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Japanese mahjong: Difference between revisions
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The Japanese variation is primarily played in Japan, though it is available worldwide through internet sites and video games. Throughout the past 20 years, the game has increased prominence in western cultures through mahjong-centric media. | The Japanese variation is primarily played in Japan, though it is available worldwide through internet sites and video games. Throughout the past 20 years, the game has increased prominence in western cultures through mahjong-centric media. | ||
==History | ==History== | ||
Mahjong | Mahjong as a whole is only a roughly 100 year old game. Originating in China, the game managed to spread across the country, East Asia, and even to the United States during the 1920s. The riichi variant itself only started emerging in Japan after World War 2. The modern riichi variant today began in the 1960's, while the addition of red 5's started appearing in the 1980's. It originated as a gambling game, though play for fun or sport are also common. | ||
==Basic Overview== | ==Basic Overview== | ||
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There are two requirements to win a hand: | There are two requirements to win a hand: | ||
* | *A hand needs a "winning shape". With a few exceptions, players must make a hand with that contains [[tile group]]s (either [[Shuntsu|sequences]], 1-2-3; or [[koutsu|triplets]], 3-3-3) and one pair (3-3). This is similar to how gin rummy is played. In mahjong, you need 4 tile groups + 1 pair to win. | ||
*A hand must have at least one [[yaku]]. Yaku can be synonymous with "poker hands" - | *A hand must have at least one [[yaku]]. Yaku can be synonymous with "poker hands" - they are patterns/criteria that score points. For example, a "pair" in poker means having two of the same number card. [[Toitoi]] ("All Triplets") is when the hand consists entirely of triplets (that is, having 4 triplets in total). In general, yaku that that are harder to get scores more [[han]], which equates to more points. | ||
Mahjong is a zero-sum game - whenever a player gains points, the other players lose a total of that many points. Therefore, [[tile efficiency|developing hands quickly]] and [[defense|minimizing point losses]] are important aspects to the game. | Mahjong is a zero-sum game - whenever a player gains points, the other players lose a total of that many points. Therefore, [[tile efficiency|developing hands quickly]] and [[defense|minimizing point losses]] are important aspects to the game. | ||