Mahjong

Mahjong
Developer(s)		Nintendo
Publisher(s)		Nintendo
Platform(s)		Famicom
Release date(s)		August 27, 1983

Mahjong is a tile-based game published by Nintendo for the Famicom in 1983 that can be played in Doubutsu no Mori+ by interacting with the Mahjong item.

Gameplay

File:Mahjong gameplay.png

Gameplay of Mahjong

Mahjong consists of a 1 vs. 1 mahjong match against the Computer; which has three different AI levels: "初" for beginners, "中" for recurrent players, and "上" for professionals. Once the table is set, the game is played by switching turns between the player and the Computer. The rounds only advance once the discard pile is full, or when either player completes a winning hand. Then at the end, after the rounds end, the player with the most points wins.

Either player can discard tiles or claim their rival's discarded tiles for grouping aside into Pon (e.g. 3 3 3), Kan (e.g. 3 3 3 3), or Chii (e.g. 1 2 3), winning via Ron by using the rival's discarded tiles or claiming Tsumo (placing a point stick on the table and waiting for a single last tile).

Tiles for discarding are selected by moving a blue rectangle on the lower hand, and on the black bar in the middle, the player can select from between some of the previously mentioned options, including also selecting Agari if they think they have a complete winning hand.

On the black bar, the randomly selected "Dora" tile can be seen. It is a tile that can increment the points given (x5) if the player wins while keeping that tile, but in the end, having a well-thought Yakuman or complete hand tends to give out more points.

In Doubutsu no Mori+

The Mahjong item

In Doubutsu no Mori+, the Mahjong furniture item can be obtained from a secret code that could be generated on the game's official website.

Trivia

• In real-life, mahjong is a tile game with its origins in China, in 1800. But only in early 1920, the game was exported outside the country and it started to gained popularity world-wide, with many countries creating their own variations in rules and quantity of tiles used.
• The Famicom version of Mahjong is based on the popular Japanese variation called Riichi, with a tile set divided in 3 numbered suits, with 9 Number tiles (in kanji), 9 tiles with Bamboo shots, and 9 tiles with Circles; and 2 honors, with 4 tiles representing Winds directions, and 3 tiles with red, green, and white Dragons. Sets also include many different kinds of point sticks, which are used for claiming Tsumo and given to the player to count their points at the end of the match.