The Great Mahjong Book: History, Lore, and Play

by Jelte Rep

Master the game of Mahjong while learning about its legends and history with this entertaining and useful guide.

An excellent way to learn Mahjong or "Mah Jongg"-- The Great Mahjong Book is the perfect resource for beginner or experienced mahjong players. Richly illustrated and easy to follow with detailed instructions and clear examples, it can help all players improve their game. Mahjong beginners get a solid introduction to the rules and equipment they need to get started, while better players will find invaluable tips for mastering the game.

The Great Mahjong Book also includes the entire history of Mahjong as it spread around the globe, the equipment and accessories used in the game, basic rules, how and where the game first developed and all the international variants of Mahjong--including China, the U.S., Holland, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Hong Kong. Filled with hints, fun facts and numerous illustrations of memorabilia and artifacts, this authoritative and thoroughly enjoyable book is a perfect gift for anyone interested in this ancient and beguiling game.

Mahjong players love the game because it's colorful, exotic, and fun! Whether you're a first time player or a pro, The Great Mahjong Book is a perfect companion to the wide world of Mahjong.

Genres: History, Games, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I live in the U.S. and play Mah Jongg. The version is usually called American Mah Jongg and uses the rules established by the National Mah Jongg league.

This book started with an anecdote about how the author got hooked on the game. It then moves on to the equipment. There were a few things that were different (the rack for East is a different color? Most sets don't come with pushers?) but mostly I thought it was interesting.

The next section was supposed to be a general section on how to play, before going on to the different variations. However, a lot of what was said didn't seem to apply to how I play, so I thought the author should have said something about this not always being the case. (eighteen tiles in a standard wall, flowers being "bonus tiles" not used in hands, a different process for "breaking the wall").

So instead of finishing that section, I jumped ahead to the section about American MahJong. The author listed three different versions, only one of which was familiar to me.

In that section (which he calls 'Maj') he does describe the version I play. However there were several egregious errors: he does say that a joker cannot be used for a single or pair, but when he was showing a sample hand it had a pair that included a joker; he showed a sample hand with twos and eights but said that was under the "Odd Numbers" section of the card from 1998. Obviously 2 and 8 are both even numbers, so even though I don't have a card from that year I could tell that was wrong.

Since I was finding errors in the version that I do play, I didn't trust that the descriptions of the other versions were accurate. So I decided not to go on with this.

I would recommend Elaine Sandberg's books for newbies trying to understand the rules in the United States, and The Red Dragon & the West Wind by Tom Sloper for viewing the main differences between Chinese Mah Jongg and the American version.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book that explains all? of the major mahjong variants. I've played Hong Kong Old Style and Riichi, but I'm still pretty green, and was looking for a bit of detail and clarification, especially on scoring. In a couple of places I'd have liked a bit more clarity, but overall it seems admirably clear and complete. I can't say for sure that it has every major variant, but it has both variants I play and every other variant I know of, and several international rule sets I've never heard of besides. It also collects a number of the more popular variations on each version. It has information on why things are the way they are as well, which was great, and explanations of how to perform various setups, which is a very good idea in the modern era when a ton of mahjong play is online where all of that stuff is automated. For a very niche audience, to be sure, but I recommend it highly for that audience.

EDIT: I see many of the other reviewers didn't like this at all. A number of them appear to play American mahjong; there are tons of international versions of the game, but American is *very* unusual compared to the others. Most notably, standardized American mahjong allows as valid only hands that are printed on the official league card, which changes every year and which you must purchase. If you're interested specifically in American mahjong, there are probably better options. If you aren't sure what you want to play, or you want clarification on a specific version, this is a great source for that. If you don't know what to play, I would suggest either Hong Kong Old Style, probably the most popular version of Chinese mahjong, or Riichi, a popular Japanese variant that's made major inroads in the West through media like anime and the Yakuza series of video games. If you already have a local group, of course, you're best advised to learn whatever they play.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Dude lives, breathes, eats and drinks Mahjong. It was a little too much mahjong for me actually (but I'm the guy that checked out a book called "The Great Mahjong Book" so who am I to complain). It's pretty informative. The writing isn't exactly scintillating but it is straight forward. Everything you wanted to know about the game, plus about 150 more pages.

[William Schram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mahjong is an unfamiliar game. With all of the pieces and strange rules, I could never understand how to play. I watched an anime called Akagi before, and Mahjong features in the story prominently. People would do something related to the game, display their tiles, and say, "Ron." Then everyone would be impressed, and I would remain baffled.

The Great Mahjong Book takes the strangeness into account and begins with the history and rules of Mahjong, followed by the variants played in different countries. The book is beautiful, with colorful illustrations and tons of information on Chinese Culture and other various facts. For example, I didn't know that Mahjong was popular in the 1920s in America.

The book made it easier to understand Mahjong, but I probably won't play it. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know what it is with me and ancient games of the orient. Last year it was Go. This year it’s Mahjong. Except, Go is truely ancient, being thousands of years old—mahjong is not yet 200 (I just learned!)

But this was a great little book—I learned lots! I think the key point is: saying “let’s play mahjong” is like saying “let’s play cards”—there are many different ways to play.
This book lays out the basic rules that most versions share, then details MANY different variants from around the world.

I think I’ll continue learning the Japanese version of mahjong. When I play now, I finally feel like I know what I’m doing 😜. I’m winning more often, too! Hooray!

Overall, a good book for a little-more-than-detailed introduction of all things mahjong just short of strategy.

[Josh Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is significantly underrated. It is a translation from Dutch and suffers from awkward phrasing here and there, but the overall level of detail on the rules this provided was really exactly what I was looking for. I would recommend this for those that have some (really minimal) understanding of mahjong who want to learn a bit more in detail about how all the variants from around the world differ.

l do wish this provided a summary comparison table of the variants discussed. Additionally, it would have been helpful to hear more of the author's own opinions about how to choose a variant to learn and play. Finally, I wish the format of the chapters on different variants was a bit more uniform to make the book more convenient as a reference.

[Joy Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was very informative. I like the information shared on the other variations of mahjong played in other countries. I had questions on playing pairs, as well as with different amounts of players. I was able to get my answers. The book is easy to read, and a good resource for you to learn how to play and maneuver the game.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think it's right that I finish a book feeling more confused than when I started reading it.

This book is completely inaccessible.

[Laura Cushing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently joined a Mahjong group at my library to try and learn the game. While I learned a lot from the ladies showing me things in person, I thought it might be helpful to find a book to read that would expand my knowledge on the subject. The form of mahjong they play is American Mahjong, with rules from the National Mahjong League. This book covers that version, as well as other American versions, Chinese and Japanese versions, and many other countries variants. It also tells you the history of the game, how the tiles are made and what they are called, and many other useful and interesting things about the game. There are black and white and full color photographs- it's a very attractive, easy to read, and informative book.

[Trudy Nye · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Mahjong Book covers the history and basic rules of Mahjong, with separate chapters for the rules as played in various countries around the world. While this was very interesting, if you are looking to learn how to play American Mah Jongg, you will want more than the 32-page chapter included in this book. A Beginner's Guide to American Mah Jongg by Elaine Sandberg is much more comprehensive. You can also find a lot of Mah Jongg information on the Internet. Google Tom Sloper or go to the website of the National Mah Jongg League (www.nationalmahjonggleague.org). Note the .org, not .com.

[Lori Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a friend asked if I wanted to learn the game of Mahjong, I figured I better read up on it before committing. The name means Game of One Hundred Wonders and there are many variant methods to playing. This book is easy to understand, has great pictures and is comprehensive in nature. This century old game from China is played with 144 tiles, grouped into, Circles, Bamboos, Characters, Dragons, Winds and Bonus tiles. It is harder than Dominos, but a lot easier than Bridge. Will try it!

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book about the history and culture behind Mahjong. Great information on several types of play, and the rules and scoring for those styles. If you want to learn Mahjong, this is a good place to start.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't bet when I play, and the bulk of this book seems to cover the arcane rules governing betting, but other than that it was pretty interesting, as far as the history of the game and the thousands of variations in play.

[Brenda]

Not quite what I was looking for.

[Andrew Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definite improvement on the rather dry classic book on Mah Jong by A D Millington. Just as complete but much more open to variations and a much easier read therefore. Recommended.