Mahjong in Where Winds Meet is a simple mini-game you can play when you want a break from the main story. You don’t need to know Mahjong, as the game uses a rule set that is easy to understand. If you’re playing against NPCs in Qinghe or competing with other players in Kaifeng, this guide will tell you how Mahjong works and help you understand the basics.
Mahjong in Where Winds Meet
Mahjong is a side activity that can be played in Where Winds Meet. It is very similar to the Mahjong Endgame and requires Commerce Coins to be a part of the game. There are two different options for playing Mahjong. If you just want to have a normal game, head to Blissful Retreat in Qinghe. Here, you will get a table in the tavern and play against three NPCs.
If you prefer to play with other players, the Fairgrounds in Kaifeng is the right place to go. To get into a match, you need to open the Casual Co-op menu under the Leisure tab. For every game, one needs to have Gold Leaf Game Chips, and you will be randomly assigned three other players. The more games you win and the higher your rank becomes, the more skilled opponents you will be able to face.
How to Play Mahjong
The main part of Mahjong is to form a winning hand, which consists of four combinations or melds and a pair. One combination or meld can consist of either three identical tiles, a Pung, or four identical tiles, a Kong. In this mini-game, as opposed to regular Mahjong, no sequential combinations (Chows) are permitted. All tiles come from one of three suits: Characters, Dots, or Bamboo.
Your turn is simple and clear during the game. You take a tile from the wall, or, if it helps you form a set, you can pick a tile that a player has just thrown away. After that, you have to put aside one tile from your hand. Every turn proceeds in the same manner.
One thing that you must do at the beginning of every round is to select a missing suit. This is the suit of tiles that you are not going to use in the entire match. You cannot change it once you pick it when it’s locked in. You have to get rid of a tile immediately if you draw a tile from your missing suit. Having a missing-suit tile identifies you as a Flower Pig, and it results in a penalty at the end of the game.
You will win if you make a complete hand with four valid sets and one pair. This can take place by either drawing the proper tile from the wall or by taking a tile that has been discarded by another player. In this particular version of Mahjong, multiple players can even win by using the same discarded tile, making rounds less predictable.
Kongs have certain rules that apply to them. When you create a Kong, it is treated like a four-tile set. However, if you announce a Kong and then discard a tile that allows another player to win, you have to pay that player the points. If multiple players win from that same discard, however, this penalty does not apply.
A game concludes when three players have already won or when there are no more tiles to draw. The game ending without a winner brings about the application of penalties. Any player who isn’t just one tile away from winning will be penalised, and anyone still holding tiles from their missing suit will also be penalised as a Flower Pig.
