Same Tiles, Different Game: How Mahjong And Pai Gow Are Different

Both are tile-based games, and both originate in China, but Mahjong and Pai Gow are distinctly different games. The tiles they use are different, and so too are the strategies and gameplay of the two games. Both are enjoyed by people worldwide, although Pai Gow is typically enjoyed in casinos, whereas Mahjong is played in homes, at clubs, and online, as well as in some gambling rooms.

Mahjong Vs Pai Gow

The two tile games do share some similarities. Both games are Chinese in origin, played using sets of tiles, offer multiplayer gaming, and they are both thought to have originated in the 19^th Century. Both games have also spread outside their home country and are popular gambling games. Pai Gow and the American evolution of the game, Pai Gow poker, are popular in casinos. Mahjong is played in game rooms and gambling rooms, as well as on sites like the Mahjong365 website, which pits players against one another in traditional four-player real-money bouts.

The Tiles

In some respects, the two games can look somewhat similar. At least, they are both played using tiles or dominoes. However, the tiles are different, and there can be some regional differences in the tiles used, especially in Mahjong.

Mahjong

Mahjong uses a set of 144 tiles. A set contains three simple suits of stones, characters, and bamboo, as well as two honor suits of winds and dragons, and an optional suit of flowers.

Stones consist of one to nine circles, and each stone represents a tong – a traditional round coin with a square hole in the middle. There are four sets of this and the other basic suits.

The character suit is also referred to as the number suit. The bottom character, usually painted red, is the character wan, or 10,000. The top character, in black, is a number between one and nine.

The bamboo suit consists of nine tiles. Eight of the tiles have between two and nine bamboo sticks, but the number 1 bamboo tile depicts a bird sitting on bamboo, which also gives us the name the bird suit, which is sometimes used.

The flower suit is optional, but where it is used, it consists of eight tiles depicting different flowers. These may be used similarly to jokers in decks or cards or as wild tiles to help make up sets.

The wind suit is one of two honor suits and includes the Chinese characters for the points of the compass – North, East, South, and West.

The arrows honor suit has characters related to archery and other cardinal virtues.

Pai Gow

Pai Gow is played using 32 dominoes. There are 16 named pairs, including 11 identical pairs and 5 that are made up of tiles with the same number of pips but that are not identical. The pairs are said to tell the story of creation, starting with Gee Joon, the creator of the universe, and the highest-ranked pair. Unlike Mahjong, there are normally no variations in the tiles, and every Pai Gow domino set is the same.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Mahjong and Pai Gow varies significantly. Both are multiplayer games, although Pai Gow involves a dealer as well as the players, and Mahjong is played by four people.

Mahjong

Although there are elements of luck, Mahjong is considered a game of skill and strategy. Players receive 13 tiles to start and take turns drawing and discarding tiles to create melds and a pair, or one of a small number of special hands.

Different variations of the game exist, but most share the use of suits and honors as well as basic melds, or sets. Some optional rules can make the game considerably more complex, and they may introduce the optional flower suit, which can be used as wild tiles.

Pai Gow

Initially, eight stacks of four face-down tiles are created. Betting takes place, and the stacks may be moved according to those bets. Once betting is complete, each player and the dealer receive one of the stacks each. Players must then use the tiles to form two hands.

The hand with the lower value is called the front hand, and the hand with the higher value is the rear hand. The player compares their front hand to that of the dealer’s front hand, and the rear hand to the dealer’s rear hand.

If the player wins both hands, they win and are paid out at odds of 1:1. If the dealer wins both hands, the player loses. If the player wins one hand and loses the other, the bet is pushed, and the player receives their stake back.

Strategy

Both games require a combination of luck, skill, and strategy. Pai Gow is considered primarily a gambling game that is regularly played in casinos, including some casinos in the US and other countries. Mahjong is played as a gambling game, but is also played for fun and with no real-money wager.  In both games, learning the dominoes or tiles and how they relate to one another is important, and so too is learning the strength of the possible hands.

Mahjong

Mahjong does rely on some luck. Specifically, the luck of the draw, as the player draws a new tile every turn. However, it also requires quick thinking and logical thought to help create the best-scoring hand possible. Players also benefit from good memory, being able to remember the tiles players have thrown down. And, an ability to adapt to the current state of play is also considered an important part of Mahjong strategy. Although the rules are fairly simple to learn, Mahjong masters can prove very difficult to beat.

Pai Gow

Pai Gow also relies on luck, with the player having no knowledge of the four tiles they will receive. However, splitting those tiles to create the two best-ranking hands, respectively, requires a good degree of strategic thinking. Generally, players are advised to prioritize creating Gongs and Wongs, as these are high-scoring hands, followed by nine-dot hands. Or, if there are no possible high-ranking combinations, play the highest and lowest pip dominoes in one hand.

Global Spread

Both games were devised in China, approximately 200 years ago, but their popularity has seen them spread throughout the world as popular forms of entertainment, although both games have been adapted to better suit different markets and preferences.

Mahjong

Four-player Mahjong is the traditional form of the game, although there are three-player and even two-player variants. We regularly see solitaire Mahjong online and in apps, but this version’s gameplay is quite different from the original. Although Mahjong is a popular betting game in South East Asia, it is rarely played in casinos in other markets.

Pai Gow

Pai Gow is primarily a betting game, and it can be found in some casinos outside China, albeit rarely. A US card-based variant, called Pai Gow poker, is popular in US casinos. It follows similar rules and has a similar strategy, but has a front hand of five cards and a rear hand of two cards.

Conclusion

Pai Gow and Mahjong are popular tile-based games, both originating in 19^th-century China and both having enjoyed some degree of popularity around the world. However, while they do have some similarities, the games are very different, in terms of the tiles used, the way the games are played, and the strategies used by successful players.