Customer Reviews

A Mah Jong Handbook: How to Play, Score, and Win

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Eleanor Noss Whitney has not only succeeded in writing a concise, understandable, and comprehensive Mah Jong handbook, she has elegantly and expertly distilled into a mere 176 pages the essential tools and strategies to achieve true mastery of this ancient and wonderful game.

Whitney's handbook is the only book that most players will ever need to become a knowledgeable, confident and winning Mah Jong player. The basics of play, including seating, dealer selection, wall-building, tile-dealing and play are laid out clearly with helpful examples and good illustrations. The scoring of Mah Jong is explained with numerous carefully-constructed examples, with helpful diagrams of each tile scenario for good visual reference.

The strategy of the game is brilliantly explained in Part III, again with numerous examples that gradually train beginning players how to quickly make strategic decisions to enhance their play. As Whitney explains, Mah Jong is a game governed by sheer luck of the draw, yet the "skillful player is actually one who knows how to adapt to his luck." Her extensive explanations and examples of both "offensive" and "defensive" strategies are the soul of the book, and I, for one, was amazed how quickly my comphrehension of the game improved after having read the entire chapter.

It is true that the focus of the book is primarily on the Japanese and American rules and variations, but Chinese equivalent terms are included in an extensive Glossary-Index. For the vast majority of players, this will not be a serious problem.

If you buy one book on Mah Jong, it should be this one.

The Mah Jong Handbook presents an amazingly clear method for approaching the game. The book is easy-to-read, but deals with every aspect of the game in detail.

To get the most out of the book, I recommend taking the time to work through the example exercises yourself (before going on to the analysis discussion.) Once you've gone through the book this way, you'll pretty much know everything that an expert player knows. The only thing left is to get in enough playing time to put the theory into practice.

In addition to the game aspects, the book discusses the accompanying rituals and etiquette, as well as many variations on the rules.

A good introduction to the game for beginners, with strategy advice that will be useful to more experienced players as well.

Whitney explains clearly and concisely, using easy to understand diagrams. She even manages to explain Mah Jong's rather complex scoring system, which can be a bit off-putting for beginners.

Her inclusion of the differences between Japanese and American rules is also quite helpful, although I've found that as with any game, some of the rules and terminology vary from region to region.

All in all a good book for those looking to begin playing Mah Jong, particularly those in Japan or with Japanese friends.

This book covers all the questions anybody would have about this complex game. I've searched all over the internet for answers but most rules and gameplay written on line seemed like poorly translated rules from Chinese or whatever with many mysteries left unturned. This book is great and with minimal reading gets you playing in no time.

This book says it has a section on American mah jong and alternate rules, but none of it has anything to do with what is played at National Mah Jong league games. The title should specify that. It is useless to me now, but this version of the game sounds very interesting and challenging. My star rating is meaningless, too, since I don't know how to play japanese mah jong and have no one to practice with.

Well writen and easy to understand. Particularly for a novice at Mah-Jongg.

This mah jongg book is great for the new player and also for anyone wishing to gain a few insights toward winning your game. Learning techniques are supported with pictures which makes it easier to understand. Highly recommend this book.

Mah Jongg is not the easiest of games to learn - especially because of the number of variants that exist. The best thing to do is to discuss with your friends which version you'll be playing so everyone is on the same page.

If you're the first member of the group, pick a rules set that is compatible with your tiles and go.

I have half a dozen Mah Jongg books, and this was the one that is most approachable by new players. It focuses primarily on the Japanese Classical set of rules, but has notes on how other variants are played. In some cases, it has enough information that you can play these variants.

An updated version of her previous handbook. Clearer explanations and excellent photographs. Arrived in a few days at a price a few dollars less than I would have paid here at the bookstore.

I am not a Mahjong playe. My wife is. I wanted her to have a reference book on American version. I thought this would be good. Little information available on books contents and objectives except the usual hype about how we cannot get along without it. The book was very difficult to figure out. I still don't know whether or not it can be used for the american version of the game. It was poorly written and organized. I sent it back and paid for the return shipping. I will want more details when I buy another. Maynard