International Mahjong Rules

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IMJ EasyPlay

Copyright 2006 Cofa Tsui. All rights reserved. 2nd edition July 2006.

Play with a goal to meet the world. Understanding the game and learning to play it, and more!This EasyPlayintroduces the mahjong game called International Mahjong that is developed basedon the game play of Cantonese Mahjong. INTERNATIONAL MAHJONG and its short form IMJare both registered trademarks and should therefore always be capitalized. Unlike most othervariants, International Mahjong comes with a comprehensive set of game rules and the set isproperly maintained and managed. All aspects of the game rules can be precisely described andplayers around the world can communicate and play with one another in mutual understanding.This EasyPlay will introduce, and is based on, the International Mahjong Rules ("IMJ Rules") only;therefore, all rule articles referred to in this EasyPlay are of the IMJ Rules. In addition, this

EasyPlay should be used together with the IMJ Rules where most moves and steps of play aredescribed in details. You can view and download the full version of the IMJ Rules via the IMJInfoweb, located at iMahjong.com.This EasyPlay is written with the new comers in mind. It will introduce the general, but essential,information you would need to know about the game. With this EasyPlay and the IMJ Rules, youshould be able to achieve a thorough understanding of the game and be able to play with otherswith confidence! If you are new to mahjong, read through this EasyPlay several times and fromtime to time, and you'll be able to get yourself familiarized with the basic knowledge and willsoon be a skillful player!1. General introduction This EasyPlay assumes you are new to the game of mahjong; or at

least new to IMJ. Generally speaking, the "contents" of the game mahjong are quite simpleand straight forward. It shouldn't be difficult to learn the contents of the game and to startplaying it with confidence - It is the goal of this EasyPlay to teach you just that. However,playing with skill and high level of strategies would require lots of practice and, therefore, isnot the scope of this EasyPlay.

a. Brief introduction to terminology: As deviated as the game itself, mahjong terminology is

also different from books to books, variants to variants. This situation is not uncommongiven the fact that mahjong has been evolved and developed without control for severalhundreds of years! Some people insist that a "widely accepted" set of terminology inEnglish already exists; but no one could ever locate such a set. In May 2006 the writerposted a proposed set ofWorld Unified Mahjong Terminology("WUMT") on the IMJ Infoweand via the mahjong newsgroup (rec.games.mahjong) for discussions. This terminology set

is the first of its kind and will certainly continue to develop. As a reference, this EasyPlayadopts terms and phrases recommended in the WUMT Table.

b. Brief introduction to game: Mahjong is a game played by four players. The playing piecescan be plastic tiles or paper cards - in IMJ they all are called PAIS. A game is a shortplaying process. Understandably, in an eventor a gathering, many games will be played.To start a game, every player is dealt with a handof pais: one player is dealt withfourteen pais while all other three players each gets thirteen. The purpose of the game isthat each player shall, by means of certain allowed moves, arrange his hand of pais toreach certain predefined combinations, which will then be called a winning hand. The playewho has a winning hand is then said to have won the game and is entitled to receivingscores from other players. And, as you read through this EasyPlay further, the "predefinedcombinations" mentioned above are more precisely called "structures" and "patterns",

IMJ Learning Centre (


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respectively. In this EasyPlay, section 5 contains introduction to the "winning handstructures" and sections 7 and 8 have more details about "patterns" that may contributescores or values to a winning hand.

c. Brief introduction to rules: Mahjong is a game originated in China but no written rules ofthe origin of the game have ever been found. Over time mahjong has been evolved anddeveloped into many variants. In the future you shall not be surprised to see that mahjongcan be played by so many rule sets. However, most variants have similar details in theplaying process. The major differences between variants are in the combinations of pais ofwinning hands and how the hands are scored. Among the variants, Cantonese Mahjong(also known as Hong Kong Style), Taiwanese Mahjong, Chinese Classical, AmericanMahjong, International Mahjong ("IMJ") and the Chinese Mahjong Competition Rules("CMCR", published in 1998 by the Chinese government agency for sports), are among themost known game types.

d. Brief introduction to IMJ: International Mahjong is a mahjong game that is uniquelydesigned based on Cantonese Mahjong, but further developed from it. Cantonese Mahjong,also known as "Hong Kong Mahjong", is widely played by people in Hong Kong, China andin most parts of the world where the game mahjong is of interest. In addition to the

traditional Cantonese Mahjong scoring patterns, IMJ increases the total number of validpatterns to 55 so as to add playability to the game. Score values to the patterns are alsocarefully adjusted so as to achieve a batter balance between the skill and luck factors ofthe game. More importantly, a comprehensive rule set is available in writing so thatintroduction of the game will no longer rely solely on physical practice with trained players,and that the rules of the game will not be deviated while being propagated. You can learnmore information about International Mahjong at the IMJ Infoweb.

2. Instrument A mahjong set shall comprise of 144 pais that are divided into several groups.

Each pai can be distinguished by its unique symbolic designs as outlined in the followingparagraphs. It is recommended that new comers spend a little more time to recognize andunderstand these designs and characteristics that come with it.

a. Serials: Serials are categorized into three suits. Each suit has 9 titles and each title has 4identical pais, thus making a total of 108 pieces.(1) The Tans Titled 1 through 9. See further introduction at "The Wans".(2) The Soks Titled 1 through 9. See further introduction at "The Wans".(3) The Wans Titled 1 through 9. We call this group of pais by the numberplus the sui

name (same for the Tans and the Soks), as in the following examples: 1 Tan, 3 Tan,8 Sok, a pair of 7 Sok, 345 Wan (three pais of Wan in the sequence of 3, 4 and 5),5678 Sok (a group of 5, 6, 7, and 8 Sok). Note that when used with the title number(i.e., 1 through 9) the name of the suit shall always be in singular form. The pluralform is used only when you mean to refer to the suit generally (e.g., the Tans, theSoks and the Wans).

The Serials

The Tans - Images are displayed in the sort order of 1 Tan through 9 Tan. Memorizing hints: The number of the "dots"; howthose dots are arranged; 123 Tan are obvious; 4 Tan looks like 4 dots forming a small "square"; the 7 Tan looks like an open lid(formed by 3 green dots) of a small box (formed by 4 red dots); 8 Tan is in all blue; and lastly, the 9 Tan is bold and isoccupying the surface fully. (Hover the cursor over an image to display the title of the pai.)

The Soks - Images are displayed in the sort order of 1 Sok through 9 Sok. Memorizing hints: The number of the "sticks"; how


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those sticks are arranged; 1 Sok looks like a bird; 234 Sok seem "roomy" while 6789 Sok are very "congested"; titles 23468are all green; also each image of 6789 Sok is quite distinctive. (Hover the cursor over an image to display the title of the pai.)

The Wans - Images are displayed in the sort order of 1 Wan through 9 Wan. Memorizing hints: The bottom part of thesymbols are all the same (the Chinese word for 10,000); upper part is the "number" in Chinese. The memorizing effort is todistinguish the difference in the shape of the numbers and, however, you have to memorize them one on one. (Hover thecursor over an image to display the title of the pai.)

b. Honours: Honours are categorized into two groups, a total of 28 pieces.(1) The Winds: Titled East, South, West and North, each has 4 identical pais, thus

making a total of 16 pieces. The Wind pais always have a relation with the sittingsequence of the four players and may affect the scoring of a winning hand. Moreinformation on this relation will be explained in section 7.f. There shall be no pluralform for individual titles (e.g., A pair of South, three West, two North, four East).

(2) The Dragons: Titled Red Dragon, Green Dragon and White Dragon, each has 4identical pais, thus making a total of 12 pieces. (These Dragons are also called RedCentre, Green Fortune and White Board, respectively.) Extra scores may be assignedif a winning hand contains Dragon pais refer to section 7.g for more information.Again, plural form is not used for individual titles (e.g., A pair of Red, two GreenDragon, three White).

The Honours

The Winds - Images are displayed in the order of East, South, West and North. Memorizing hints: The East (Chinese word)looks slim and tall; while the South looks fat and short (a little bit of your imagination is required). The West looks like a smallbox (square) and the North seems to have lots of horizontal and vertical lines. (Hover the cursor over an image to display thetitle of the pai.)

The Dragons - Images are displayed in the order of Red Dragon, Green Dragon and White Dragon. Memorizing hints: Thenames and the colours tell it all! (Hover the cursor over an image to display the title of the pai.)

c. Flowers: Flowers are categorized into two groups, a total of 8 pieces.(1) Blue Flowers: Titled 1 through 4, each has 1 pai, thus making a total of 4 pieces.

These Flowers are normally called Blue 1, Blue 3, etc.(2) Red Flowers: Titled 1 through 4, each has 1 pai, thus making a total of 4 pieces.

These Flowers are normally called Red 2, Red 4, etc.

The Flowers

Blue Flowers - Images are displayed in the order of Blue 1, Blue 2, Blue 3 and Blue 4. Memorizing hints: The Flowers arequite readily distinctive from pais of other groups. The title numbers (1 through 4) and its colour on the symbol will tell itsname. (Hover the cursor over an image to display the title of the pai.)


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Red Flowers - Images are displayed in the order of Red 1, Red 2, Red 3 and Red 4. Memorizing hints: See Blue Flowersabove. (Hover the cursor over an image to display the title of the pai.)

3. Accessories Accessories include the following commonly used items: dice, start indicator,jong indicator and chips. Depending on your situations, the following items may also beincluded to help make your games more comfortable and enjoyable: game table, table lamp,tile rack, score record sheets, etc. You will easily get familiarized with these items onceyou've started playing.

a. Dice: Three dices are cast whenever there is a need to determine which player shall have

the privilege for certain moves.b. Start indicator: An instrument, usually a small plastic pad marked "START", that is used t

identify the player who has started the four rounds of games. The start indicator shallremain in its place throughout the four rounds period.

c. Jong indicator: Usually a small plastic block, which is used to identify a player as theJONGA of the current game (jonga, similar to "dealer" found in most card games, is the

player who has the duty to lead the process of a game). The jong indicator is placed on thleft hand corner of the player so long as he remains as the jonga. If the jonga loses hishand, he'll pass the jong indicator together with the three dice to the player to his right(called his NEXTA), who shall become the jonga of the new game. The jong indicator shallusually have some small parts that can be switched from time to time to display a Windname representing the current round of play (i.e., the round of East, South, West orNorth). When the jong indicator returns and meets the start indicator again, the player whoriginally started the four rounds of play shall advance the Wind of round on the jongindicator.

d. Chips: Chips are used to represent the scores, and may be in different colours or may beavarious markings to represent different score values. During the game, score values aresettled between players by exchanging chips among them. At the beginning of an event,

each player shall be assigned 20,000 scores. IMJ recommends that a complete set of chipsshall contain a total of 40 chips in green, 36 in red, 36 in yellow and 8 in purple. At thebeginning of an event each player shall receive: 10 x green (10 scores each), 9 x red (100scores each), 9 x yellow (1000 scores each) and 2 x purple (5000 scores each), for a totalof 20,000 scores.

Accessories

a b c d

a. Dice - (no additional comment)

b. Start indicator - Picture shows start indicator and jong indicator placed side by side. It is recommended that the startindicator be in a square or rectangular shape, printed with the "score table" on its surface for handy reference.

c. Jong indicator - Picture shows two jong indicators - One has the dice removed to show how the Wind of the round ischanged.

d. Chips - Picture shows chips in proper quantity: Green 10 pieces, red and yellow each has 9 pieces, and purple 2 pieces.

4. Combinations of pais A hand of pais (or "a hand") means all pais in a player's possession.

In the beginning of a game each player shall have thirteen pais while the jonga (the playerwho leads the game) shall have fourteen. Your original hand shall, naturally, comprise of paisthat are randomly mixed. Your goal is to arrange all pais into certain recognized combinations


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(explained below) by means of exchanging your pais through certain "moves" of play. Detailsof all allowed moves are found at section 6 of this EasyPlay. With certain allowed moves youare also required to disclose the combination you have arranged and display it at your lefthand corner. Pais of your hand that have not been disclosed is called your CONCEALED HAND

(see also section 7.b(6) of this EasyPlay). Below are the brief descriptions of various forms orecognized combination of pais:

a. CHOW: A chow means three pais that are of the same Serial suit, and are in consecutivesequence. Examples: 123 Sok, 678 Tan, 789 Wan. Note that the following combinations arnot chows: 891 Wan, 912 Tan. (See samples below.)

b. PUNG: A pung means three pais that are identical: 777 Sok, 3 Red Dragon, 3 South. (Seesamples below.)

c. KONG: A kong means four pais that are identical: 9999 Wan, 4 Green Dragon, 4 North.(See samples below.)

d. EYES: Eyes (a set of) are defined as two identical pais of any kind in a winning hand thatare independent of other combination of pais in the hand. (See samples below.)

e. PAIR: A pair means two identical pais of any kind, unless specified otherwise.Combinations Of Pais

a. CHOWS - Images above are samples of four chows: chow of 123 Sok, chow of 678 Tan, chow of 789 Wan and chow of 987Wan. Note, however, that you don't normally call a chow in a reverse sequence (e.g., "987 Wan"). By nature you can onlymake chows from the Serials.

These are NOT chows - Note that NONE of the samples above are chows, because chows, by definition, must be pais (a) ofthe same suite, and (b) in consecutive sequence.

b. PUNGS - Samples of pungs: 7 Sok, Red Dragon and South.

c. KONGS - Samples of kongs: kong of 9 Wan, kong of Green Dragon and kong of North. You can make pungs and kongs fromany pais other than Flowers.

d. EYES - Assuming the above is a WINNING HAND (containing typically 14 pais in total), the pair of East is called the EYES(one eye, a pair of eyes, a set of eyes, etc.). The eyes can be made of any pais.

e. PAIRS - The above is a sample of winning hand in the structures of SEVEN PAIRS. It is made up of seven pairs - totaling 14pais in the hand. (Can you tell the names of these pais in the pairs?)

5. Winning hand A winning hand is a hand of pais having been arranged in a predefined


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Basic Structure - The Coward

Sample 1 - A sample hand of The Coward, which contains both chow(s) and pung(s) ("kong" is valid as a "pung").

Sample 2 - Another Coward hand, but contains only one Serial suite.

(4) SEVEN PAIRS: A basic structure that contains seven pairs only. Note the emphasis ison "the form of SEVEN PAIRS ONLY". Among the four basic winning hand structures,Seven Pairs will give you the MEDIUM grade of value.

Basic Structure - Seven Pairs

Sample 1 - A sample hand of Seven Pairs. Note that in a Seven Pairs hand, four identical pais cannot be called a "kong",because the Seven Pairs structure defines that all sets are in pair.

Sample 2 - This sample hand of Seven Pairs contains only one Searial suite and the Honours.

Sample 3 - This Seven Pairs hand also contains a special feature: All pais are Unios (the mix of 1s and 9s of the Terminalsand the Honours).

b. Special winning hands: Winning hands that meet certain predefined criteria. A specialwinning hand can be in a form of any of the four basic structures, or in any of the formsspecified by the rules (refer to article 25 of the IMJ Rules).

6. Actual play, moves and basic rules

a. How to start an event: When four players are in front of the game table and are ready tostart, there are several steps to follow in order that a game can actual start. To many newcomers these steps could seem complicated. However, these steps are well laid in ChapterThree and Chapter Four of the IMJ Rules - Please refer to these chapters as details will notbe repeated here. In summary these chapters cover the following topics in details (articlenumbers quoted are those of the IMJ Rules):(1) determination of the "prerequisite settings" that should remain valid throughout the

whole event of play (art. 7);(2) the "choosing seats" procedures that determine the sitting positions of players for a

four-round period (art. 8);(3) how pais are being stacked up as "walls" (art. 10.2);(4) how the first jonga is determined (art. 10.3(1)); and(5) how players are actually dealt with their first hands of pais (art. 10.4).

b. How the play should proceed: At the beginning of a game the jonga is dealt with a hand ofourteen pais while each of the other three players shall have thirteen pais in hand. The


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purpose of the game is that each player shall arrange his hand of pais to become a winninhand. When the winning status is reached a hand shall normally have fourteen pais.Basically, when you have fourteen pais in hand (like the jonga does in the beginning of agame), you must present a winning hand, or you must discard a pai from your concealed

hand (any pai of your choice), so that your hand reduces to thirteen pais. On the otherhand, if you have thirteen pais in hand you will need to get the 14th pai to your hand inorder to arrange the hand into a winning hand. You can obtain the 14th pai through variousmoves which include: WIN, PUNG, KONG, CHOW or DRAW. Only one move can beexecuted at a time and each move has a specified level of priority for execution. Once aplayer has discarded a pai, all other three players shall compete to exercise the only onemove allowed. To exercise a move, other than to draw, one must declare it verbally andonly the player whose move carries the higher priority is allowed to execute the move. Thefollowing sections list those moves in the order of its priority. More details about exercisinthese moves may be found in article 21 of the IMJ Rules.(1) DISCARD: "Discard" may be considered as the "signal" for the qualified players to

compete for a turn to perform a move or a series of moves, as well as the "end" of aprevious player's turn. In a new game it all starts with the jonga. That is, in the

beginning of a game the jonga is dealt with a hand of fourteen pais. If he does notdeclare win he must end his turn of move(s) by making the first discard of the game.In other part of the game, discard must be exercised by a player who has fourteenpais on hand but does not declare a winning hand status.

(2) WIN: If a player finds all pais, disclosed or concealed, of his hand together with thepai already discarded can meet the requirements of a winning hand, he can declareWIN. To win, a player must declare "WIN" verbally and disclose all pais of his handfor examination by other players and for determination of rank, and to receive scoresfrom other player(s), and the game is then completed. Win has the highest priority oall moves.

(3) PUNG or KONG: If a player can form a pung or a kong by combining the discardedpai and corresponding pais in his concealed hand, he can declare PUNG (or KONG).The priority of pung (or kong) is just below win. He must then display the set of pun

(or kong) so formed at his left hand corner. If he forms a kong, he can subsequentlydraw a supplement pai from the tail of the wall. After the pung (or kong) and if hedoes not declare a winning hand status, he must discard a pai from his concealedhand.

(4) CHOW: Only the nexta of the player who has just discarded a pai can exercise thismove, which carries the lowest priority of all moves. If a player wishing to form achow of the discarded pai and corresponding pais in his concealed hand, he candisplay the set of chow so formed at his left hand corner. He performs this move onlif he so wishes and no verbal declaration is required. After the chow and if he doesnot declare a winning hand status, he must discard a pai from his concealed hand.

(5) DRAW: If none of the moves of win, pung (or kong) and chow is exercised, thenexta of the player who has just discarded a pai must draw a pai from the wall. Afterhaving drawn a pai from the wall, he may arrange the pai so drawn together withother pais inside his concealed hand to make sets of chow, pung or kong withoutdisclosing them, or set up a "special kong" (refer to article 22 of the IMJ Rules), ordeclare win if situation allows. If, however, he eventually does not declare win hemust discard a pai, and the pai so discarded may not necessarily be the one justdrawn in.

c. Move at will or move that is mandatory: If you review the previous section carefully you'llsee that some moves are mandatory (e.g., discard and draw where applicable) while othermoves can be exercised at will. In other word, if you can win, pung, kong or chow, you caeither declare it (so as to trigger the competing process), or do nothing by keeping silent.With this freedom, you'll have the opportunity to selectively exercise a move only when itis in your favour, so as to build the better "contents" to your hand (see also section 7.a ofthis EasyPlay). On the other hand, moves may be restricted by other stipulations, for more


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details please refer to article 23 and Chapter Eight of the IMJ Rules.d. Arranging the pais of a hand: Through the execution of the moves mentioned above a

player can arrange his hand of pais into various recognized combinations and thereforeadvance his hand towards the winning hand status. The competing process among players

for a move continues every time a pai is discarded until a winning hand is achieved or untilthere is no more pai on the wall to be drawn. You are encouraged to go through ChapterFive of the IMJ Rules to learn more details about the moves and about certain restrictionsgoverning the moves.

e. The winning of a hand and receiving of scores: When your hand reaches a winning handstatus you must declare it verbally in order to actually win. There are rules and restrictionsgoverning how a hand can be declared as a winning hand and how scores are to be paidand received among players. Articles 19, 21.1, 29, 30 of the IMJ Rules cover details thatapply to all winning hands and winning situations. For new players it could be difficult toassess the correct scores of a winning hand. At the early stage of a learning processplayers could apply an easy way to bypass this difficulty by assigning a fixed score forevery winning hand (regardless of its contents) - players just play for practising purposes.Section 8 of this EasyPlay has more details about scoring of a winning hand.

f. To remain as jonga or jonga retirement: The jonga status of a player will change if thejonga loses his hand in a game or if the game is ended involving paying and receiving ofscores. Have a brief review of articles 12, 13 and 23.10 of the IMJ Rules regardingchanging of the jonga status. If you are the jonga in the current game, it is alwaysbeneficial if you keep your jonga status for as many games as possible. You can plan thisstrategy at the beginning of your hand - If you think you could achieve a quick win(probably not of high value), then win quick, and become jonga again in the next game! Icontrast, if you are not the jonga of the current game, you could also apply this "winquick" strategy to force the current jonga retire fast!

g. End of a game and end of an event: If a game is ended because no more pai is left to bedrawn and there is no winning hand, a new game shall start all over again without thechange of jonga. This rule can be used as another strategy to last a jonga status; in fact itis used very often by experienced players! If a game is ended with a winning hand, score

shall be awarded and paid according to stipulations of Chapter Seven of the IMJ Rules.When the whole event is ended, players shall compare their scores on hand and determinethe winning players of the event.

7. Patterns, scoring and related characteristics "Patterns" are various forms of combination of

pais, which may contribute scores or values to a winning hand. The size of a pattern could beas small as just one pai (e.g., a Flower), or a set of pung or kong, or as large as the wholehand. You build up various patterns gradually during play while you are also advancing thehand towards the winning hand status. One of the objectives of the game is to win a gameand, obviously, to achieve the highest possible scores. A winning hand may be rankeddifferently (hence the total scores of the hand may vary) based on the patterns the handcould demonstrate. The following paragraphs introduce some general features and charactersthat come with various patterns. A good understanding of these features and characters couldhelp you plan better in building the patterns of your hand during play, thus could help youachieve the highest possible score of your hand.

a. Building up patterns and planning ahead: As you obtain new pais to your hand by claiming

discards of other players and by drawing pais from the wall, you are gradually building upsets of chow, pung or kong to your hand. This is how patterns are built. You can, andshould, always plan ahead what patterns should be built. For instant, if your original handcontains many pairs, you might wish to build up patterns of or related to pungs or kongs.As your skill and experience grows, you'll find planning ahead is getting easier. However,skills and strategies require lots of practice to reach its higher levels. So, play often andover time you could become an expert in mahjong!

b. Various conditions of pais: During play pais can be in various conditions that may restrict


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your ability to access them or make changes to or about them. Below is a summaryexplaining various such conditions:(1) The wall, the head and the tail: The "wall" is where you can draw a new pai to your

hand in your turn of move, and only in your turn of move. You normally draw the pai

from the HEAD of the wall. However, when you set up a kong or replace a Flower,you shall draw a pai from the TAIL instead. Refer to articles 10 and 16 (includingsub-articles) of the IMJ Rules for more descriptions about the wall, the head and thetail.

(2) Discarded: When your hand has 14 pais but you do not present a winning hand, youmust get rid of a pai by "discarding" it to the centre of the game table (where it iscalled the FLOOR). Your turn of move ends immediately when you discard a pai. Thameans, you are not allowed to make any change or do anything, but to let go thediscarded pai. You are even not allowed to make correction if you've displayed a setin error - see section (4) below. So, discard wisely and carefully! Your "discarded pai"may then be claimed by other players for the purposes of "winning a hand", "settingup a pung or a kong", or "setting up a chow". Discarded pai that is not claimedimmediately by other players shall remain on the floor, and cannot be claimed any

more throughout the game.(3) Concealed: Pais in a player's hand shall be kept "concealed" at all times unless they

are to form a set of chow, pung or kong by claiming a discarded pai. You have thebest flexibility with the pais in your concealed hand as you can make sets of or makechanges to them anytime you want.

(4) Displayed: Sets (chows, pungs and kongs) that are formed by claiming a discardedpai must be disclosed and "displayed" on the left hand corner of a player. Displayedpais are part of a player's hand but players are not allowed to make change to thedisplayed sets. This includes where a set is displayed in error. For example, you'veclaimed a discarded 3 Sok to form a chow. Instead of disclosing a 4 Sok and a 5 Sokfrom your concealed hand, you have picked a 6 Sok and a 5 Sok to display a set of365 Sok without knowing the mistake. After you have discarded a pai, you will not beallowed to correct the mistake any more. However, if such error happens to you, you

have no obligation to tell other players about the error. Keep silent as some playersmay not discover the error and may continue to play defensively which will be to youbenefit. (Note: you can always correct the mistake if you find out immediately, butonly BEFORE you have discarded a pai.)

(5) Exposed: When you disclose one pai from your concealed hand to set up a "meldedkong", or disclose four pais at the same time to set up a "concealed kong", you aredisclosing a pai that is fresh to other players. It is similar to, although not the sameas, discarding a pai. Other players can claim your disclosed pai to win (this is called"robbing a kong" - refer to article 23.7 of the IMJ Rules). In IMJ Rules, disclosing apai for the purpose of setting up a melded kong or concealed kong, and discarding apai to the floor, are summarized as "exposing" a pai. In both scenarios, you areexposing a pai from your concealed hand and the exposed pai can be claimed byother players for the purpose of winning a hand (article 23.6 of the IMJ Rules). So,expose cautiously!

(6) A hand: A hand of pais of a player is defined as all pais in the possession of theplayer, including pais disclosed but kept in his display line and pais kept in hisconcealed hand, as well as pai obtainable in his turn of move. "Obtainable in his turnof move" includes claiming a discarded pai to set up a pung, a kong or a chow, or towin. If you do not declare win while you have fourteen pais in hand, you must discara pai (any pai in your concealed hand) so that your hand reduces to thirteen pais. Forthe purpose of calculation under this rule, disclosed Flowers are not counted, anydisclosed kong (four pais) is to be counted three pais only and all other pais arecounted in unit of pai. This rule may be found in article 18 of the IMJ Rules.

(7) Counting of pais: Remember that each title of pai, other than Flowers, has fouridentical pieces only (see section 2). If you are waiting for a particular pai to win a


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hand, be sure to look up how many of this particular pai have been disclosed (on thefloor or on the display lines of all players). If you see that all four pieces of thisparticular pai are disclosed, you will have to change to wait for another pai for yourwinning hand.

c.Pure or Mixed: "Pure" (or "All") and "Mixed" refer to the overall contents of a hand. If ahand is so described, it is worth some extra value. For instant, if the hand contains onlyone suit of the Serials (the Tans, the Soks, or the Wans), or only the Honours, the handmay be described as "Pure". If the hand contains Honours, plus any one suite of theSerials, it may be described as "Mixed". "Pure" carries more value than "Mixed". If a handcontains Honours and more than one suite of the Serials, it is not worth any extra value.

PURE or MIXED

Sample 1 - A structure of The Coward (comprised of the mix of chows andpungs/kongs), with the feature of containing oneSerial suite only - PURE.

Sample 2 - A structure of All Chows (comprised of sets of chows alone), containing the Soks only - PURE.

Sample 3 - This sample is in the structure of All Pungs (comprised of sets of pungs or kongs only), and containing just theTans - PURE.

Sample 4 - This hand is in the structure of Seven Pairs, and containing Honours only - PURE. From the illustrations ofsamples 1 through 4 above, you can see that the feature of PURE: (a) can be associated to any of the four basic structures,and (b) can be formed by any of the three Serial suites or by the Honours.

Sample 5 - A hand in the structure of The Coward, containing both Honours and the Tans - MIXED.

Sample 6 - An All Pungs hand, containing one Serial suite and the Honours - MIXED. Note this hand has more unique features

to mention: containing Unios only, all of the three Dragons are present! You'll learn more about grade elements in section 8 ofthis EasyPlay.

d. Big or Little: "Big" and "Little" refer to the completeness of a specific group of pais namein a statement. For example, pattern "Big Four Winds" means all four titles of the Windsare present and in the form of "pung" or "kong" - Obviously you must have four completesets (each being pung or kong) to be qualified as "Big". "Little Four Winds" refers to thescenario where one of the Winds is in the form of the "eyes". This description applies alsoto the Dragons (comprising Red, Green and White Dragon). A pattern called "Big" or"Little" carries a substantially high value and "Big" has more value than "Little".

BIG or LITTLE


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Sample 1 - In the above winning hand, all four titles of the Winds are present and in the form of either "pung" or "kong". Thegrade element covering the Winds is considered BIG (this element is actually called "Big Four Winds").

Sample 2 - In the above winning hand, three out of the four titles of the Winds are in the form of either "pung" or "kong" whileone title forms the eyes. The grade element covering the Winds is considered LITTLE (this element is actually called "LittleFour Winds").

Sample 3 - The above winning hand contains all three titles of the Dragons in the form of either "pung" or "kong". The gradeelement covering the Dragons is considered BIG (this element is actually called "Big Three Dragons").

Sample 4 - In the above winning hand one of the three Dragons is in the form of "eyes". The grade element covering theDragons is call LITTLE (this element is actually called "Little Three Dragons").

e. Jumping and Stepping: "Jumping" is used to describepungs that are in consecutive orderand "Stepping" is to describe chows that are in consecutive order. Of the sets in sequence,they could be either "PURE" (all sets are in one Serial suit) or "MIXED" (all three Serialsuits are present). The "Jumping" or "Stepping" combinations may add small to mediumamount of value to a winning hand.

Jumping & Stepping sets

a. Jumping Pungs Sample 1 - Illustrated are four jumping pungs in one Serial suite (also qualified for "PURE").

b. Jumping Pungs Sample 2 - Illustrated are three jumping pungs in one Serial suite (also qualified for "PURE").

c. Jumping Pungs Sample 3 - Illustrated are three jumping pungs in three Serial suites (also qualified for "MIXED").

d. Stepping Chows Sample 1- Displayed are four stepping chows in one Serial suite (also qualified for "PURE").


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e. Stepping Chows Sample 2- Displayed are four stepping chows in one Serial suite (also qualified for "PURE").

f. Stepping Chows Sample 3- Displayed are three stepping chows in three Serial suites (also qualified for "MIXED").

f. Sitting sequence (related to the Winds and the Flowers): A player's "sitting sequence"(also called "seat number") refers to his sitting position with respect to the jonga of thegame in progress. The "sitting sequence" starts from the jonga as 1, and countsanti-clockwise. On the other hand, each of the Winds (East, South, West and North) andthe Flowers (title numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4) is assigned a "sequential number" of 1, 2, 3 or 4respectively. If a player's seat number coincides with the sequential number of a Wind or aFlower in a winning hand, extra value will be added to the hand if it contains pais of thespecific Wind and/or Flower. Example: If you sit on the right of the jonga, your seatnumber is 2 in that particular game. If you win the game and if you have a pung of Southand a Blue 2 (Flower), you'll get extra value because of the pung of South and the Blue 2.Learn more details in IMJ Rules by referring to articles 15, 27.3(6) and (7), and 28.5(2).As you study a little bit further, you'll see that one out of the four Winds and two out ofthe eight Flowers would get you extra value if you win a hand - With this knowledge inmind it will help you better plan your hand during play.

Sitting Sequence - The Winds and Flowers

Sitting sequence - The sitting sequences of the four players shall start with the jonga as 1. The sequence of the Winds shallstart with the East as 1. The sequence of the Flowers are as numbered.

g. The Dragons: A pung (or kong) of any of the Dragons will bring you extra value. Refer toarticles 27.3(3), (4) and (5) of the IMJ Rules for more details. Again, keep this knowledgein mind and plan a better hand during play!

Pungs of Dragon

Pung Of Dragon - Illustrated is a winning hand containing two sets of pung or kong of Dragons. Since not all of the Dragonsare present the element is not qualified for "BIG" or "LITTLE" - See section 7(d) above.

8. Grade elements A winning hand will earn scores for the winning player based on the

"patterns" the hand could demonstrate. These patterns are called GRADE ELEMENTS. ChapterSix of the IMJ Rules contains detailed scoring definitions of a total of 55 valid grade elementsIn addition, there is a "Grade Elements Table" posted on the IMJ Infoweb. The table providesdetailed illustrations of grade elements in various sample winning hands. You don't need tomemorize all elements right away but going through Chapter Six and the Grade ElementsTable every now and then will definitely help you memorize the details and improve yourskills in achieving higher scores.

a. Elements are grouped by categories. In most cases only one element out of a group can

be added to the scoring of a winning hand (e.g., a winning hand may qualify to claim thregrade elements but they might need to be from three different groups). Understanding thegeneral characteristics of each group would help you better manage memorizing the


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elements and making use of them during play. The following is a brief summary of thegroups of grade elements:(1) Groups 25.1 and 25.2 cover all special winning hands. Note that each element is

considered complete on its own and the grade value awarded is final. Have a clear

understanding of the definitions and you'll have better advantages over other playerswho don't.(2) Group 26 covers grade elements that are based on the "basic structure" of a winning

hand. Note that in the scoring process, you must identify a basic structure of yourhand and stick to that structure.

(3) Groups 27.1 through 27.4 cover grade elements that are based on the "combinationof pais". Group 27.1 covers the pure or mixed series; Group 27.2 involves theHonours series. Group 27.3 involves the pung series of the Serials while Group 27.4involves the chow series.

(4) Groups 28.1 through 28.5 cover grade elements related to "how" - How the winningpai is obtained (groups 28.1 through 28.3) and how the general status of other pais isat the time of winning (groups 28.4 and 28.5). Although the value of these elementsare relatively small, most circumstances in which these elements are about to form

are all under your control, or may be taken advantages of at your own discretion! Forexample, if your win is only one pai away, and if your chance of getting that pai byself draw is high, you can pass any discard and wait for your self draw to win(winning by self draw gives you 1 fan more, plus you receive scores from ALL playerinstead of just one) - This is something you can control on your own to potentiallyincrease the value of your hand. Another example: If you have two Chance Flowerson hand you have already secured 2 fans, and if other players seem to be very closeto a win, you might wish to win on any pai available to you (discard or self draw) anget rid of the danger - Again, this is something you can decide on your own. So makbest use of these elements!

b. Counting the elements of a winning hand: You would need to have a good memory of allvalid grade elements in order for you to effectively build good contents of your hand durinplay, and to correctly identify all elements a winning hand could produce. On the other

hand, whether you have reached this high level of experience, it is always a good practiceto assess, i.e., to count the elements of, a winning hand by applying the following steps:(1) Identify the basic winning hand structure of the hand (The Coward, All Chows, All

Pungs, or Seven Pairs). Where applicable, the hand might fall within the "specialwinning hands" category.

(2) Check if any elements related to "Pure" or "Mixed" exist.(3) Check if there are elements involving "Honours only", the "Pung Series" or the

"Chow Series".(4) Add all other elements with smaller value as you could find in groups 28.1 through

28.5 (art. 28 of the IMJ Rules).9. Settlement of a winning hand In International Mahjong, a winning hand is first assessed its

grade ranking by counting the total grade elements achieved of the hand. The ranking isrepresented by the total number of FANS those grade elements could produce. We then referto the Standard Scoring Chartof the Rules and convert the total number of fans into SCORES.Other players (or could be just one other player) then pay the appropriate scores to thewinning player. Details of the scoring of winning hands and settlement between players maybe found at Chapter Seven of the IMJ Rules. Below is a brief summary of Chapter Seven:

a. Only one player can win in each game. Article 29 has detailed stipulations in case more

than one player have declared win because of an exposed pai.b. The winning player may receive scores from just one player or from all three players,

depending on how the pai enabling the win is obtained. Refer to article 30.3 for thedetailed stipulations.

c. After settlement of scores, a new game may start if the event is not at an end.


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10. Notes beyond just playing We hope this EasyPlay, together with the IMJ Rules, will bring

you to the full understanding of International Mahjong! To help you explore further about IMJ,we have established a website called IMJ Infoweb (iMahjong.com) where you can find lots of

online information about International Mahjong and other related topics. Feel free to tellfriends about this online resource and refer the documentation to your readers in any of yourdiscussions or communications about mahjong.

a. IMJ Online Resources: On the IMJ Infoweb there is an Online Resources section where you

can find useful information related to International Mahjong. In particular, you'll find fullset of the IMJ Rules, IMJ Grade Elements Table and information related to the WorldUnified Mahjong Terminology that are available for online viewing and download.

b. You have the questions, we have the answers: As mentioned earlier in this EasyPlay, theIMJ Rules is properly maintained and managed, and is comprehensive in coverage of allsteps of play. If you have any questions about IMJ Rules we are ready to answer them! Ifsubmitted properly, your questions could even win you a prize in cash! Please visit the"Rules Overview" page (http://www.imahjong.com/mru00.html) and look for the "Rule

Questions" and "Quest To Win Contest" links on the menu bar.c. About setting up IMJ Playgroups: If you plan to set up a playgroup in your area and your

playgroup is committed to playing by the IMJ Rules, you can post your playgroup'sinformation on the IMJ Infoweb. Visit this link "http://www.imahjong.com/mjcsetup.html"to learn more.

d. About IMJ Forum: International Mahjong Forum ("IMJ Forum") is an online discussiongroup that allows people interested in International Mahjong to express and exchange ideasabout IMJ related topics, including rules, activities and events. The forum is open to thepublic (IMJF.net).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTT: Images of mahjong pais were modified from the original images of the Wikipedia website. July 1, 2006.

Copyright 2003-2006 Cofa Tsui. All rights reserved. INTERNATIONAL MAHJONG and IMJ are registered trademarks. Refer towww.iMahjong.com for more information.

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