The Red Dragon & The West Wind: The Winning Guide to Official Chinese & American Mah-Jongg [Paperback]

Tom Sloper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 2007

The Red Dragon & The West Wind is the perfect introduction to this ancient game of strategy and subterfuge, covering all aspects of the two most common varieties, American and Chinese, along with an overview of other global approaches.

The book begins with the history and origin and moves on to the rules of play and ways to win and avoid essential errors as well as the etiquette to follow. With everything from clear instructions on dealing, building, and distributing tiles to a look at the history and future of the game, this is the essential book for anyone who wants to have fun–and win–while playing mah–jongg.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Game designer and producer Tom Sloper has lectured at the Smithsonian and written extensively on the traditional game of mah-jongg. The author of the mahjong newsgroup Frequently Asked Questions, he lives in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; First Edition edition (June 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061233943
• ISBN-13: 978-0061233944
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for the beginner, January 24, 2009

By 

K. Helms (Alabama) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Red Dragon & The West Wind: The Winning Guide to Official Chinese & American Mah-Jongg (Paperback)

This book, while claiming to be written for beginners, is inundated with what comes across as the authors arrogance and preference for advanced players as well as the importance of strictly adhered to rules over the relationships of friends seated at the table. While this may be appropriate for a Mah-Jongg player who wishes to increase his/her skill and advance into tournament play, it is not written for family and friends who play on the weekends as a social event. The writing is technical and dry and filled with an abundance of nit-picky information best left to someone who already has a basic understanding of the game. For example I can't imagine inviting family or friends over to my house to play only to force them to follow these stipulations:

"Declaring a pung more than 3 seconds after a tile was discarded is penalized first by a warning; a second occurrence penalized by loss of 5 points." p.143

"If you find yourself struggling with a jumble of disassociated tiles...others will start to cough, Roll their eyes, and drum their fingernails impatiently. If this happens pass any three tiles. Just try not to let any more fingernails drum, eyes roll, any more throats to tighten into subtle coughs...The beginner who tries to win may win a few times, but they won't be invited back to play again" p.110.

"Do not carry on a conversation while playing. Don't fidget. Don't be the slowest playing at the table. Pay attention and act when you are supposed to act" p.202

I give this book two stars because it is appropriate as a rule book in the event that a question arises during play, but that is all. Learning to play with this book would only lead the beginner to feel frustrated and ultimately unwelcome at the table of those who already know how to play.

Instead, I highly recommend "A Beginner's Guide to American Mah Jongg" by Elaine Sandberg. This is an excellent book for learning and her style of teaching/writing is not so arrogant but is focused on teaching the game through an easy to read/understand conversational style.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, March 11, 2008

By 

A. Purviance "otterlove" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Red Dragon & The West Wind: The Winning Guide to Official Chinese & American Mah-Jongg (Paperback)

I bought this book after purchasing a Mah Jongg set with a very slim rule manual. Mah Jongg is a very complex game, but after thoroughly reading through Tom Sloper's book I feel ready and excited to begin playing. This book is well laid out, with in-depth instructions as well as a section with brief descriptions to be used to quickly look up a rule while playing. It's obvious that he is an expert in Mah Jongg, fortunately for us novices he also possesses the rare talent to be able to break instructions down in a way that a novice can understand and retain.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mahjong Reference, October 18, 2007

By 

B. Cox - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Red Dragon & The West Wind: The Winning Guide to Official Chinese & American Mah-Jongg (Paperback)

Tom Sloper is my inspiration for learning Mahjong. Three retired friends and I attempted to learn the game on our own. Without Tom's online assistance and encouragement, we would have tossed aside a great source of entertainment and mental stimulation. I recommend "The Red Dragon & The West Wind" to anyone with an interest in Mahjong and strongly recommend it to anyone just learning. Tom is able to introduce the game and explain the intricacies of both the American and Chinese Official versions in a manner understandable to both beginners and advanced users. Not yet sold? You'll miss out on Tom's delicious sense of humor. Buy this one!!