How to find out which version of Mahjong you or your friends are playing
If you have friends who play mahjong and you want to learn more about how to play, you have to first know which version of mahjong your friends are playing. There are two problems with this:
Most people who play mahjong are unaware that there are more ways to play
If you just ask them "What type of mahjong are you playing?", they may give you a blank stare or they may give you an imprecise answer. So you may have to ask more questions or in a different way.
There are very few resources that tell you what type of mahjong they are describing
The resources on mahjong do not make it clear which variant of mahjong they are describing because they assume you already know which type they are talking about. Most people have this attitude that there is just one way to play mahjong and it's their way.
There is no standardization in Mahjong naming systems
There is no one established standard naming system or convention for the various flavors and types of mahjong. Different groups and people will use different names to refer to the same style of mahjong.
Questions and Observations to Find Out What Type of Mahjong Is Being Played
1. Are they using a score card they changes every year?
If yes, your friends play American Mahjong with a score card provided by the National Mahjong League (NMJL). All other variants of mahjong use constant rules that stay the same. If they are not, go on to the next question.
2. How many tiles do you hold in your hand during play: 13 or 16?
If they are playing with 13, go on to the next question. If they are playing with 16, they are most likely playing Taiwanese Mahjong or Filipino Mahjong.
You might want to ask: "When you get Wind or Dragon tiles, do you keep them in your hand to make a set or do you treat them like flowers?"
If they keep them in their hands, it is most likely Taiwanese. If they treat them like flowers, it's most likely Filipino Mahjong or a variant of Filipino Mahjong.
3. Do you use "Reach/Ready/Riichi" and/or "Dora"?
If yes, your friends are playing Riichi Mahjong also known as Modern Japanese style mahjong. If no, you are going to need to ask even more questions.
4. How many tiles do you use when you play?
- 144: This is the standard set. Your friends could playing any style at this point
- 152: Most likely playing American mahjong
- 136: They could be playing Japanese, Hong Kong, or a Chinese Variant without flowers
- 160 or more tiles: Vietnamese, Singaporean, or even Thai style mahjong
- 108: Hunan style Chinese mahjong or a variant of Malaysian 3-player
- 132: Fuzhou style Chinese mahjong
- 104: Korean Mahjong
- 84 or 88: A variant of Malaysian 3-player
- 72: Szechuan style Chinese mahjong
Of course, most people do not know the count of tiles they are playing with.
More Obscure Mahjong Variants
If none of the questions helped you answer which type of mahjong are they playing, you are most likely dealing with an obscure variant or a sub-variant of one of the type above. Feel free to check out all of our guides or email us with a detailed description and we will try our best to answer. Of course, we ARE Mahjong Pros.