Mahjong: The Game of Skill, Chance, and Social Connection

Mahjong (麻将, majiang) is one of the most popular games in China — played daily by millions of people across the country and by Chinese communities worldwide. Like the Chinese language itself, mahjong has numerous regional variations, each with slightly different rules, scoring systems, and playing styles. But all forms share a common ancestry in the Chinese card game "ma jiang" from the Ming Dynasty.

The Tiles

Mahjong is played with 144 tiles divided into suits: dots (筒子, tongzi), bamboos (索子, suozi), and characters (万子, wanzi); plus honor tiles (东南西北, dongnanxibei) and dragon tiles (中发白, zhongfabai). Each tile is approximately the size of a domino, carved from bamboo, bone, or ivory.

Gameplay

The objective is to form a complete hand of four sets (either three-of-a-kind or runs) plus a pair. Players draw and discard tiles in turn, calling "pong" (碰) to claim another player's discard to complete a set, and "kong" (杠) to declare a special four-of-a-kind. The game combines skill, strategy, and a significant element of chance.