Mahjong (/mɑːˈʒɒŋ/ mah-ZHONG) is a tile-based game that originated in China during the Qing dynasty. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-player variations found in South Korea andJapan). The game and its regional variants are widely played throughout Eastern and South Eastern Asia and have a small following in Western countries. Similar to the Western card game rummy, Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, and calculation and involves a degree of chance.
The game is played with a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols, although some regional variations may omit some tiles and/or add unique tiles. In most variations, each player begins by receiving 13 tiles. In turn players draw and discard tiles until they complete a legal hand using the 14th drawn tile to form 4 melds (or sets) and a pair (eye). A player can also win with a small class of special hands. There are fairly standard rules about how a piece is drawn, how a piece is robbed from another player, the use of simples (numbered tiles) and honors (winds and dragons), the kinds of melds allowed, how to deal the tiles and the order of play. Despite these similarities, there are many regional variations to the rules including rather different scoring systems, criteria for legal winning hands and even private table rules which distinguish some variations as notably different styles of mahjong.
Every Monday and Thursday afternoon in Bryant Park, one of most illustrious public places in downtown New York City, the clink of intricate tiles and ignited outbursts from drawing an unlucky piece can only mean one tantalizing game: mahjong. Mahjong, originated in China about 150 years ago, is a fascinating, gin rummy-like game played with tiles rather than cards. The game has evolved to become a popular American pastime since it was first introduced to the U.S. in early 1920s.
每週一和週四下午，在坐落於紐約曼哈頓市中心的布萊恩特公園，伴隨着麻將牌的.碰撞聲和人羣中爆發的陣陣吆喝聲，麻將牌友們縱橫捭闔、大殺四方。起源於中國的麻將於 20 世紀 20 年代傳入美國，現在已成爲受美國人歡迎的消遣方式。
"We play with a card, a mahjong card," Linda Fisher, Bryant Park's mahjong area organizer, explained major differences between Chinese and American/Jewish style of the game.
記者看到，美國人打麻將，都會在桌邊放一張小卡片。" 這是美國麻將聯盟發佈的年度美式麻將規則卡，" 布萊恩特公園的麻將區組織者琳達 · 費希爾向記者介紹中國麻將和美式麻將的區別。
Traditional Chinese mahjong sets have 144 tiles, while American version is played with eight additional joker tiles and score cards that are published annually by non-profit organizations like National Mahjong League. And every year the card changes just to keep it interesting, so they have to match the patterns on the card instead of making the kinds of Pengs and Kangs and Ches that the other styles of mahjong (have). So the scoring's different.
傳統中國麻將有 144 張牌，而美國麻將還另有 8 張鬼牌(百搭牌)。費希爾說，與中國麻將固有的 " 碰 "" 槓 "" 吃 " 打法不同，美國麻將聯盟每年更換麻將規則卡，列出新的可以得分、贏牌的麻將組合，以保持其趣味性。
【(公衆號：英語學習)】
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