Mahjong Melds Essentials

Mahjong is a classic tile-based game, easy to pick up but with layers of strategy. The game uses 144 tiles, and each player typically starts with 13 tiles, while the dealer gets 14. The main goal is to form a winning hand, which involves creating specific sets and sequences of tiles, known as 'melds'. Many players are still getting the hang of forming these melds, so this guide is here to break it down for you.

Understanding melds in Mahjong might seem a bit tricky at first, but we'll cover all the essentials. Keep reading to get your head around all the key points so you can play like a pro in the Philippines. Let's dive in!

Mastering Mahjong Melds

Your hand in Mahjong is built using melds, which are basically collections of Mahjong tiles that form valid sets or sequences. These can be a pong, a kong, a chow, or a pair (eyes). You create melds either by drawing a tile from the wall or by claiming another player's discard. Keep in mind, Mahjong rules determine priority when claiming discards and whether a meld needs to be revealed.

Pong: The Triplet

• A pong is a set of three identical tiles.
• You can form a pong with any of the suited tiles (Bamboos, Characters, Dots) or honor tiles (Winds, Dragons).
• Bonus tiles, like the Flowers and Seasons, aren't used for pongs because they are set aside and there aren't three identical ones available.
• It's crucial that the three tiles are exact matches.
• A pong can be kept hidden in your hand or exposed to other players.

Kong: The Quad

A kong is a set of four identical tiles. Think of it as a pong with an extra tile. Here are the three ways you can form a kong:

• Hidden Kong: If you have three identical tiles and draw the fourth one yourself from the wall, you can declare a hidden kong. You'll typically reveal this meld by placing it face-up, often with specific tile placements to indicate it's a kong.
• Exposed Kong: You can claim a discarded tile from another player to complete a kong if you already have three matching tiles in your hand. Your three tiles are displayed face-up, and the claimed discard is usually placed alongside them.
• Exposed Kong from an Exposed Pong: If you have an exposed pong and later draw the fourth matching tile from the wall, you can upgrade it to a kong. In this case, you can't claim a discarded fourth tile from another player to form this type of kong; it must be drawn from the wall.

Key Takeaways for Kongs

• After forming a kong, you must draw an extra tile from the wall and then discard one, just like usual.
• The fourth tile of a kong doesn't count towards your standard 13-tile hand limit. It essentially gives you a larger hand.
• Like pongs, kongs cannot be formed using bonus tiles.
• Kongs are worth gathering to gain extra points and prevent opponents from the option to get certain tiles.

Chow

• A chow is created by melding three matching tiles in a row.
• The meld needs to be in the same suit and in exact numerical order.
• Players cannot skip numbers or meld from 8 or 9 to 1 or 2.
• Because they have no numerical value, honor tiles and bonus tiles cannot be utilized to create chows.
• Only the player whose turn came just before their own can steal a discard to build a chow. The person who forms a chow with a seized piece gets the lowest priority for that tile.
• Any other player may take control of that tile in place of the other player if they need it to produce a pong or a kong to win.
• The chow is either hidden or visible, like a pong.

Eyes

Eyes, also known as a pair, are two identical tiles essential to a lawful winning hand. A piece cannot be taken to create a pair of eyes unless the player concurrently completes a valid winning hand.

Interruption of Play

The game can be interrupted by four events. They are the following:

Flower or Season

The last tile of the wall is drawn as a replacement tile whenever a player draws a flower or season, ensuring that they have the 14 pieces required before their discard.

Melding Another Player’s Discard

Other players may take a tile that has been discarded by one player to finish a meld. The advantages of stealing tiles include constructing a winning hand more quickly and earning extra points. At the same time, the drawbacks include having to expose a portion of one's hand to other players and being unable to alter a declared meld.

Moreover, the player must specify the type of meld to be proclaimed when declaring it through a discard before exposing the meld by setting the three or four face-up tiles.

Winning A Hand

Play is stopped when a hand is won in order to evaluate the hand's viability. Following confirmation, the player receives the hand's worth in accordance with the rules of the particular game.

Winning a Hand From a Discard

A player declares victory and reveals their winning hand if, at any time throughout the game, they can utilize another player's discard to finish a legal hand. The hand is over at this point, and mahjong scoring starts.

Based on established table rules, there are several methods to handle the scenario if more than one player can utilize a discard to win the hand. The winner may be determined by adding up the points each player would have gained from the discard, selecting the person who is closest to the discarder in turn order, or concurrently awarding wins to many players.

Winning a Hand From the Wall

A player can also succeed by drawing a tile that finishes a valid hand. This can also be referred to as winning from the wall. Winning from the wall in Hong Kong Mahjong doubles the basic points that each loser must pay.

Winning a Hand By False Win

The declaring of a winning hand is technically permissible at any time. The player must have a full and legitimate hand, though. If not, the player is punished.

• The punishment is based on the table rules.
• The player can hand the other players their points back.
• The player who announces the fake win is also subject to a potential punishment of having to play the remainder of the hand with their tiles face up.
• Some strategies impose punishment at the conclusion of the whole contest.

Robbing a Kong

A play known as robbing the kong is an uncommon yet high-scoring element of Hong Kong mahjong. If a player attempts to declare a kong by adding a fourth piece to a melded pong, but another player can use that piece to finish the hand, the winning player has precedence and may remove that piece from the person who was attempting to declare the kong.

Conclusion

Playing Mahjong is not about just learning the rules or tiles. Knowing about the melds, how to make them, and the different types of melds in mahjong is necessary in order to have a successful game.

Mahjong is not as difficult as it seems. It's just there is so much to learn about the game. But when players have a whole understanding, they undoubtedly have fun.