About this site
Mahjong wiki is a wiki dedicated to the four player tile game. It was launched on February 7, 2008 with a goal to become a English resource for everything mahjong. The site's content focuses on popular rule sets played throughout the world. It is written in fashion that the reader has a basic understanding of mahjong. If not, the basic rules section is a good primer and place to start.
Conventions used on MJ wiki
If you have played mahjong before or are familiar with game MJ wiki has a few conventions used throughout the site that you should be aware of. These conventions refer to the terminology that is used (which may differ from what you are used to as terminology differs from region to region). MJ wiki adopts western terminology but will include analogous and foreign terms that have no direct translation as well. The glossary has more on that.
| Suit | Name | Shorthand | Abbr. |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Bamboo | bam | B |
 |
Character | crack | C |
 |
Dot | dot | D |
 |
East | E | |
 |
Green dragon (named after the color) | ||
- Chow
- a sequence
- Pair
- two identical tiles
- Pung
- three identical tiles
- Kong
- four identical tiles
- Mahjong
- winning with a complete hand
How this site is organized
The wiki's main content are the rule sets. A sub set of the contents are categories, which include material that is not necessarily rules-related.
Gameplay basics
The gameplay basics section contains instructions on playing basic mahjong without the use of scoring, glossary for terms, articles on the equipment used and basic strategy. These articles can be seen as broad or general, applicable to most to all forms of mahjong. This is written assuming the reader has no prior mahjong experience.
Mahjong styles
Mahjong styles are tailored to specific rule sets (think mahjong with scoring and other formalities). Rules are broken down in to several sections:
- Overview Page is broken down into two main sections. This can be seen as: background (history, development, etc.) of the rules and the preliminary steps taken before the actual game starts.
- Gameplay Page delves into the instruction of the game mechanics from the first discard up until a winner or draw is declared.
- Scoring Page breaks down the payout procedure, initial points, limits, and scoring elements.
- Penalties & Errors Page describes the procedures in which a foul or serious error has been committed.
- Resources Page includes footnote citations, additional reading, and external links.
Future expansion
Mahjong Wiki would like to expand to include history and symbolism, articles on mahjong in multimedia (movies, manga, anime), tournaments and their results, online play and mahjong software… As you can see there's a lot of room to grow. If you would like to contribute click here to join.
