1920s British Mah Jong booklet

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Archived from groups: rec.games.mahjong (More info?)

My family Mah Jong set has three rule booklets (which of course all
give different rules). One is dated August 1924, so I presume the
copyright has expired. I've scanned it and put it online, if anyone's
interested:

http://www.safalra.com/other/chadvalley.html

(The other two are the 20th edition of Max Robertson's 'The Game Of
Mah Jong', and HPG&S Ltd's 'Rules And Guide To The Game Of Mah-Jongg
By Jackpot'.)

On a different note, I couldn't find anything in the sloperama.com FAQ
explaining why the wind directions are backwards/upside-down, but
perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough - can someone direct me to an
answer please?

--
Safalra (Stephen Morley)
http://www.safalra.com/

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.mahjong (More info?)

"Safalra" <usenet@safalra.com> wrote...
> My family Mah Jong set has three rule booklets (which of course all
> give different rules). One is dated August 1924, so I presume the
> copyright has expired. I've scanned it and put it online, if anyone's
> interested:
>
> http://www.safalra.com/other/chadvalley.html

Thanks, Stephen!

> On a different note, I couldn't find anything in the sloperama.com FAQ
> explaining why the wind directions are backwards/upside-down, but
> perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough - can someone direct me to an
> answer please?

It's FAQ 20, bottom bullet.

And here is the answer I post when somebody asks (as you just did, which
only happens every 3 years or so, therefore it isn't Frequently Asked):

--

>Why are the wind positions in a Mah Jongg game different than the wind
positions on the points of a compass?

1. Nobody ever told the Chinese that the seat positions around a table ought
to be like the compass directions on a map (as though looking down on the
table from a vantage point on the ceiling). If only somebody had told them
this, they might not have done it the way they did! The remaining 2 points
describe why they did it the way they did despite Western expectations.

2. The Chinese play games counterclockwise, while Westerners tend to play
games clockwise. Perhaps it has something to do with the Coriolis Effect (or
maybe it's just because Westerners invented clocks). I don't know why, this
is just the way it is.

3. The Chinese link the winds to the seasons of the year in this fashion: 1.
East = Spring (in the spring the wind comes from the east). 2. South =
Summer (in the summer the wind comes from the hot south). 3. West = Autumn.
4. North = Winter. So this is why the second player is South, not North, as
a Westerner who thinks the table ought to be analogous to a map might
expect.

Hope that clears things up!

--

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.mahjong (More info?)

In message <UdiNc.37554$eM2.22853@attbi_s51>, Tom Sloper
<tomster@sloperamaNOSPAM.com> writes

>2. The Chinese play games counterclockwise, while Westerners tend to play
>games clockwise. Perhaps it has something to do with the Coriolis Effect (or
>maybe it's just because Westerners invented clocks). I don't know why, this
>is just the way it is.

There used to be plenty of card games played counterclockwise in the
west. Swiss jass games are played counterclockwise. Tarock games are
almost all played counterclockwise. I think it is the prevalence of
just two card games, bridge and poker, which gives the perception that
clockwise play is the norm in the west.

Nick
--
Nick Wedd nick@maproom.co.uk