Declaring mahjong
American mahjong, lesson 11. Say you won, check the hand, and see who pays.
1. How to declare
- When your 14 tiles match a hand on the card, say "Mahjong."
- Lay all 14 tiles face up.
- The other players check it against the card.
- If it matches, you win the hand.
2. Two ways to win
Your last tile can come from the wall or from a discard.
- From the wall (You draw the tile yourself)
- From a discard (You call the tile someone throws)
Note: For mahjong, you can call a discard to finish anything, even a pair or a single tile.
Go to step 23. Check it tile by tile
Everyone checks the 14 tiles against the line on the card. Tap each group.
Card line 111 111 111 DDD FF:
- 1 Bam, 1 Bam, 1 Bam: Green is Bams in this hand. Three 1 Bams.
- 1 Crak, 1 Crak, Joker: Red is Craks. Two 1 Craks and a joker. A joker can fill a pung.
- 1 Dot, 1 Dot, 1 Dot: Blue is Dots. Three 1 Dots.
- Green Dragon, Green Dragon, Green Dragon: D in green is the dragon that goes with Bams: three Green Dragons.
- Flower, Flower: F is a flower. Any 2 flowers match.
All 14 tiles match the line. It's mahjong.
Go to step 34. Call for mahjong
You have 2, 4, 6 and 8 Craks, and one Red Dragon.
Try it: Pick the discard that gives you mahjong. (card line 222 444 666 888 DD) Tiles to pick from: 8 Crak, Green Dragon, 2 Bam, Red Dragon, 5 Crak, Soap.
Go to step 45. Who pays
- Each hand on the card has a value.
- Win on a discard: the player who threw it pays double. The others pay the value.
- Win from the wall: everyone pays double.
- No jokers in your hand: all payments double again.
- Hands of only singles and pairs can't use jokers, so they don't get this extra double.
6. A scoring example
Your hand is worth 25. Here is what each player pays you.
- On a discard (Thrower pays 50. The others pay 25.)
- From the wall (Everyone pays 50.)
- Discard, no jokers (Thrower pays 100. The others pay 50.)
- Wall, no jokers (Everyone pays 100.)
7. A wall game
- If the wall runs out and no one has won, it's a wall game.
- No one pays.
- Mix the tiles and deal again. The deal moves to the right, as it does after every hand.
8. Quiz: Declaring mahjong
Question: What do you say when you win?
Answer: "Mahjong"
Question: You need one tile to finish a pair and win. Can you call it?
Answer: Yes. For mahjong, you can call a discard for a pair or a single tile.
Question: Is this mahjong? [card line 222 444 666 888 DD] [3 × 2 Dot, 3 × 4 Dot, 3 × 6 Dot, 3 × 8 Dot, 2 × Soap]
Answer: Yes. All Dots, and Soap goes with Dots. It matches.
Question: Your hand is worth 25. Someone threw your winning tile. What do they pay?
Answer: 50. The player who threw the winning tile pays double.
Question: You drew your winning tile from the wall. Who pays double?
Answer: Everyone
Question: The wall runs out and no one has won. What happens?
Answer: No one pays. It's a wall game. Mix the tiles and deal again.
What this lesson teaches
- Say "Mahjong" and show all 14 tiles.
- The player who threw your winning tile pays double. From the wall, everyone pays double.
- No jokers in your hand doubles the payment (not for Singles & Pairs).
