French Casinos
Italian Casinos
|
Online Mahjong A great deal has been written regarding the origins of Mahjong, much of this is actually not true. There have been people who say that it was a game invented by Confucius, and western trades people selling this game have claimed that the game has a mystical history dating back to thousands of yeas ago. These stories are really all just embellishments to make the sales appeal of the game more exciting, however it is very unlikely that Mahjong even existed in China before the 1880’s.
|
No records can be found to substantiate this, and therefore we conclude that this Chinese game was invented round about that time. However there is evidence which suggests that Mahjong originated near Shanghai in the provinces of Chekiang, Kiangsu and Anhwei, as there are no records available to suggest that Mahjong was played in any other province of China prior to 1900.
Even as late as 1905 Mahjong was relatively unknown outside of the original areas it was played in. But over the next fifteen years this scenario changed quite dramatically. Mahjong spread across the most of China, and took over in the popularity stakes from Chess which was then the most popular game played in the country. Gradually Chinese pundits of this game removed some of the more inelegant elements of playing and incorporated rituals into playing Mahjong. These methods of play have now become cast in stone and one of these very quaint rituals is the shuffling of the Mahjong tiles before playing a game. This is know by the Chinese as the “twittering of the sparrows” and as Mahjong means “Sparrow Tiles” or the “Game of the Sparrows”, this naming of the shuffling is particularly apt.
The history of Mahjong, sees the
Chinese playing this game
exclusively up until about the
early 1920’s. After the game was
discovered by other nations by a
process of enculturation, it soon
became popular and is now
incorporated into many countries
games popular culture. Mahjong
aficionados regard the 1020’s
version of playing Mahjong to be
the “perfect” form of the game.
They even look upon later
modifications to the game with
distain.
After the West discovered Mahjong
the Americas, UK and Japanese took
the game in their own direction.
However the Japanese received
Mahjong earlier than the West,
around 1907, and managed to change
the rules without totally changing
the nature of the game.
Mahjong was brought to America, not
by Chinese immigrants, but by a
gentleman named Joseph P. Babcock,
who imported sets of Mahjong in
bulk to the US. In order to ensure
that Mahjong became a popular
success in the States he simplified
the rules and took away many of the
intricacies of play. The result of
these new rules created confusion
and Mahjong did not achieve the
popularity which Mr. Babcock
expected until it was released
again with newly published rules in
1935. In the UK Mahjong peaked in
popularity around the same time as
the US.
Advantages of Playing Mahjong
Online
Mahjong Solitaire is also known as
Shanghai Solitaire, this is a
single player form of the game and
has reached astounding heights in
the popularity stakes. It was a
popular game before the advent of
the PC, but after the PC was
developed and became more
technologically advanced, this game
became almost a popular as card
Solitaire. The internet is another
technological advancement and there
are virtually thousands of sites
where people are able to play
Mahjong, for free, or even in
tournaments to win prizes.
The advantages of playing
Mahjong
online are many, it allows a
competitive spirit to enter the
game when people play in online
tournaments, and they can practice
to hone their skills as much as
they like, without it costing them
anything. Mahjong does not need to
be downloaded, it can be played
instantly through your browser. It
is both a relaxing and challenging
game and many millions of online
players enjoy Mahjong.
About Online Mahjong
Single player Mahjong is a matching
game, there are 144 tiles used,
making a total of 72 pairs of
tiles, these are arranged in
specific layouts, face upwards. The
layouts may be changed to alter the
challenges and keep the game
interesting. A tile may be moved
left or right without disturbing
other tiles and these are matched
and removed while at the same time
uncovering the tiles which lay
beneath. The aim of the game is to
pair and expose all tiles, the game
is over when there are not more
exposed pairs left or the layout is
emptied completely. Generally in
online Mahjong you are allowed to
reshuffle the tiles when there are
no matching pairs to be removed.
This is only allowed five times per
game. The tiles all contain
standard suites, much like a pack
of playing cards. These include:
* Characters (4 each
* Bamboos (4 each)
* Circles (4 each)
* Dragons (4 each)
* Winds (4 each)
* Seasons (one each)
* Flowers (one each)
When matching pairs of tiles the
Flowers and Seasons are the only
suits which are not required to
match, each Season and Flower
combination will count as a pair.
This is because there is one of
each of these tiles. In a game when
you have no more pairs and no more
shuffles left, the game is over, if
you clear the Mahjong board
however, you will move onto the
next level. In online Mahjong the
next level will have a different
tile layout.
Strategy
Each tile layout in Mahjong
requires a very unique approach,
but the general strategy to take is
to keep removing as many pairs of
tiles as possible in order to open
up more opportunities to make
pairs. Every pair eliminated should
open up new tiles, playing by
always removing the obvious pairs,
will generally lose the game. It is
key to play with the intention of
avoiding the obvious, and
uncovering lower layers in the
Mahjong layout. Mahjong is a game
of concentration, memory and skill,
which requires a fast reaction
times and decision making skills.
Being able to see your moves steps
ahead in this game will tune in
your visual memory and help you
remember where you last saw that
piece you are looking for.
Check
out our information about other
skill games including
Gin Rummy.
Recommended
