Ningxia Waterslide Mahjong (Ningxia Huashui Mahjong 宁夏滑水麻将) is an easy-going four-player Mahjong variant popular in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and its surrounding areas. The name “Waterslide” comes from the Chinese word huáshuǐ (滑水), which literally means “sliding on water” and informally suggests something easy, low-effort, or doing the bare minimum. With the exception of self-draws and kongs, only plays who discards into a winning hand loses points and everyone else is off the hook because of the core idea in Waterslide Mahjong: no fault, no loss. In other variants of mahjong, "Fault" comes in two forms: (1) Responsibility which is typically assigned whenever a player helps another form a ready hand by giving a critical meld or (2) Losing while you are the dealer (East) causing you to lose more points than usual.
Tiles to Play Waterslide Mahjong With
Ningxia Huashui Mahjong, uses a total of 136 tiles. This includes 108 suit tiles, which consist of Bamboo, Dots, and Characters numbered 1 through 9, with 4 of each tile. Additionally, there are 28 honor tiles: 16 Wind tiles (East, South, West, North, with 4 of each) and 12 Dragon tiles (Red, Green, and White, with 4 of each). Flower and Season tiles, often used in other Mahjong variations, are not included in Waterslide Mahjong.
Basic Rules of Ningxia Mahjong
Every turn goes the same way:
- Draw a tile from the wall or by take the tile that somebody just discarded
- Try to make a winning hand! The goal is to arrange your tiles into four sets of three and one pair. If you can't, go to step 3.
- Discard a tile in the center of the table, officially ending your turn.
- Immediately after a tile is discarded, someone else can take it to form a meld or to complete their winning hand. If nobody takes the discarded tile, that tile is out of play for the rest of the game and the next player draws from the wall.
By default, the next player is the player to the right (counterclockwise). Even if it is not your turn yet, this is not a time to sit idle. Although the next person is the player to the right by default, there are certain circumstances that allow somebody to jump ahead to call a discarded tile. Also, even if you are unable to call the tile, it is important for you to know what is thrown and what is out of play, so that you are not waiting for it in vain later on.
How to Setup Ningxia Huashui Mahjong
Like most variants of mahjong, Waterslide mahjong is intended for four players. Rules and customs for dealing the tiles out vary from version to version and table to table.
Determining The Dealer
The next step is to determine the dealer, in Ningxia Mahjong, one Wind tile each (East, South, West, North) is shuffled face down on the table. Players randomly select seats and one player rolls two dice. The total from the dice roll determines which Wind tile corresponds to the dealer's position, counting clockwise from the roller's position. For example, if the total is 5, the fifth position clockwise becomes the dealer, starting the first round as the East Wind (dealer). The dealer’s position may rotate in subsequent rounds based on the outcome of the game. If the dealer wins or the round ends in a draw, they retain their position for the next round.
Setting Up The Wall
The next step is shuffling the tiles and building the wall. All 136 tiles are shuffled thoroughly on the table. Each player then stacks tiles into rows of 17 pairs, creating a wall two tiles high in front of their position. This results in a complete square of walls surrounding the play area. The walls are aligned tightly, forming a continuous loop.
Breaking The Wall
Once the dealer has been selected, the dealer rolls the dice to determine the starting wall. Let’s say you are the dealer and you roll a seven.
Starting with your own wall, count the walls in front of each player, moving counterclockwise around the table: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. You should now be pointing at the wall of the player in front of you.
The next step is to determine where to break the wall.
Use the same number from determining the starting wall. Starting on the end of the wall segment closest to you, count out seven tiles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Pick up that seventh tile (since you rolled a seven) because it counts from the indicated player's right to his left (not players but tiles this time) the total sum of the rolls. The tiles immediately after become the draw wall.
The wall is basically like a long deck of cards wrapping around the table in a square. The draw wall is like the top of the deck where the tiles will be dealt from and where the players will draw tiles from during gameplay.
Dealing The Hand
The next step is dealing the tiles. To deal the hand in Ningxia Mahjong, the dealer begins by rolling two dice. The total value of the roll determines the starting point for drawing tiles, counting clockwise from the dealer’s wall. From this starting point, tiles are drawn in sets of four. The dealer takes the first two sets of four tiles, followed by the other players in counterclockwise order, continuing until each player has 12 tiles. The dealer then takes two additional tiles to form a hand of 14 tiles, while the other players each take one additional tile, ending with 13 tiles per player.
Getting a Tile
The main way to get a tile is to draw it from the draw wall.
You can also get a tile when somebody discards it if it completes a a valid combination of three or four tiles, also known as a meld, or for a winning hand.
The called tile must be displayed face up with the completed meld. This open meld cannot be altered for the rest of the game. The discarded tile must be called immediately or else the tile becomes dead and will remain in the discarded tile area for the rest of the game.
Calling Tiles
A pung is a three-of-a-kind.
If you need the discarded tile to complete a pung, you have to say “pung,” grab it, and display the completed pung face up next to your flowers. Pungs are powerful because you can seize it even if it isn’t your turn, and everyone before you will lose their turn.
A kong is a four-of-a-kind.
Kong is like a special type of pung, and can also be grabbed even if it’s not your turn. However, you have to also grab an extra tile from the wall. This is necessary for you to have enough tiles to complete a winning hand.
Generally you cannot claim a discarded tile to form a pair. The only exception is if you are waiting for one more tile to win. You might be waiting to complete a pung or an eye in order to win. No matter what you’re waiting for, you can seize it if somebody discards it, anytime. Winning using a discarded tile is called mahjong or hu.
Arranging your Tiles
Remember, the goal of mahjong is to have all of your tiles arranged into four melds and one pair. After getting a tile, you should arrange your tiles and attempt to incorporate your new tile into your hand.
As discussed above, kong is a four-of-a-kind, which may be formed from a discarded tile. Related to kong is a concealed kong when you have four-of-a-kind that’s hidden in your own hand, which means that you drew it yourself and did not complete it using a discarded tile. In this case, because it’s concealed, four-tile meld, you must declare it publicly and get a tile from the wall. Turn the outside tiles facedown to mark it as a concealed kong. Just like with open meld, your tiles will be out of play the rest of the game with no changes permitted.
Another related concept is open melded kong. Open melded kongs are generally locked in and cannot be changed. If you created a pung from a discarded tile, and later on, somebody throws the fourth matching tile, you will not be able to kong the discarded tile, because your pung was already open. However, there is a special exception: if it’s your turn and the tile that you draw from the wall happens to be the fourth matching tile, then you can add it to your completed pung. Declare the open melded kong and set the matching tile on top of the middle tile of the pung. Since this is now a four-tile meld, you must draw a replacement tile from the wall.
Discarding a Tile
The choice of tiles to discard depends on the player’s strategy and hand composition. The primary goal is to discard tiles that are least useful to your own hand while minimizing opportunities for opponents to claim them.
Arranging your Called and Discard Tiles
Discards are haphazard in the center of the table and called tiles are placed to the right. You are free to arrange your discards neatly however there is no need given the lack of locked discard rules
Winning in Waterslide Mahjong
Winning in Ningxia Mahjong requires forming a valid hand composed of four sets or melds and one pair or you can win with a hand composed of seven pairs. A player can win through self-draw or claiming a discard.
End of Game
The winner of the hand becomes the next dealer. Otherwise, the game will end in a draw if the last tile is drawn. If the game ends in a draw, you will start a new hand with the same dealer continuing.
Points and Payout in Ningxia Mahjong
In Ningxia Huashui Mahjong, points and payouts are determined by the specific winning hand and various multipliers. The game uses a base scoring system tied to the types of winning hands, which are then adjusted based on specific game circumstances.
Initial Points
Decide in advance how long you’ll play for and what “rate” you’ll use. If you plan to play for several hours, you might, for instance, reshuffle seating every hour or so. Also agree on how many “points” each player starts with—represented by chips or some other marker.
Common values are 50 points or 100 points, however you can go as high as you like. These points serve as a baseline for calculating wins and losses.
Winning Hand Payout Formula
The payout in Ningxia Mahjong is simple and flat: What You Pay Is What You See (WYPIWYS). No formula. If you self-draw, everyone else pays. If you discard, you pay.
| Hand | Explanation | On Self-Draw | On Discard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concealed Kong | Four identical tiles drawn privately; revealed only when declared | 2 Points from each other player, Total 6 Points | N/A |
| Exposed Kong on Discard | A player has three of a kind; another discards the fourth to complete Kong | N/A | 3 Points |
| Add-On Kong | A player Pongs, then draws the fourth tile to upgrade to a Kong | 1 Points from each other player, Total 3 Points | N/A |
| Standard Win | Standard hand of 4 melds + 1 pair | 2 Points from each other player, Total 6 Points | 3 Points |
| Seven Pairs | A hand consisting of exactly 7 pairs | 6 Points from each other player, Total 18 Points | 9 Points |
| Dragon Seven Pairs | Six pairs plus one four-of-a-kind | 10 Points from each other player, Total 30 Points | 15 Points |
| One Discard, Three Wins | One discard results in three simultaneous winners | N/A | 9 Total, 3 points to each winner |
