Rules and more rules:
規則：
1. To win at mahjong, you have to put a total of 17 tiles into five groups, each of which can have three or four tiles. Each group must form a certain order, and the two extra tiles that are not a part of any group must be identical.
PHOTOS: CHENG HSIANG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
1. 打麻將要贏，手上的十七張牌要形成五組三或四張的牌組，外加上兩張一模一樣的牌，又稱將牌。
2. What order? There are three kinds: "peng4"(碰), "chi1"(吃) and "gang4"(槓) .
2. 需要什麼樣的牌組？碰、吃、槓。
Peng: Three identical tiles of any suit, as in picture A.
碰，就是三張一模一樣的牌，如圖A 示：
Chi: Three sequential numbers of the same suit, as in picture B.
吃，就是三張連續數字，如圖B 示：
Gang: Four identical tiles of any suit, as in picture C.
槓，就是四張一模一樣的牌，如圖C 示：
Note: Normally, when you form a peng or chi, you put all three tiles out in front of your wall so others can see how close you are to winning. But when you form an "An4 gang4"(暗槓), you cover all four tiles so other players know you've got all four tiles of one particular pattern, but don't know which ones. This is a strategy to hinder your opponent, who might be waiting for your gang tiles to win.
註：通常如果有碰或吃，三張牌都拿出來牆外放，可是如果你暗槓，要將四張牌都蓋起來，如此能夠嚇唬在等牌胡的對手。
3. You win by forming a hand of five either peng, chi or gang plus two other identical tiles. Picture D shows examples of winning hands:
3. 所謂贏牌就是手上要有五組以碰、吃或槓單一或交錯組成的牌，加上將牌，如圖D 所示。
Starting the game:
遊戲開始：
After players have finished replacing their bonus tiles, each should have 16 regular tiles.
各家補完牌後，每個人手上應該都有十六張牌。
1. East (the dealer) begins drawing tiles from the part of the wall where players left off while selecting their original 16 tiles, not from the part of the wall where they left off while replacing their bonus tiles. East draws one tile from the wall and discards the one of his 16 tiles that helps him the least and puts it in the center of the table. For example: In pictureE, the zhong(中)tile would be discarded. East should get rid of the "red dragon"(紅中)because it is so different from the others, which makes it hard to match it with others.
For example:
1. 這時東風要從各家結束取牌的地方開始抓牌，而不是從槓尾取。 東風從牆頭取一張牌，並且從自己的牆丟出一張不需要的牌到牌池。如圖E 所示，這時應該拋棄紅中：東風最好丟棄紅中，因為它跟其他牌不相容，難成氣候。
2. The game moves in a counterclockwise direction. North continues play by taking the next tile from the wall as East did, or, if he finds that the tile that East just ditched could help him form a chi, he could take that one and combine it with two of his own tiles to form a chi, put it out in front of the wall, and ditch one of his own tiles that he finds useless. You can't take the previous player's tile unless it is the last tile you need to form a chi. Players can only form a chi with the discarded tile of the player directly before them. For example, West could not use East's tile to form a chi. However, if you see someone ditch a tile that you need to form a peng or gang, you may claim the tile no matter whom it was discarded by. Forming a peng or gang takes priority over forming a chi. Even if a player wants to form a chi with the discarded tile of the player immediately before him, the other two players may steal the tile if it helps them form a peng or a gang. In addition, players may steal a discarded tile if it is the last tile they need to win. Winning the game takes precedence over forming either a peng, gang or chi.
2. 輪到北風，北風可以跟東風作一樣接著從牆排拿牌，或者，如果他想吃東風丟出來的牌，他要把想吃的牌，連同他自己原來的兩張牌都放到牆外，然後丟一張自己的牌出來。如果不是差一張就能吃，不能拿上家的牌，而且只有你能吃你上家的牌，其他人不行，比方說西風就一定不能吃東風的牌，除非他差一張牌就胡牌。但是如果你看到牌可以碰或槓，就算那張牌不是你上家丟出來的也能拿，而且碰和槓比吃大，就算那個人的下家要吃也得讓你，當然，除非他要胡了，要胡的人比吃、碰槓還要大。
3. After a player forms a peng or gang, the game continues to the right of that player. For example, after East ditches a tile, it is supposed to be North's turn. But if South uses East's tile to peng, after he completes the peng, it will be the player to South's right's turn, in this case East. North simply loses his turn.
3. 如果有人碰或槓，遊戲接下來會從碰完或吃完的人接著開始，比方說，東風丟了一張牌，本來是該北風，但是如果南風要碰，碰完之後，就繼續逆時針從他右手家開始，不是北風，簡而言之，東風和北風就是被跳過了。
4. If you need one more tile to win, you are "ting1 pai2"(聽牌). Some people like to show off by turning their tiles over.
4. 如果你剩一張牌就贏了，你就是在聽牌，有人會在此時把所有的牌蓋起來以警示其他對手自己距離勝利只剩一步之遙，不過這麼做除了讓別人覺得你很帥之外，沒什麼好處。
5. If East wins this round, the next round is still East's round. But if East loses, the next round will go counter-clockwise, so it will be North's round.
5. 如果東風贏了這一盤，下一盤仍是東風，如果東風輸了，下一盤就是逆時針方向到北風盤。
6. There is only one winner in mahjong. If one wins by claiming the tile that another player has discarded, which we call "hu2"(胡)in Chinese, the player who ditched the tile is the loser of the game, and only he has to pay the winner. But if one wins with a tile from the wall, which we call "zi4 mo1"(自摸) in Chinese, all the other players are losers and must all pay the winner.
6. 麻將只會有一位贏家，而如果贏家的最後一張牌是靠拿其他家丟出來牌取勝，稱之「胡」，而放槍的大爺是這盤唯一的輸家，只有他要付錢贏的人錢，但是如果贏家是自己從牌牆摸牌取勝，稱之為「自摸」，其他三家都是輸家，而且都要付錢給贏家。
Calculate your points:
如何計分：
There are several different ways to calculate your points. Beginners should decide as a group how much the loser, or losers, should pay to the winner before playing.
有很多種算台數的方式，基於有些方式過於繁複，我們奉勸新手，不妨大家事前有共識，輸的人要給贏的人多少就好。
Some tips to help you win:
讓你有好手氣：
1. Pay attention to what tiles other players are collecting. That way when another player is close to winning and you are nowhere close, (you can tell by looking at how many tiles he has out front), you will know which tiles you should keep or ditch so that whoever is about to win won't get the tile he wants.
1.注意其他家在蒐集什麼牌，勝負將定前（可以從門前的牌數判斷），別放槍。
2. Use wind or dragon tiles as the two identical tiles.
2. 用東南西北或中發白來當將牌。
3. Wear red underwear.
3. 穿紅色內衣。
4. If you are winning, don't go to the restroom too often. If you have to go, don't wash your hands. But if you are losing, do the opposite.
4. 贏的人，少上廁所；別洗手，輸的人多起來走動。
If you are a single mahjong player looking for competition, here are some useful Web sites for you:
如果你實在是「一缺三」，可以到下列網站：
www.mjonline.com.tw
www.online mj.com.tw
或者可以向下列廠商詢問麻將遊戲的銷售點：
You can buy online mahjong software from the following companies:
至尊麻將
大宇股份有限公司
電話：02-8226-5655
旺來麻將
億泰利多媒體
電話：02-2948-9899
麻將學園
光譜資訊
電話：02-5555-0000
Mahjong Master
Softstar Entertainment Inc.
Tel: 02-8226-5655
WangLai Mahjong
Pfamily
Tel: 02-2948-9899
Mahjong Academy
T-Time
Tel: 02-5555-0000
Note:
1. These games are only availible in Chinese.
2. Due to the complexity of mahjong rules and the limited space on our page, some details are left out on purpose to get the game rolling.
註：
1. 以上遊戲都只有中文介面。
1. 因麻將規則頗為複雜，基於版面限制，若干細節不及備載，以便新手了解。
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