Mah Jong Handbook: How to Play, Score, and Win

by Ellie Whitney

This indispensable guide gives beginners and enthusiasts a first-hand look into the game that will enable beginners to play within an hour's read, and enthusiasts to develop strategy and tailor their game to win in any situation. Offering a clear and concise introduction to the official rules of the game and outlining its many variants in greater detail, this comprehensive guidebook will help you to improve your skills and add strategy to your game. Tailored to the Western reader, this complete reference guide will accompany you from first acquaintance to total proficiency.

Genres: Games, Reference, Nonfiction, Adult, How To

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1964

About the author

Dr. Ellie Whitney, Ph.D., grew up in New York City and received her BA and PhD degrees in English and Biology at Harvard and Washington Universities. She taught at both Florida State University and Florida A&M University, wrote newspaper columns on environmental matters for the Tallahassee Democrat, and coauthored almost a dozen college textbooks on nutrition, health, and related topics. She spent three decades exploring outdoor Florida and studying its ecology. She co-chairs the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, New Jersey, Green Sanctuary Committee. Now retired, and more concerned about climate change than any other issue, she volunteers full-time for the nonpartisan national nonprofit Citizens Climate Lobby.
(Bio-clip from Cengage Publishers)

Reviews

[Leon Lipschitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Teach Mah Jong and Run Mah Jong SA on Facebook and on Whats App
I have Many Books on Mah Jong
Essential as a Teacher
When I started Playing Mah Jong in 1965 i was confronted with a very unclear and confusing set of Rules
Then I found Eleanor Noss Whitney's Mah Jong Hand Book and suddenly the Game opened up as clear as day to me
Clear, Concise, Well Written, Fully Illustrated in simple layman's terms that everyone could understand
(American Mah Jong is a completely different kettle of fish)
There are no fancy names for the various hands that most of the other books populate
Plain simple Names for the Sets
She calls a Spade a Spade
No fancy names like Fishing from the Bottom of the Ocean to the Top of the Sea hand
She gives the basic details, the Points, Illustrated Hands, What they score in plain simple Language
For a Beginner this book is Heartily Recommended
We played her style from 1965 t0 2009 then Branched out a Bit but still retained her Basic Rules which most books explain the same way but with Fancy Names
She has a Second Section in the book explaining the Modern way which is more the system we play by where she deals with Bonus tiles and Settlement amongst players which is the sytem we now use

This book is one Book I can personally recommend to any Mah Jong Player starting out with TRADITIONAL Mah Jong

[Tea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked up this book wanting to know more about Mahjong. I grew up watching my grandparents play, and occasionally would be let in on it — but never fully understood it. As I got older I played with family, but only when they had a set. My family members are who taught me how to really play but the rules aren’t written down. Basically, as I taught more of my friends how to play it made me realize that I wanted to know the rules and make sure I was playing it right.

Mahjong is such an amazing game that transcends the original Chinese version, and has an American, Japanese “Riichii”, Korean, Filipino …you name it version. What’s interesting about Mahjong, as one of the oldest games in the world, is when you buy a set it doesn’t come with instructions. So I really wanted to read about its origins and learn about the different versions.

I’ve played the Filipino version of Mahjong (which is SUPER simplified — watered down rules and procedure) but never the less informal and fun to play with friends and family. This version isn’t mentioned in the book (but there was a section on informal play rules which echoed this version). I appreciated reading about the Chinese and Japanese versions -the formal procedure to play and scoring. I also enjoyed the section about playing styles and strategy.

My husband was joking that I was planning to be the next “Queen’s Gambit.” LOL “Prevailing Wind” I say!

2022 Popsugar Reading List: A book with the name of a game in the title

[Riq Hoelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book there is in English on the game. Organized as follows:
Part One: The Official Game.
1. The Mah Jong Set
2. Preliminaries
3. Playing
4. Scoring
Part Two: Alternatives, Variations and Additions.
1. The Mah Jong Set
2. Preliminaries
3. Playing
4. Scoring
5. American Scoring
Part Three: Strategy.
1. Luck and Skill
2. Offensive Strategy
3. Defensive Strategy

[Jbussen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed and ran out of time. I will write a review later.

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only disappointing thing about this book was that it didn't include the version I am most familiar with and was therefore trying to read up on (Hong Kong style).

However, it was otherwise very informative with helpful pictures and examples.

[Jennifer Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource for mahjong hands and strategy. It would be helpful if you had played a game or two already to learn some terms, which I had. I liked reading the different variations and I loved the glossary!

[Brenda]

Not quite what I was looking for.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on traditional Japanese Mahjong. Does not cover all aspects of modern "Riichi" Mahjong; but is a great resource for strategy and getting a basic feel for the game.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

No references to American mahjong

[Steve Clark]

Edition: New edition