Ever since I’d been approved for the mahjong panel at Otakon, I’ve been both consciously and unconsciously thinking about the game in terms of how beginners approach it. Here are some accumulated thoughts from this slight change in mindset.
As Sub and I work on our panel, we have to be aware that many people don’t have the first clue about mahjong, and that in order to get to the meaty psychologically thrilling parts of the game, we have to show what the game is actually like without going overboard. I trust the both of us to come up with something great, though. Sub especially is a natural at pleasing the crowd.
Sub and I also played some games both online and real life this past week with various levels of beginners, from people absolutely new to the game to people who’ve been playing for a bit but are still grappling with some of the fundamentals.
While neither of us are particularly good at mahjong, we too have made many of the same mistakes, and so we are more keenly aware of them. Generally these errors are the product of over-eagerness and desperation combined with not fully knowing the rules.
In mahjong, when someone discards a tile, there are situations where you can steal the tile and use it as your own, but in doing so confine yourself to fewer options and leave yourself more vulnerable to the attacks of others. One of the most prolific manifestations of this desperation is the over-reliance on stealing others’ tiles in order to move towards victory. Japanese mahjong values defense, and so every time you go on the offense you leave yourself more and more open. The newbie tendency is to just keep stealing tiles whenever you have the chance. Eventually, your options become so limited that you’re left near-impotent with possibly not even the strongest of luck being able to save you.
Naturally, Sub decided to exploit this and gain a commanding lead over an entire game. I came in second, unable to get a win in, but also able to avoid the traps Sub had set for the other players. In a later game, I did pretty much the same thing he did. It’s a good reminder of where we were and where we can go.
We also realized that the game is not quite as difficult to learn as we originally thought it to be. Yes, when you factor in all of the various small rules and exceptions and knick-knacks, the game can become ridiculously complex, especially because mahjong resembles so few other games. However, the very basics are fairly easy to learn and one or two games and a bit of observation is all it takes to get going.
Of course, there won’t be time for that at the panel as it is not a workshop, but our goal is more to convey a sense of mahjong and the excitement therein in order to bolster your enjoyment of mahjong anime and manga. In that sense, I truly believe we will succeed, and that every game of mahjong we play, not only with those less experienced but also those far superior to us, will be useful lessons towards this goal.
OGIUE MANIAX 
I always wanted to learn Mahjong, but I don’t have the slightest idea where to begin.. Got any tips on anything I can read online? Thanks =)
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My recommendation is to look for a basic how to play mahjong guide, and then just look at the “winning hands” to see some of the possibilities you can go for.
At this point, you don’t necessarily need to know all of them as they can be rather odd and esoteric, but as long as you know “how” to win on some level then you can start playing.
After that, I recommend you move on to trial by fire. This is the good part of playing online mahjong as much of the game is automated for you and you only have to worry about clicking things. Sometimes you’ll click the wrong thing, sometimes you’ll end up being unable to win and not sure how you got that way, but in time you’ll learn from your mistakes bit by bit.
I recommend http://tenhou.net as that’s where all the cool people play.
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Bit of a self-plug here: a while back I made a post that compiled all the links I had on hand that helped me learn, because it was a pain in the ass to find it all myself. We’ll probably be directing people to this stuff at the very end of the panel, too.
http://subatomicbrainfreeze.typepad.com/subatomic_brainfreeze/2010/03/daves-helpful-mahjong-links.html
Hope it helps you out.
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I’d say the most difficult part of the game is teaching the specific scoring systems – that’s where you find the most variety and difference between various forms of mahjong (aside from Cantonese/Mandarin/Japanese terminology, of course). That’s also probably the part you want to spend the least time on.
I’d suggest starting with the similarities to poker – though it uses tiles mahjong is essentially a card game. If you can get the attendees to think about the game in terms of suits (bamboos, coins/stones, characters, and the small “sub-suits” like the compass directions and the like) and then in terms of combinations, and then hands, you’re halfway there.
The strategy is quite similar in mahjong to many poker derivatives – being aware of what’s been played, guessing what your opponent has, and calculating the probabilities from there.
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I’m still big on the terminology being a big hurdle through my own projection, people aren’t going to understand what a pung or whatever is immediately, and you’re going to have to ease them into it.
And scoring is its own game in itself, jeez.
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The game in question was a combination of my getting excellent draws and my willingness (given my opponents) to reach on absolutely any lousy hand at the very first possible moment. If the other guy tells you he’s not gonna defend against your attack, you hit him hard, right?
Anyway, not to reveal a lot about the panel, but our number one consideration is that we only have an hour. If you know riichi, you know that one hour is not enough time for all of the rules to be taught, even if we read them dryly out of a book (which would, by the way, benefit nobody).
We want to cover the absolute basics so that people understand the goal of the game, the kinds of things the player is thinking about, and ultimately tie in the anime and show people why it’s exciting both as a game and as a dramatic tool for these stories.
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Wow, thanks a lot, these links are sure to help me =) I’ve read a bit and sure is confusing on a first reading.
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