SOYOUWANNA LEARN TO PLAY MAH-JONG?

6. PROVIDE REGULAR MAINTENANCE TO YOUR GARDEN

In mah-jong, the point is not simply to win - it's to win big. There are several different ways to calculate points at the end of a game. We will be teaching you the "traditional" method because it's simplest. So here are the rules on scoring:

• Only the winner of a round calculates the point value of his tiles. The three losers of the game win nothing and only stand to lose points. And it doesn't matter how close anybody else is; it's all or nothing.
  
  
• If the winner draws the winning tile from the wall, all players must pay the winner the total point value of the winner's tiles. If the winner's final combination is formed with a discarded tile, only the player who discarded the tile is the loser and must pay. The other two players are neither winners nor losers.
  
  
• Here's another fun part of the scoring: whenever the dealer wins, he getsdouble. If you're playing for money, then if the dealer loses, he must pay double.
  
  
• Refer to this chart to calculate how much a winning hand is worth:
  
  Chow: 0 points Pair of suits: 0 points Pair of own winds: 2 points Pair of prevailing winds: 2 points Pair of dragons: 2 points Pung of suits: exposed: 2 points; concealed: 4 points Pung of honors: exposed: 4 points; concealed: 8 points Kong of suits: exposed: 8 points; concealed: 4 points Kong of honors: exposed: 16 points; concealed: 8 points Bonuses: 4 points each
  A complete game of mah-jong lasts for at least 16 rounds (giving each player a chance to be dealer at least 4 times, and accommodating players who win a round that he happened to deal).

So good luck on your game! And may the prevailing winds guide you to generous winnings.