The rules of online Mahjong are straightforward and easy to learn. You need four players, each with 13 tiles. You make a hand totaling 14 tiles that meet the winning requirements to win. To lose, you discard your last tile and don’t have a winning hand. To score, every player starts with 25 points. If you win a game (self-pick or concealed), you receive points from each other player based on the value of their hands; if you self-draw a game, no one receives any points for that round; if you lose an open game (discarding the last tile that didn’t complete a Pung), everyone else receives points based on their hands’ values minus the point value of your hand.
To start a game, each player takes their own tiles in turn and backs them up with another set of tiles similar in color until they have 13 tiles total. The dealer will then give out 12 more sets of random tiles to fill up the rest of the table and take one set for themselves until they also have 13 tiles in front of them.
Each round ends once someone has won, whether by picking up the last tile discarded by an opponent or by drawing it themselves from what’s left on the table (a “self-pick”) or when someone discards their final tile without having met all three qualifications for winning that round—i.e., all four sets must be Pungs or Chows; there must be at least one pair included in those four groupings, and there must be either one pair created from Dragon or Wind suit matches OR two pairs created from any suit matches—and no other player is able/willing to beat what was just discarded with their own discard as well as complete those three requirements above before doing so (open).
Learn how to build a hand
There are a few ways to build a hand when you Play Mahjong Online. The first way is chow, which means if you have two or three tiles in a sequence that another player has discarded, you can take them. You can use this method to get the winning tile and win the game. The second way is pung, which involves getting three identical tiles on your turn after an opponent discards their tile (a “meld”). Once you have a melded set of 3 identical tiles, you can then declare Mahjong and wait until your next turn to discard one of the four matching tiles in your hand.
The third way is kong, which means acquiring any four of a kind from either yourself or from being discarded by another player (you can also add another tile to form a concealed kong). There are many different types of hands that yield different value points, so learning about each type will be essential in mastering mahjong strategy when playing online!
Pay attention to other players, but not too much
It’s tempting to focus only on your own tileset, but paying attention to what others are doing can make a big difference. If you watch for a few rounds, you’ll start getting an idea of what tiles are still available and which ones have been discarded or picked up by other players. This information is valuable when trying to decide whether or not to pick up a tile from the discards.
Don’t get overconfident
As you start to get better at the game, it’s important not to get overconfident. The truth is that most mahjong players are pretty good, and many of them are veterans who have been playing for years. Everybody has a chance to win, no matter how inexperienced you think they might be. It’s fun when people complement each other for making awesome plays or having impressive tilesets, but that doesn’t mean that their judgments about their own skill level are always accurate! Nobody is a master at Mahjong overnight.
This doesn’t mean that confidence isn’t important. The fact is, players who know what they’re doing and aren’t afraid to call out incredible tiles without being cowed by more experienced players can bring an edge of excitement to the table that boosts everyone’s determination and enjoyment of the game. But it pays off for everyone in the long run if all participants are aware of their own potential for misjudging their abilities! After all, these are games with money on the line!
Be strategic with your discards
When discarding tiles, think about what your opponents need to complete their hands. Discard tiles that no one else can use, and don’t discard ones that could help someone else win. Try not to discard tiles that you’ll need yourself, either. Consider if the tile you’re about to discard will help you complete a Chow, Pung, or Kong of your own for extra points. Don’t just discard at random either; it’s bad form and makes you look like a newbie.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!
Making mistakes is a great way to learn how to play better! When you make a mistake, that means you’re learning what not to do in future games. You can use your mistakes as valuable teaching tools for yourself and try not to repeat them in the future. There are countless ways to make mistakes—you could call incorrectly, pick up the wrong tile, or accidentally discard a tile you didn’t mean to discard—but all of these mistakes can help you understand the game better!