Game Types
There are three ways of playing a game of MultiMahjong. The first way is to create a "New single player game". This means that you will be playing against three computer opponents locally on your own computer.
The second and third way allow you to play MultiMahjong over a network. The "New multiplayer game" option creates a new game of MultiMahjong on the specified Server. This means that other players can then join your game by choosing to "Join multiplayer game". More detail is given on how this works in these sections: Creating a New Multiplayer Game and Joining an Existing Multiplayer Game.
Only one type of MultiMahjong game can be chosen. To change the type of game you wish to play click in the circles next to the game type. A filled in black circle will appear inside the circle. This indicates the type of game you will be playing.
Icon Selector
By clicking on the icon selector a number of icons will appear. You can scroll down through these icons and select anyone you wish. This will be used as your icon during the game.
Your Name
Clicking inside the box enables you to type as you would in any normal text editing program. You can therefore type in the name you would like to have during the game. This is not neccessarily meant to be your real name, but rather the name you'd like people to know you as during a game. So please be creative.
Score Limit
The score limit is a way of controlling how many points Special Hands score. 500 is the default limit, but can be changed when you begin a new single player or network game. If you are joining a network game you will not be able to set the score limit. To change the score limit click on the arrow pointing downwards and select one of the common score limits. Or you can also use the mouse to click inside the box where the 500 is shown above. A blinking cursor will appear inside the box and you can then change the score limit by typing.
Server
This is the name of the host you wish to play a game of network MultiMahjong at. This host must be running the MultiMahjongServer program in order for a game of network MultiMahjong to be possible. It's likely that you may get a number of errors whilst trying to play a game of network MultiMahjong. Please see the Troubleshooting section of this manual if you encounter such problems.
Exit Button
The "Exit" button allows you to exit from the MultiMahjongClient program. If you click on this button the following window will appear:
If you wish to exit the program click on the "Yes" button. If you wish to begin a new game of MultiMahjong then click "No".
Next Button
The "Next" button should be clicked when you are satisfied with all your choices above. If you have begun a single player game then you will see the following window appear:
Creating a New Multiplayer Game
Once you have chosen to begin a "New mutliplayer game" and have specified the server that you wish to play on (see the Troubleshooting section for dealing with problems that may arise during this) you will see the following window:
This window shows the players who are currently part of the game. Once you have at least one other human player you can click the "Start Game" button. The game will start and be played as normal, but will have other human players involved and not just computer opponents.
Joining a Multiplayer Game
Once you have chosen "Join mutliplayer game" and have specified the server that you wish to play on (see the Troubleshooting section for dealing with problems you may have during this) you will see the following window:
This window indicates that the player whose game you are joining is still waiting for more players to join and has not yet chosen to start the game. If you click the "Back" button you will be returned to the previous window and will cancel out of the game you were planning to join. Once the player has decided to start the game that they created you will then see the main screen of the game. This means that the multiplayer game has started.
The Tiles of Mahjong
The Chinese game of Mahjong is played with a set of 136 tiles. These tiles are just like the 'cards' which are used in card games, and this is why tiles are often referred to in Mahjong rule books as 'cards'. For those people who are familiar with the card game 'Rummy' you will find it quite easy to pick up the rules of Mahjong because they are quite similar.
The tiles are arranged into two categories, Suits and Honours. The tiles which both categories contain are shown in this section.
Suits
Every Suit has four duplicates of the numbers 1 to 9, so each Suit consists of 36 tiles. The numbers 1 to 9 for each Suit is seen below.
Honours
Just as for Suits, the game is played with four of each Honour tile. Honour tiles include Dragons and Winds, and these are detailed below.
The Basics of Mahjong
Mahjong is a game ridden with confusing terms and rules, so it may take some time for you to become accustomed to them all. You will probably need to read through the rules once or twice before jumping in and playing MultiMahjong. Just be patient, and soon enough you'll be a Mahjong master!
Games, Rounds and Hands
In each game of Mahjong four rounds are played, and in each of these rounds four hands are played. The only exception to four hands being played in a round is if a draw occurs or the East Wind player wins a hand, because both these situations require an extra hand to be played in that round.
A hand is completed when any player goes Mahjong by forming a winning combination of fourteen tiles, or when the hand is a draw.
Wind of the Round
In each round there is a prevailing Wind, called the Wind of the Round. The first Wind of the Round is East Wind and for the subsequent three rounds it is the South, West and then North Wind that become the Wind of the Round.
At the end of each hand (except in the case of a draw or the East Wind player winning a hand) the title of East Wind moves to the player anticlockwise of the player who was the East Wind. Once the East Wind title returns to the player who started the round as East Wind the round is completed and the Wind of the Round changes.
The game finishes once all four Winds have been Wind of the Round. The Wind of the Round indicator is shown here:
Setting Up
Seating Positions
The Wall
The wall is a four sided random arrangement of all the 136 Mahjong tiles. Each side of The Wall is seventeen tiles long and stacked two tiles high. A picture of The Wall before it is broken can be seen here:
Breaking The Wall
Each hand begins by Breaking The Wall. Breaking The Wall is a way of determining where in The Wall tiles should begin being dealt from. Tiles are dealt to each player from The Wall to make up their hand. The next section, Dealing the Tiles, explains how this works.
The Wall is automatically broken by the MultiMahjongClient program. It is not important to continue reading this section unless you would like to know how The Wall is broken in a normal game of Chinese Mahjong. The MultiMahjongClient program breaks The Wall just as you would have to do yourself in a normal game of Chinese Mahjong.
Firstly 2 dice are thrown to determine which side of The Wall will be broken first. The total of the 2 dice is the number counted anticlockwise around the sides. East's side is counted as number 1, South's side as number 2, West's side as number 3, North's side as number 4 and so on until the total of the 2 die has been counted. The side which the count is completed on is the one to be broken.
The 2 dice are rolled again and their total is added to the previous total. This number is then counted clockwise from the right hand end of the side to be broken, where this count is of each stack of tiles.
The 2 tiles in the position where the count finishes are called The Loose Tiles and are placed onto The Dead Wall. The Dead Wall is made up of the 6 stacks of tiles anticlockwise of where the wall was broken plus the 2 Loose Tiles. The tiles from the Dead Wall are used to replace Kongs during play.
Dealing the Tiles
After The Wall has been broken, hands are then dealt out to each player from the stacks of tiles clockwise of where The Wall was broken. The East Wind player is dealt fourteen tiles and all remaining players are dealt thirteen tiles. The East Wind player is dealt fourteen tiles because they must discard one of their tiles to start the game.
If any player receives a hand containing nine different Winds, Dragons and Terminals (1s and 9s) and no Pair then a new deal may be called.
The Wall after it has been broken and used to deal the hands to all players is shown here:
Again, you do not need to continue reading this section unless you would like to know how the hands are dealt to each player in a real game of Chinese Mahjong. The MultiMahjongClient program does this automatically for you.
The East Wind player is dealt the first two stacks of tiles (four tiles). This dealing of four tiles is repeated for all players anticlockwise of the East Wind player until all players have twelve tiles. The East Wind player is then dealt a further two tiles from The Wall, with these two tiles being the first and third tiles (so the next tile in The Wall is dealt first and then the tile which is two stacks ahead).
All the remaining players are dealt one more tile each from The Wall. So the East player starts the game with fourteen tiles, whilst all other players have thirteen tiles.
Winning a Hand
In Mahjong there are two kinds of winning hands a player can have, Special Hands and Ordinary Suit Hands. An Ordinary Suit Hand is made up of any pair and any four sets of tiles. Special Hands are also made up of four sets and a pair (with the exception of Unique Wonder, Gates of Heaven and Wriggly Snake Hands), but they earn their name by being much more difficult to form than Ordinary Suit Hands.
This section explains what pairs and sets can be formed in order to create a Mahjong (winning) hand.
Pair
Sets of Tiles
Playing the Game
At the beginning of each hand the player in the East Wind position discards one of their tiles (this is why the East Wind player is dealt an extra tile at the start of each hand). To discard a tile click on the tile you wish to discard. It will then become selected. A selected and an unselected tile are shown here:
To discard the tile which you have selected click the "Discard" button. The "Discard" button is shown here:
Picking up the Discard
If any player can make a Pung or Kong with this discard then they can pick up the tile. They must make this pickup within ten seconds, or otherwise play continues. A timer appears in the bottom right hand corner of the game window which shows how much time is left to call for a Kong or Pung. The Pung or Kong made with this tile must be displayed to everyone until the hand is completed. This is called an Exposed Pung/Kong. The Kong and Pung buttons are shown here:
 
Discards can also be picked up to make a Chow, but only if the the player who made the discard has the turn before the player wanting to form a Chow. So in this case the South Wind player is the only player who could make a Chow from the discard of the East Wind player, because their turn comes after East's. The only exception to this is if a Chow is required to go Mahjong, then the discard of any player can be picked up. This is called an Exposed Chow. The buttons for making an exposed Chow and going Mahjong are shown here:
 
If a player picks up a discard to make an Exposed Set of tiles they must then discard one of the tiles remaining in their hand. Play continues with the player in the position anticlockwise of the player who picked up the tile to make an Exposed Set of tiles.
A player's hand is shown here. It shows both concealed and exposed sets of tiles.
If the Discard is Not Picked Up
If none of the players pick up the discard to form an Exposed Set of tiles then play continues with the player in the position anticlockwise of the player who just discarded. The discarded tile then becomes a Dead Tile, which means that the tile cannot be picked up later in the game.
The last Dead Tile to have been discarded by a player is shown in the middle of the wall. This is shown here:
To be able to view all Dead Tiles which have been discarded during a hand click on the "Discards" tab at the top right hand side of the screen. The discards tab is shown here:
Upon clicking the discards tab you will be able to view all Dead Tiles. The dead tiles are displayed as follows:
Forming Concealed Tile Sets
If none of the players want to pick up the discarded tile then the player whose turn is after the player who discarded must draw a tile from The Wall.
With this tile they can form Concealed Sets in their hand. A concealed set is a Kong, Pung or Chow the player forms in their hand without having to expose it to the other players. Concealed Kongs and Pungs score more points than Exposed Kongs and Pungs. Chows (whether concealed or exposed) score no points.
If a Concealed Kong is made you can leave the Kong in your hand, in case later you require one of the tiles for a Chow. But a Concealed Kong must be declared before the end of the game, otherwise you will be a tile short of being able to go Mahjong. If a Concealed Kong is declared then it is revealed to all players. The two middle tiles are placed face down to symbolise that the Kong is concealed. As is the case with an Exposed Kong, a Loose Tile is then taken to replace the extra tile.
To complete their turn the player who picked up a tile from The Wall must then discard one of the tiles remaining in their hand. Play then continues with the player in the position anticlockwise of the player who discarded, unless another player picks up the discarded tile.
Forming Pairs
A player can only pick up a discarded tile to make a pair if they are going Mahjong. All other pairs must be made with tiles picked up from The Wall.
Fishing
When a player needs only one more tile to go Mahjong then they are said to be Fishing (for Mahjong). All other players are alerted that they are Fishing by displaying a fish hook next to their name. This fish hook is shown here:
Going Mahjong
A player can go Mahjong with an Ordinary Suit Hand (a hand made up of any four Sets of tiles and a Pair) or with a Special Hand.
If a player has an Exposed Pung and picks up the fourth tile from The Wall to form an Exposed Kong and another player requires that tile to go Mahjong then they may take it from that player. This is known as Robbing the Kong.
Players Wanting The Same Tile
The order of precedence in calling for a tile is: going Mahjong, forming an Exposed Kong, forming an Exposed Pung and lastly forming an Exposed Chow.
However if two players require a tile to go Mahjong the player whose turn is nearest to the turn of the player who discarded that wins the tile. If three players require the same tile to go Mahjong then the game is declared a draw.
At the End of a Hand
Once a hand is completed (except in the case of a draw) the winning player is given a pay out by the other players.
If the East Wind player is the winner of the hand then all player remain the same Wind in the next hand, so an extra hand is played in that round. If the East Wind player did not go Mahjong then all Wind titles move anticlockwise (as explained in the Basics of Mahjong section).
Draws
If no player goes Mahjong by the time The Dead Wall has been reached the hand is declared a draw. A draw is also declared if three players declare Mahjong on the same tile. In the event of a draw another hand is played with each player remaining in the same Wind position. Each player puts half the limit amount into a pool and the winner takes all.
Bonuses on Wind Tiles
In a given hand extra points are scored if a player has Wind tiles which correspond to their Wind position or to the Wind of the Round. The section about scoring details this.
Leaving The Game
If you wish to leave a game of MultiMahjong click on the options tab (see the Section concerning the discards tab to see what this looks like). After this click on the "Leave Game" button. You will then see the following:
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