I have a couple mahjong games on the way for the Saturn, have no clue on how to play them, so I though if someone here can point a tutorial of some kind.
Mahjong is good fun to play once you understand the basics. We traditionally play it on Christmas at my grandma's place. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahjong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4mZEkUl1Gs&feature=related If you have any specific questions just ask.
I find Mahjong really fun even though I suck at it (I really should learn the jpn characters for numbers 6-9, I always forget them while playing and end up avoiding a set of the tiles). I got in to the game because of Yakuza 2. =P Now I've moved on to Mahjong Fight Club (vita version) as my poison of choice.
If you need practice, just try to browse as many Chinese stores as you can in Pacific Mall or something. Most of the special sales have quantities listed in Chinese as well as roman numerals. In some cases, I've seen even just Chinese only. Strange!
Mahjong is a simple game and a bloody complex one, even the various Mahjong games on consoles have slightly different rules. You can learn the basic rules of Riichi mahjong in an hour, although here are more complex rules which can take a bit longer to learn and there are ever so slightly different rules, a lot of proper mahjong games do have a ton of options which will add or remove rules. This site had the rules explained very well http://www.ofb.net/~whuang/ugcs/gp/mahjong/mahjong.html This Mahjong site you can sign up and play games for free which will help you understand the game without having to learn Japanese. http://mahjongtime.com/ The basic skill in Mahjong is to work out what hands you can make up and how much you are willing to risk waiting for tiles to turn up. Unlike other mahjong variations you can see exactly what tiles you and other players have thrown. So you have to read their tiles to work out the risk of throwing tiles down as well as remembering you are not allowed to wiin on a tile you have thrown away. My best hand was winning as a dealer with a tsumo with kokushimusou, lots of points and money There are other variants of Mahjong including Chinese Modern (also know as Competition), Korean, Taiwanese, American, Hong Kong (also known as classic Chinese rules), Classic European and a few other variants on these. Riichi Mahjong is more complicated then Chinese Modern or Hong Kong so you will only learn the basics but you will have to learn more rules and unlearn some others to play Riichi. I do love Mahjong and have a number of mahjong arcade games, various console games and play it in Japan in bars when I can.
Jamtex, What mahjong arcade games do you recommend? Are any of the G-Net or STV ones any good? Really I just need to stop being lazy and take the time to remember them. 1-3 is easy, 4 & 5 I find easy due to their shape but 6-9 I always get mixed on. I'm sure if I spent the time doing like the old days in school and just write them down multiple times they will eventually stick. =/
In terms of Mahjong games, I used to play this game called "Hong Kong Mahjong" by Nine Dragon software for the PC. They've been around since the DOS days so they've defiantly had a long lasting product. At the time, they were the king of the hill for mahjong's simulations. You can play various rules, as well as choose multiple opponents from around the world who have different play styles at various levels. For example, I recall one player (I think from Taiwan?) was listed in his bio as being an accountant or something and had incredible memory for discards. Like for playing blind games. Anyway, it doesn't look too glamorous and flashy compared to other Mahjong games but It worked well and all the characters are properly voiced for their particular background and home-language. They also have the proper digitized animations for calling wins, etc. If I had to start up again, based on my previous experiences I probably would buy whatever version they have avaliable now. EDIT: Here is their rather unassuming website - http://www.ninedragons.com/
The graphics look really sharp! Hopefully it isn't ruined by anime or idol players with anoying voices and stuff. I really wish someone would just make a harcore competition/tournament game with "real-ish" people you might play against. Like from China, Taiwan, America, etc. Almost 90% of all Mahjong games I see now days are of the idol/anime variety with players more for looks than actual authenticity. At least cast someone who could at least look like a Mahjong expert. (^_^);
I probably should post the actual game trailer. The included players are real mahjong players. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGIb9yAWGeE -edit- I know not everybody owns a Vita but there are older iterations for both PSP & DS under the same name "麻雀格闘倶楽部"
That is how I learned the basics of Mahjong. It took me forever to beat that game because I'd always end up playing Mahjong till I got bored and would never get further in the game.
I just got one of the games today, gonna read all this tomorrow while trying to figure out the game. Will keep the topic updated on any difficults I stumble.
Im slowly learning how to play. Have been playing for hours today but cant get the good ending on Suchi Pai 2. Anyone played before know what Im suposed to do? My guess is having all the partners by the end, but I havent figured out the score system yet.
True story bro! Thanks for this very good tutorial! Main link is dead but it's still accessible thru archive.org I know the basic mahjong rules and I'm playing Suchi pai 3 and it's a walk in the park when compared to other (older) eroge mahjongs where you have like 10 seconds (yes, 10 seconds!) to examine your tiles and choose which one to discard (I'm talking to ya, Mahjong Shotaiken!) or you have no fancy special moves, bonuses and you are forced to win A LOT of times consecutively to see the girl fully naked (like in Sailor Wars). The bad thing is that you cannot really learn very much when playing it because a lot of things are automatized and it often suggests you what to do.
