Mahjong in a nutshell

<Suyo|Mahjong> Want a "in a nutshell" version
<_MP3_Amplifier_> Would help
<blackyoshi> Yeah.
<Suyo|Mahjong> Alright I'll just assume you read the part about which tiles there are at least
<Suyo|Mahjong> You don't need to remember which tile is which number, it says that in the game
<Suyo|Mahjong> The goal in each round is to create a hand, which consists out of 14 tiles
<Suyo|Mahjong> That's a pair of two same tiles, and three so-called "melds"
<Suyo|Mahjong> A meld can be one of three types:
<Suyo|Mahjong> "Chi", or "Chow": A sequence of three tiles in a row, for example Bamboo 1 to 3, or Circles 6 to 8
<Suyo|Mahjong> Obviously doesn't work with the special "honor" tiles, or over the ends of a suit (so Bamboo 8-9-1 won't work)
<Suyo|Mahjong> "Pon", or "Pung": Three times the same tile
<Suyo|Mahjong> "Kan": Four times the same tile (the fourth one doesn't count to the 14 tiles in your hand)
<Suyo|Mahjong> To get those melds, you can steal the tiles from other players. If you have the chance, a bar will light up at the bottom of the game, where you can choose - or pass.
<blackyoshi> Ah.
<blackyoshi> Ok.
<blackyoshi> I get it so far.
<Suyo|Mahjong> A turn usually goes like this:
<Suyo|Mahjong> 1) Player X has 13 tiles at the start of the turn. He draws a tile.
<Suyo|Mahjong> 2) He now has 14 tiles. If they don't complete his hand, he needs to discard one to get back to 13.
<Suyo|Mahjong> 3) Other players can Pon or Chi his discarded tile. Then it'S the next player's turn, counter-clockwise
<Suyo|Mahjong> Note that Chi can only be stolen from the player to your left, but Pon and Kan can be stolen from anyone.
<Suyo|Mahjong> And now for the most important part:
<Suyo|Mahjong> WINNING.
<Suyo|Mahjong> You have two ways to win:
<Suyo|Mahjong> 1) "Tsumo": If you draw a tile yourself and complete your hand this way, you can declare Mahjong, and win with a Tsumo. That means you get points from every player.
<Suyo|Mahjong> 2) "Ron": If a player discards the one tile you need to complete you hand, you can declare Mahjong using his tile (even if it belongs to your Pair), and win with a Ron. In this case, the player you stole the tile from has to pay you all of the points.
<blackyoshi> 'kay
<Suyo|Mahjong> So, to sum up:
<Suyo|Mahjong> - Create a hand with 14 tiles: one pair, and four melds.
<Suyo|Mahjong> - A meld can be a Chi (sequence), Pon (three of a kind) or Kan (four of a kind).
<Suyo|Mahjong> - You can use the discarded tiles from opponents to create melds.
<Suyo|Mahjong> Is that clear so far?
<_MP3_Amplifier_> I think so
<Suyo|Mahjong> by, Bog, understood everything so far? Because we are getting a bit more srs now
<Bogdan|TFC4ever> trying to
<Bogdan|TFC4ever> and trying to argue with n at the same time
<blackyoshi> Hmm
<blackyoshi> Don't hurt me if I do mistakes
<blackyoshi> I think I get how it works.
<_MP3_Amplifier_> ^
<Suyo|Mahjong> It [the online site] should block most mistakes, except one, which I'm getting at.
<Suyo|Mahjong> ANYWAYS MOVING ON
<Suyo|Mahjong> Your hand is called "closed" by default, since no one can see what the hell your tiles are.
<blackyoshi> Ok
<Suyo|Mahjong> As soon you steal a tile from someone though, they can see some of your tiles. Your hand is then called "open" (even though just a few tiles are visible).
<Suyo|Mahjong> And one more word we will need for the rest - if you have 13 tiles ready and just need one more to win, you have a "ready hand" - also called being in "tenpai"
<Suyo|Mahjong> So now we get to the stuff that is special about this variant of Mahjong we play
<_MP3_Amplifier_> Oh, yeah
<Suyo|Mahjong> First: If you mange to get to a ready hand, and it's still completely closed, you have the ability to declare "Reach" (or "Riichi", which is where it got it's name)
<Bogdan|TFC4ever> so many strange names
<blackyoshi> Just another language, bog
<Suyo|Mahjong> Once you do that, your hand is pretty much locked, you are only allowed to discard the tile you draw, no others. Also, if someone plays the tile you need for a Ron, you must take it and can't wait for another player.
<Suyo|Mahjong> In return, your hand's worth is doubled. More on that in a bit.
<Suyo|Mahjong> And now for the big finale, the one thing you can seriously fuck up
<Suyo|Mahjong> Like holy shit guys watch out for this shit
<Suyo|Mahjong> There's this thing called "Yaku". Best translation would be "doublers".
<blackyoshi> ...
<Suyo|Mahjong> Yaku are certain things you can do with your hand, and every point you get from those doubles your score
<Suyo|Mahjong> For example, declaring Reach gives you a yaku, and you get another yaku if you win by Tsumo after that. Meaning, pow, 4x points.
<Suyo|Mahjong> The problem with this is that at least one yaku is required. Try to declare Mahjong without any yaku and you need to pay penalty.
<_MP3_Amplifier_> I actually get this sort of, just need to keep looking up these japanese words :3
<Suyo|Mahjong> I'll post a list of Yaku in a bit.
<Suyo|Mahjong> It's long, but you don't need to remember all of them.
<blackyoshi> 'kay
<_MP3_Amplifier_> Okay
<Suyo|Mahjong> Keep it open during the game, check your hand, and try to find a yaku which matches.
<Suyo|Mahjong> And if there isn't one, just go for declaring "Reach".
<Suyo|Mahjong> http://curms.soc.srcf.net/wiki/index.php?title=Yaku
<_MP3_Amplifier_> Oh right
<Suyo|Mahjong> And once you got that through your head, YOU'RE FUCKIN READY TO PLAY
<Suyo|Mahjong> WOO