you with sound as the time runs out. Your name will also appear in the timer when it is your turn.

Time Limits
The amount of time to make a play. Time allowed for decision-making and play varies.

Traditional Hand
Common hands that are somewhat easier to assemble than special hands. Traditional hands contain varying numbers of chows, pongs and/or kongs and a pair.

Transfer Funds
To electronically move money between a player's account and the house account. This takes place in the waiting room before game start to ensure sufficient funds are in place to pay the winner at game end.

Triplet
A set of three identical tiles, also referred to as pong or a pung.

W

Waiting Room
The System Queue. Players are grouped by selected game criteria and moved into a virtual waiting room until a sufficient number of like players have amassed. The system queue moves players into various rooms and sits them randomly at tables.

Wall
A structure made of all the tiles. The four linear sections form the Great Wall of China when pushed together.

Wall, breaking
In Speed Mahjong, a pair of dice are rolled; the numbers on the dice are randomly generated. The number rolled is "counted off" starting at the right hand side of the dealer's wall and it is at that point that the wall is broken, or separated, and tile distribution begins.

Wall, building
At game start, players need to build a wall from all tiles. The tiles are shuffled face down on the table. Each player then builds four individual linear sections from an equal number of tiles and pushes them together to form the Great Wall of China. Speed Mahjong game builds the wall on the players' behalf.

Wan
Another word for character, one of the three common suits.

Wind
One of the honor tiles showing a compass direction.

Wind Indicator
A disk that appears in the nameplate of each player. It indicates their seating position in the game: East, West, North or South.

Winning the Game
A player has won when he has completed a winning hand AND clicks on the WIN button on the action bar within the prescribed time limits.

Winnings
The total table stakes value won by a successful player, minus the house rake.

Winning Hand
A complete, or "go Mahjong" hand composed of several matched set of tiles: usually a pair of identical tiles (eyes) and 4 sets of tiles that make chows and/or pongs and/or kongs. Other special combinations are possible. See the What's in a Hand section for winning hand combinations.

How to play
Hong Kong Rules
Playing at 28 Mahjong
Glossary

How to play?

Hong Kong Rules

Playing at 28 Mahjong

Glossary

How to play Hong Kong Rules Playing at 28 Mahjong Glossary

How to play?

Hong Kong Rules

Playing at 28 Mahjong

Glossary

How to play
Hong Kong Rules
Playing at 28 Mahjong
Glossary