Winning mahjong strategies, from keeping an eye on the other players to playing mind games with your own hidden tiles
- Once you have the basics down and can keep a game of mahjong up and running, you might want to learn some slightly more advanced tips and tricks to win
- Keep an eye on what other players discard – it can tell you a lot about what they are looking for – and try to not claim the first tile discarded in the game
While luck plays a large part in the game of mahjong when it comes to getting a good hand, it is a game that requires plenty of thinking and keeping one step ahead of the other players.
Here are five simple strategies to take your gameplay to the next level.
1. Watch others’ discards and be flexible with tiles you keep
If you notice other players consistently discarding tiles of a particular suit, those tiles might not be useful for the hand they are trying to win with.
It might be worth pivoting to the suits other players do not plan on using, as you will be competing for fewer of the same suit or category.
There is a simple strategy for keeping both the player before and after you in check. For the latter, discard the suit or suits they do not want to minimise the chance of sheung – giving them the tiles to complete a set of three consecutive tiles in the same suit by picking up a tile you discard.
Do the opposite for the player before you by discarding the suits they want. This is best done if you can see plenty of the same suit already out on the table – even better the exact same tile – to minimise the chances of them completing a set.
