Rule variations

Special tiles – Transparent tiles

In Japan (and occasionally elsewhere) a special kind version of Mah Jong, inspired by the popular anime Akagi, is sometimes played, where three of the four tiles sets are replaced with transparent tiles. While there are no established rules yet, Four Winds lets you experiment with this game style by allowing you to specify up to 4 sets to be replaced with transparent tiles, and also specify whether transparent tiles are shown in the Wall (normally the Wall tiles are hidden when transparent tiles are used).

To use transparent tiles in the game:
  1. Choose Preferences on the File menu.
  2. From the Rule Presets list, choose a customized rule preset.
  3. Choose General under the Rules section of the category tree.
  4. Click Other button to show the Other Special Tiles dialog box.
  5. From the Transparent Tiles group, specify the number of transparent tiles sets (from 0 to 4).
  6. Check Transparent jokers if you wish to use transparency in jokers. When checked, all jokers used in the game will be transparent. The option can also be used without specifying any tile sets to be transparent.
  7. Check Mirror when in hand if you wish to show transparent tiles mirrored (like when playing in real world) when they are turned down (e.g., when they appear in another player's hand).
  8. Check Show in the Wall if you wish to show the transparent tiles in the Wall (in real game the Wall tiles are normally hidden when transparent sets are used). When this option is checked, you can view the tiles in the Wall and Dead Wall (when applicable) in the Wall window by right clicking anywhere within the window (right click again to toggle with the views). The transparent tiles are shown face up and opaque tiles face down.
    Note: The wall tile view of the Wall window is refreshed each time you toggle the view so that the first tile of the view is the next available tile in the Wall.

Note: The patterns All opaque and All transparent (under Sets & Patterns > Miscellaneous patterns) become available when using transparent sets.

Related topics:
Flowers and Seasons
Jokers
Dora tiles
Omit Bamboo tiles