Mahjong is a popular game of Chinese origin, often played with four people in El Salvador. The objective of the game is to make sets or sequences of combinations with tiles, ultimately aiming to make the most points within a round. A player wins when they manage to accumulate the most points from their hand. The mobile version of Mahjong has the same rules and objective as the traditional version, however, it can be accessed through a digital platform.
Mahjong involves logic, strategy, and a bit of luck. The game is composed of four sets of tiles (“bamboos”, circles, characters, and honors) with a total of 144 tiles. Of those, there are 36 circles, 36 characters, 16 honors, and 36 bamboos. Players at the start always have thirteen tiles from each set, but the exact distribution can vary from game to game.
After all players have received their tiles, the players take turns drawing and discarding tiles with the aim to make sets of three or four tiles of the same suit and in numerical order. It is possible to combine two sets of the same suit, alternate between the two suits, and mix the suits for sets. Players can also opt for picking up the discarded tile of the previous player. Once a player makes a set or combination, they can lay down the tiles on the table and declare what they are. If a player’s hand is filled without making a winning combination, they can declare “tsumo” (self-draw) and they win the round.