Scoring in Mahjong

Mahjong can seem a bit much when it comes to remembering the scoring. That's why some players aren't always sure how to calculate points. Luckily, there are just a few key things to keep in mind if you're playing a specific variation. This guide breaks down how to score in Mahjong, making it easier for players in Ghana to enjoy the game.

If you're looking to get a handle on Mahjong scoring, you've landed in the right spot. We're about to dive deep into everything you need to know about calculating Mahjong scores. Let's get started!

What Determines Your Mahjong Score?

Your score in Mahjong depends on specific Mahjong tile melds or sets you collect, how you play your hand, and whether you have any special unique combinations. When criteria overlap, the ones with tougher requirements usually get scored. For instance, having a meld of all dragons would be worth more than just having one dragon meld.

These points are then typically converted into scores and used for payouts among players, as is common when playing Mahjong in Ghana, often for friendly wagers.

It's important to note that 'points' and 'scores' might refer to slightly different things. Players often exchange money based on the total points accumulated during a round, plus any other agreed-upon considerations. Sometimes, chips or tokens are used instead of cash during play.

In many situations, only the winner gets paid, with their winnings deducted from the scores of the three losing players. However, there are a few common ways payouts can be settled among players in Ghana:

• If a player wins by picking a discard, the player who made that discard pays double.
• If a player wins by a self-drawn tile (a tie in this context), every losing player pays double.
• If a player wins from a high-risk situation (like winning on the last tile), the player who made the discard pays for the other two losing players.

Mahjong Scoring Rules Simplified

Understanding Chinese Mahjong Scoring

Here are the basic scoring rules for Mahjong:

• Based on the presence of specific melds, pairings, and bonus tiles, each player adds up the fundamental points for his hand.
• Each player doubles his basic points one or more times based on ownership of specific uncommon melds or combinations of melds. The winner adds additional basic points for gaining mahjong and maybe for finishing his hand in several unique ways.
• Depending on his hand's formation of uncommon patterns, such as those made completely of honor tiles, or being finished uniquely, such as stealing an exposed kong, the winner doubles his basic points once or more.
• Each of the three losers pays the winner his entire points.
• The losers split the difference into points among themselves.
• In his dealings, East makes duplicate payments or receipts.
• There are many Special Limit hands that, if acquired, provide the possessor with the most points assigned to his hand.

American Scoring

In the American version, players utilize a card with a point value for each hand that specifies a narrow number of hands as the only legitimate winning hands. Two main Mahjong regulatory organizations in the United States, the National Mahjong League and the American Mahjong Association, employ this method, with new cards that specify the legal winning hands being produced every year. Each card often includes scoring requirements that make mention the year the scorecards are published.

Shanghai Scoring

The Shanghai variant's scoring system is complex, with a wide range of requirements and exaggerated ratings for more uncommon hands like the thirteen terminals. There is typically a minimum point value in the Shanghai variation due to the inflated point values.

Singaporean Scoring

While using a different set of tiles, Singaporean scoring is comparable to the Chinese scoring method. Here, regular payment variations apply. But, there are those in which the dealer is also required to pay and receive twice.

Hong Kong Scoring

Due to the limited number of factors employed in the conventional Hong Kong grading method, the score is frequently poor. The point translation function is a piecewise function, and the general scoring modifiers are in effect.

Scoreless hands are awarded a fixed sum, and each point doubles the score. Players sometimes play with the extra constraint that a winning hand must be of some point value, often ranging between one and five points, with three being the most frequent. This is because zero-point hands are common.

Japanese Scoring

Each player starts with a score. This amount is often between 25,000 and 30,000. It may be an agreed-upon initial value. In current tile settings, this is often represented by a row of bars with the following four denominations: 10,000, 5,000, 1,000, and 100. The bars resemble long Chinese dominoes. If not, all that is represented online are the point totals.

Limits in Mahjong Scoring

A score limit is imposed by some variants. The usual point translation function, which assigns a constant score to points up to the first restriction, works in many situations where there are limitations. Once further limitations are achieved, the score rises.

A scoring restriction may serve as more of a gambling motivation. If the scoring limitations were six and nine points, a hand with seven or eight points would be valued the same as one with six points, which may encourage players to aim for nine-point hands.

High-risk discards

As the size of the wall shrinks, several versions may additionally apply fines for discards that are deemed to be high-risk. The players who made the high-risk discards are responsible for covering the winner's points if a player wins or goes out self-drawn after making a high-risk discard. A discard is deemed dangerous if there are enough open melds to show that, before it was claimed, it would very certainly have allowed for the completion of a limited hand.

Conclusion

Some complications occur when players are trying to play different mahjong variations at once. So, it’s better to stick with one variety and master it first.

In this guide, different rules for different variations are discussed so that players can choose the one they prefer. We have discussed Chinese, American, Japanese, Shanghai, Singaporean, and Hong Kong Scoring. Hope that it will be enough for an enjoyable experience.