This is a demo - lots of features are missing (see "What's Missing In The Demo?"). To play, double-click the Mah Jong Parlour icon, and select "New Game" under the File menu.
Below is a quick overview of how to play MJP. For more detailed instructions, see the section "How To Play Mah Jong Parlour." On-line help is also provided in the Apple Guide menu.
This section assumes you understand how to operate your computer, and are ready to jump straight into the game. For more information, see the section, “How to Play Mah Jong.”
Mah Jong is played in a similar way to gin-rummy or canasta; that is, you are trying to build your hand with tiles from a deck. It is actually a very simple game to play, but like any game, the best way to learn is to start playing and use the rules as reference.
Step 0: About the Game
In Mah Jong, you build your hand by making “sets” or “melds.” These melds are three of kind, four of a kind, a run (or a straight) and a pair. Mah Jong uses different terms for these melds, but the concept is identical.
A player wins by building a complete hand before the other players. As you become more familiar with the game, you will develop your own strategies for scoring and winning.
Some Terms:
Poong - 3 of a kind
Kong - 4 of a kind
Chow - a run or straight of 3 tiles (same suit)
Out (or “Mah Jong”) - a completed hand
The Deck (or “wall”) is made up of the following tiles:
4 of each Suits - 1-9 Bamboo, 1-9 Characters, 1-9 Circles
4 of each Honors - Red Dragon, Green Dragon, White Dragon
North, South, East, West
Step 1: Select “New Game”
When you start a game, MJP defaults to the “Novice” setting (Novice is the only level available in the Demo version) with all sounds on (you can change this and other settings in the “Preferences” menu). This is a good place to start.
MJP begins by assigning players’ seats and determining the dealer. There is nothing for you to do during this “set-up” phase.
After the tiles are dealt to each player, the game begins. Your hand is always the one on the bottom of the screen (your name is in the bottom left hand corner, you can change it under “Preferences”).
Step 2: Your Hand
Before you do anything else, stop and take a look at the playing board. The tiles in your hand are displayed at the very bottom of the screen. All the tiles are arranged and sorted automatically. Each player gets 13 tiles, except the dealer, who gets one extra and makes the first discard.
This is where the your strategy begins. Take a look at your hand. To go “out” and win the round, you will need 4 melds and one pair. Extra points can be scored for having “Honor” tiles and building other special hands. For a brief summary of scoring see the Apple Guide help.
The best strategy to follow if you’re new to the game is to try to build a hand to go out first. Pay close attention to other player’s discards and melds. Discarded tiles and displayed melds can be a valuable tool for determining your chances of building a winning hand, or giving other players what they need to go out.
Step 3: Playing the Game
The dealer makes the first discard. Play goes counter-clockwise. If you are the dealer, select one of the tiles in your hand that you don’t want by clicking on it (or by using the tab key), then click on the discard button (or hit the space bar). If another player starts as the dealer, he or she will make the first discard.
In the center of the table (surrounded by the “wall” of tiles), the current discard and all the players calls will be displayed.
Each player must make a call on every discard. Here are all of your possible calls and their meanings:
Call/Meld Keyboard Shortcut
Pass space bar
Poong p
Kong k
Chow c
Out o
Call/Meld What It Means When To Use It
Pass pass when you don’t want
the current discard
Poong for 3 of a kind after an opponent's
discard that will complete
your 3 of a kind
Kong for 4 of a kind after an opponent's
discard that will complete
your 4 of a kind
Chow for a run of 3 tiles after a discard from the
in the same suite only player to your left that
completes your run of
3 tiles in the same suite
Out a complete hand anytime your hand is completed
by drawing a tile or using
another player’s discard
Anytime a player makes a meld call (poong, kong, chow or out), MJP will automatically display the meld. This gives all the players valuable information about what tiles are remaining in the deck.
At the novice level, don’t worry about making the wrong call. Click on the “Oops” button if you make a mistake.
After making a meld or receiving a new tile, a player must dicard (or go out). Simply click on, or tab to, the tile in your hand you wish to dicard, then press the space bar or discard button. [If you can go "out" press the out button, then MJP will display your completed hand. Press the "done" button when MJP has displayed the correct melds.]
Step 4: A Winning Hand
To win, you must have 4 melds and one pair. When you see a tile that you need for a meld, or to go out, use the appropriate call button (or keyboard equivalent).
Notice that to complete your hand, you will need to use at least 14 tiles, that means that you will need another player’s discard or tile dealt to you from the wall. The first player to build a complete hand wins the hand.
At the end of each hand, MJP calculates the score and determines who pays whom. An entire game of Mah Jong has 4 rounds, each player gets to be the dealer at least 4 times.
At the end of the game, MJP displays the final scores and determines the winner. If you win, you’ll see a nice animation, if you lose you’ll see a different ending to the game. (Animations are available only in the full version of MJP.) The full version also includes detailed scoring tables so that you can develop strategies to increase your score.
Step 5: For Advanced Play
MJP comes with 3 levels of computer intelligence. At the “Novice” setting, computer players are not very smart. With some practice, you will be able to win every game at this setting. On each higher setting (“Experienced” and “Expert”), gameplay is faster and the computer players use various strategies to win the game. (Novice is the only setting available in the demo.)
To increase the stakes and scores of the game, try the “Rii-Chi” and “Flower Tiles” options. These allow for much higher scores and add a higher level of strategy. To increase the pace of the game, try turning down the “Prompt Delay” setting to 1 or 0 seconds.
For the ultimate challenge, MJP also supports networked play over AppleTalk networks and the Internet (available in the full version only) so that you can play against live humans. You may play against 1-3 human opponents … MJP automatically fills in missing players with computer players. For details on networking requirements, see the section, “System Requirements For The Full Retail Version.”