Korean 2-Point Mahjong Ⅶ
– Standard Rules and Scoring for Beginners
Chapter 7. From Shuffling to Arranging tiles
The selection of seats runs only once before the first game starts and will never be repeated again. After the first game, the next nine steps will be repeated over and over again. It is very convenient to play if you have an automatic mahjong machine.
① Shuffle tiles ② Build walls ③ Throw dice ④ Break the wall ⑤ Deal the tiles ⑥ Arrange hand tiles and replace flower tiles ⑦ Draw and discard tiles ⑧ End a game ⑨ Calculate the score of the winning hand, and pay or get the points.
If a game ends a draw, no.9 is skipped. A draw is also said “dead hand” (nobody wins).
Chapter 7.1 The Shuffle & Creating the Wall
The four players turn all the tiles face down very carefully. First, two players completely and randomly shuffle the tiles with both hands, then the other two players repeat the process. The total shuffle time is recommended for about 30 seconds.
Be especially careful not to be exposed the tiles during the shuffle. The players should mix the tiles in front of them first and then push them towards the middle of the table.
The shuffle must not end with exposed tiles. If any tiles have been exposed, these tiles should be turned face down back as soon as possible. In this case, the total shuffle time should also be extended by about 5-10 seconds.
If some tiles are erroneously exposed during the game, the tiles will be obliged to be discarded one by one on the player’s next turns. It is called “obligatory discard”.
After the shuffling is finished, players may begin to build the walls. Now the 104 tiles (including 4 flower tiles) turned face down and placed are on the table. Every player should build a wall in front of himself.
Each player randomly takes 26 tiles (26 x 4 = 104), and arranges them in a row with 13 tile long and 2 tier high (1 stack). If any tiles are accidentally exposed in the process of building the wall, some tiles must be taken and shuffled with the exposed tiles. If the number of exposed tiles is too many, it is recommended to return to the initial process and re-shuffle all tiles.
The four rows each player has built are used to create a square. The four players push their walls forward to form a empty square in the middle of the table. To make enough room for discarded tiles, the wall should be placed end-to-end to form a large square.
The space surrounded by four walls is called the “river” or “galaxy”. This is where discarded tiles will be placed in a row. Below is a wall that is about to break.
Here is how to effectively build the wall. ① First, take five tiles with both hands and put them in a row. Then take five tiles again and carefully stack them on top of the five tiles that are already placed (10 pieces). ② Hold 2 tiles (a stack) in each hand and place them on the left and right side, respectively (4 pieces). ③ Repeat the previous process three more times (12 pieces).
Chapter 7.2 Breaking the Wall
The East Wind throws a pair of dice into “the river” (floor) between the walls. The sum of the two dice is used to determine whose wall will be the starting point. The player who owns the wall with the starting point is called “wall breaker”.
According to the sum of dice, count counterclockwise round the walls, beginning with the East (no. 1). The numbers “2, 6, 10” indicate the South, “3, 7, 11” the West, “4, 8, 12” the North, and “5, 9” the East.
This time, the wall breaker throws a pair of dice. The sum of the second throw of the dice is added to the one of the first throw to determine where the wall will be broken. This total sum is called “break count”, the left stack from the break count is called “breaking point”.
Players must count the “break count” from the right end stack of the wall breaker, then the stacks to the right of the breaking point become the wall. If the break count is more than 13 stacks, keep counting into the wall breaker’s left seat (wall). The start number is 14.
Assuming that the first throw is 6 and the second throw is 5, the breaking point is 12th stack shown in the figure below. The wall breaker is the South Wind.
Chapter 7.3 The Deal
After breaking the wall, the 4 players can bring their initial hand tiles from the wall. The hand tiles are also called “standing tiles”. The East starts the deal by drawing two stacks of the tiles (four tiles) with both hands from the left tiles of the breaking point in the wall.
The breaking point is determined by counting the break count in the right end stack of the wall breaker. Next, the other 3 players draw two stacks of tiles each in order the South, West and North in a clockwise direction.
This is repeated two more times so that each player owns 12 tiles. Lastly, the East draws one more stack, and the South, West and North draw one more tile each.
Thus the East (the dealer) has 14 tiles, while the other 3 players have 13 tiles each in hand. The reason why the dealer brings one more tile is to reduce the game time even a little bit.
See the figure below for the specific process. Assuming that first throw is 6 and the second throw is 5.
Chapter 7.4 Arranging Hand tiles and replacing Flower Tiles
When the deal has been completed, players should arrange the hand tiles in their own style. In beginners, to catch at a glance, it is recommended to arrange the tiles by type: “Suit tiles, and Honor tiles”, or “Character suit tiles, Honor tiles, and Circle suit tiles”.
Each player should check for any flower tiles in his or her hand while arranging the tiles. If a player has any flower tile in the initial hand tile, the player must immediately declare “a flower!” or “flower tiles!” and show the tile to others before the east seat’s first self-pick.
Next, the player should put the flower tile at the right side of his standing tile, and draw a replacement tile from the backwall, which is the opposite side of the wall. The dealer first replaces a flower tile, and then non-dealers replace flower tiles in the order the south, west and north. Multiple flower tiles cannot be replaced at a time.
If a player draws another flower tile with a replacement tile in the first turn, or draws another flower tile during the game, the player should immediately draw a replacement tile again. And if a player makes a concealed kong with a replacement tile, he can declare a “Concealed Kong!” at any time, even at the very moment.
