Quick Start

Basics

You can learn the basics of the game by choosing Tutorial on the Help menu. This will start an independent Flash presentation, which introduces the basic rules, describes the major aspects of scoring, and gives an overview of Four Winds user interface. (Note that if you downloaded the game from the Internet, the tutorial is not necessarily included in the setup package, but is available as a separate download from the Four Winds web site.)

After having gone through the tutorial, it is recommended that you choose Guided Tour on the Help menu. This starts an interactive game session where you play one deal of the game and learn the basic skills needed to play the game. The sections below teach the same techniques in detail and by using training cards. You may want to return to these sections after having gone through the guided tour.

If you are new to the game of Mah Jong, it is recommended that you learn the game by choosing Novice as the rule preset when you start a new game. These rules represent a simplified version of classical Chinese Mah Jong and do not apply penalties for mistakes, so you won't become frustrated because of making false claims and declarations.

If you prefer to read through the complete rules of one of the major versions of Mah Jong, please check Four Winds Mah Jong Knowledge Base available on the Internet.

Tiles and sets

The traditional Mah Jong tile set consists of 136 tiles. Sometimes the tile set is extended by four or eight bonus tiles (Flowers and Seasons). The extra tiles are not used in tile combinations: when received, they are immediately exposed and replaced with a regular tile.
Your goal is to collect four sets of Chows, Pungs or Kongs, plus one pair and go 'out'. You can complete sets either by having the needed tiles from the Wall (you receive a new tile from the Wall each time it is your turn) or by claiming the completing tile that was discarded by another player (you must have other tiles of the set already in hand in order to be able to claim a tile).

For more information, see Regular tiles and Extra tiles and Goal of the game.

Claiming and declaring

If a player has two of the required three (or three of the required four) tiles of a set in hand, he can complete the set (whether Chow, Pung or Kong) by claiming a tile another player has just discarded. To claim a tile, click it in the discarding player’s discard slot, or press the SPACEBAR. The Tile Claimed dialog box appears, and you can either confirm or cancel your claim.
A set that is composed by claiming the completing tile is called a melded set. Tiles in melded sets cannot be used again so each melded set irreversibly affects the way a hand can go out.
In most rules you can claim a tile from any player if you can use it to go out (complete your hand and win the deal), disregarding the completing set (Chow, Pung or pair, and in case of irregular hands, a single tile completing the hand).
If you cannot use the tile to go out, most rules restrict claiming a tile for a Chow so that it can only be claimed from the previous player (player sitting on the "left" of the claimer). E.g., you could claim a tile for a Chow only from Tim. Claiming a tile for a Pung or Kong is not restricted.
If two or more players claim the same tile for different sets, the player claiming the tile for the most valuable set gets the tile. Going out with a discarded tile goes before any other option, and the remaining claims are evaluated in the order Kong, Pung and Chow, first being the most valuable.
If two or more players claim a discarded tile for the same set (this is possible if rules allow claiming a Chow from any player, and if jokers are used, two or more players can claim the same tile for a Pung), the player who is first in the playing order gets the tile. The same applies to a situation where two or more players claim the same tile for going out, but you can define otherwise by specifying alternative rules. For details, see Competitive claims for going out.
When you claim a tile for a Kong, you get a supplement tile from the Dead Wall. Otherwise you would not have enough tiles to collect four sets and a pair. Each tile taken from the Dead Wall reduces the number of playable tiles by one. Most rules use a replenishing Dead Wall where there are always 14 tiles (a used supplement tile is replaced with a tile taken from the other end of the Wall), and the deal ends if these 14 tiles are the only ones left for play. Some rules use an exhaustible Dead Wall, instead, where a certain number of tiles are simply reserved as supplement tiles, and some rules do not use a Dead Wall, at all, in which case the supplement tiles are simply taken from the other end of the Wall and the deal ends when all tiles have been played (and no one has succeeded in going out). For details, see Rule variations – Dead Wall.

For more information, see Training Cards – Claiming a tile for a Chow, Pung or Kong.

Declaring Kongs

If a player has three similar tiles in hand and he draws the fourth similar tile from the Wall, he may declare a concealed Kong. (It does not need to be declared on the turn the fourth tile was picked). A concealed Kong, unlike other concealed sets, is declared, which means that the four tiles are placed above the hand and cannot be re-used in other combinations. Normally the set is melded face-up, but 1st and 4th tile (in some rules 2nd and 3rd) are turned face-down to indicate that the set is concealed and not composed by claiming the completing tile from another player. In some rules the concealed Kongs are melded all face-down.
If a player has a melded Pung and he draws the fourth similar tile from the Wall, he may declare a melded Kong. (It does not need to be declared on the turn the fourth tile was picked). This makes the set a melded Kong. Note that you cannot claim the fourth tile from another player's discard.

For more information, see Training Cards – Declaring Kongs.

Declaring Out

When a player needs just one tile to complete his hand, he is said to be calling for the winning tile.
The winning tile can be received either self-drawn (by picking it from the Wall), as a supplement tile (as a replacement tile for a Kong or a Flower or Season tile), or by claiming the completing tile from another player's discard. The fourth possibility is to rob a Kong (claim the fourth tile another player is about to use to complete his melded Pung into a melded Kong).
For self-drawn declarations, click the Out button on the status bar (the button is active only on your turn).
To claim a winning tile, click in in the discarding player's discard slot, and then choose Out in the Tile Claimed dialog box (the actual set you’re claiming the tile for doesn’t matter: you must indicate the final purpose of your claim).

For more information, see Training Cards – Declaring Out.

End of the deal

The deal ends if one of the players succeeds in going out. After the Scores dialog box is closed, the next deal starts. In classical rules the dealer does not change if the dealer (East) wins. Otherwise the deal (East wind) passes to the next player in turn (in a counterclockwise direction).
If there are no tiles left in the Wall and none of the players declares ‘Out’, the deal ends in a draw. The number of tiles left is displayed on the status bar and graphically in the Wall window. In classical rules the deal does not pass after a draw, but there are exceptions to this rule, especially in the Japanese versions of Mah Jong.
The complete session of Mah Jong normally consists of four rounds, and each round consists of at least four deals (a round changes when all four players have been dealers and the deal passes again to the player who was the first dealer). But since dealer's wins and draws often result in extra deals, a complete Mah Jong session often consists of more than the minimum 16 deals.

For more information, see Number of rounds, Round wind sequence, Passing deal after East's win, Passing deal after a draw.

Starting, saving, quitting and loading a game

To start a new game, choose New Game on the Game menu (or press F2).
You can save a game whenever it is your turn. Choose Save (or Save As) on the File menu. To save a game that is already saved, just press CTRL+S to quick save the game.
To stop playing, choose Abort Game on the Game menu. If you have an unsaved game, Four Winds asks whether you want to save the game before quitting.
To load a game, choose Open on the File menu.

For more information, see Starting a new game, Aborting a game, Opening a game.