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Directions for Playing Mahjong

Mahjong is a popular game of finding matching sets of 144 tiles. There are many variations of the game; however the original game, originating in China, contains three different suits: Chinese characters, circles, and bamboo sticks. It also has four winds (north, south, east and west), three dragon tiles (red, green and white), eight flower tiles and a wind direction tile. With each variation of the game, the rules remain the same: points are scored for the most matches. The game can be played as a board game or computer game.

Setting UpBoard
- When playing Mahjong as a board game, the tiles are shuffled then placed face down on the table. Stack the tiles in a rectangle structure, which becomes the wall. Flower and season tiles are stacked 18 tiles in length--without them the sides will measure 17 tiles long. Tiles are laid out two tiles deep by two tiles high. The computer game generates the tiles for you.
Rules
- Select tiles that are free, making sure that the tiles are not covered by other tiles nor have tiles touching it. Matching tiles will disappear, leaving the remaining tiles.
  
  Some tiles can be mixed and matched; for example season tiles (winter, spring, summer and fall). Players can click on a winter and spring tile as a match. Flower tiles can be mixed and matched this way along with the bamboo tiles. Tiles that resemble a deck of cards with numbers must have the picture and the number matched correctly to remove the tiles from the board.
Layouts
- There are a variety of layouts in the computer game of Mahjong. Players can choose a time limit for finding matching titles. Some versions allow players to create layouts using pictures from their computer as the background or tile images.
Scoring
- All versions of Mahjong score the same. Each tile has a value. When matches are found, scores are increased by the tile̵7;s value added to the value of the number received when adding the remaining tiles in play, divided by two.
  Once all 144 tiles are removed, a bonus score is received.
  The faster you work, the more points acquired.
  Another way to earn extra points is not to use the ̶0;hint̶1; function. Not only will points be taken away, but your remaining moves depleted.
End of the game
- The game ends when there are no longer any moves. In the event the player cannot find any more valid moves, use the ̶0;shuffle̶1; option which gives you the opportunity to find the remaining matches. You will have points removed for using this option, it is a risk to take in order to receive a bonus by completing the matches.
TIPS
- Work on the matches for the highest scoring tiles first. Work to clear the tiles on the top of piles of tiles. Try not to match the obvious tiles first. It is the ones that are not obvious that will allow you to find the remaining tiles.

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