Mahjong is a traditional Chinese tile-based game that originated in the 19-20th centuries. The game has a long history of rules, various interpretations, and many versions. In the last two centuries, Mahjong has become popular in many countries outside of China, including Austria.
In Mahjong, each player is dealt tiles, which are arranged face-down in a 22 x 10 grid. The tiles have a number of values depending on the set and the country in which it is played. The object of the game is to build sets of tiles that match one another and to eventually deplete the set.
In Austria, the variants of Mahjong rules are often based on the Hong Kong Standard. This version of Mahjong consists of four main sets: Chows, Pungs, Kongs, and Winds.
Chows are sets of three consecutive tiles that all have the same suit.
Pungs are sets of three identical tiles that have the same suit.
Kongs are sets of four identical tiles.
Winds are sets of four tiles that represent the four directions; East, South, West, and North.
Players must then build sets of tiles that meet the criteria for each set. Once a set is built, it can be discarded and the player can continue to build more sets. The game ends when one player has built four sets and has no more tiles.