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Mahjong also spelled Mah-Jong, Mahjongg or Mah-Jongg originated in China over two thousand years ago in the court of the King of Wu. Legend has it that a beautiful Chinese maiden invented the game when she was bored. Mahjong was played for centuries by the high class of society and royalty and it was illegal for common folk to play. Death was the penalty for playing. Around 500AD mahjong was allowed to be played by all enabling the game to be taken to other countries for the world to enjoy.
Playing mahjong takes some skill and luck which depending on your knowledge can be 20-80 in favor of luck or 70-30 in favor of skill. The skill/luck combination depsneds on the layout of the tiles and knowledge based. There are variations of the game and one game can take hours to play. Mahjong has become big over the centuries and now there are governing bodies and tournaments all over the world. Below is a list of some of the variations of the game.
The variations of Mahjong
- Chinese Classical Mahjong : The oldest version known to man.
- Hong Kong or Cantonese Mahjong : The most common version.
- Sichuan Mahjong : A quick version with certain tiles missing.
- Taiwanese Mahjong : A version with extra tiles, bonuses and multiple player wins.
- Japonese Mahjong : A standard version that you are most likely to find in arcade games.
- Malaysian Mahjong : Played with fewer players and played at speed.
- Singapore Mahjong : A few changes to the tiles and rules allowing payouts halfway through a game if certain conditions are met.
Other variations include
- Western Classical Mahjong
- American Mahjong
- Fujian Mahjong
- Vietnamese Mahjong
- Filipino Mahjong
There is also a variation called Pussers Bones which is a speed variation developed by sailors in the Austrailian Royal Navy.
More about mahjong coming soon.
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