Anyone ever build a Mahjong Control panel?

[Vigo]

I have some in-laws coming over from Asia in a couple months, and they were going to teach me how to play Mahjong. I wanted to learn on the arcade as well, since there are so many freakin' games on there. So I am wondering if anyone has built a mahjong control panel before. I am guessing that it is pretty straight forward, but have no experience with any mahjong cabs.

I also noticed that there are 2 player controls in mame for mahjong. Are P2 controls ever used? The pictures I see of the control panels only ever have 1 player.

Also, I have no clue what the bottom row of buttons mean.

[Confused American].

[/Confused American]

[Vigo]

I kinda figured a lack of response on this thread, there is as much demand for mahjong here as a wet loaf of bread. 

If I get around to it, I will make an attempt and report my results. 

[Dartful Dodger]

Instead of learning to play Mahjong on MAME you can just type "8 bit boobs" into Google.

[DataWest]

I always figured it must be an entertaining game or there would not be so many freaking versions of it. Can't just be a cultural thing. I mean, we like most other asian games? Right? Maybe I'll try and learn it LOL

I don't see this thread being anything more than a smart ass haven though. 

[Spacejack]

Is the game in question really even mahjongg? Or is it like those "mahjongg" solitaire computer programs from the nineties? Or is it like a mahjongg version of video poker? It seems like a full hand of mahjongg would not be a good way to get cash out of a coin-op since the game would be rather long by default.

[SlayerAlex]

Is the game in question really even mahjongg? Or is it like those "mahjongg" solitaire computer programs from the nineties? Or is it like a mahjongg version of video poker? It seems like a full hand of mahjongg would not be a good way to get cash out of a coin-op since the game would be rather long by default.

thats true. i remember playing a fake mahjong as a kid that was just matching shapes. But then i learned real mahjon was 4 players head to head and pretty complex

[huygens]

Some possibly useful info: http://www.mahjonginmame.com/control.htm

[DataWest]

Some possibly useful info: http://www.mahjonginmame.com/control.htm

Great link.

[Vigo]

Some possibly useful info: http://www.mahjonginmame.com/control.htm

Great link.

Agreed! I will be using this link, thanks!

[Vigo]

OK, Since there different types games all called Mahjong, here is my understanding of how it is:

• Mahjong - There real traditional game. It is a 4 player game that has been around in China since like 500 BC. It can either be played for gambling or just for fun. My understanding is it is kinda like rummy. It has spread around all of Asia, and there are variations in rules from region to region.
   
• Mahjong Solitare - This is the tile matching game that is a populare computer game. It is an American made game, and the only similiarity with real mahjong is that it uses the real mahjong tiles.
   
• Taisen Mahjong - It is the type of Mahjong you will find in MAME. It is a shortened and cut down version of the 4 player game, but the core concept is generally the same as traditional Mahjong.
   

I believe that Taisen Mahjong is still very popular in Arcades in Asia today.

[DataWest]

Yep after reading the rules, it sounds like rummy with tiles. 

[Spacejack]

I have a dim understanding, but it's even more complex than that according to what I've read. There are two major subsets of "actual" mahjongg: the traditional one played in China (with its own set of variants of course), and -American- mahjongg. American mahjongg is what resulted when GIs picked up the game in the Pacific theater and brought it back home. Americans apparently liked the "special" hands a lot, and American mahjongg is especially dependent on them--to the point that every year they are UPDATED, a la Magic the Gathering, and the previous year's set is obseletized. No kidding! There's a subscription thing for the rule updates.

It does look as though the video mahjongg games are playing at least SOME kind of game based on actual (Chinese) mahjongg. But video poker is based on poker and they're not identical by a good stretch, so... I dunno.

[Vigo]

OK, since I read up a bit on the Traditional Mahjong history in western culture, variants, etc. Here is what I found out.

Interesting enough, it looks like Mahjong in the West began with Abercrombie and Fitch in 1920. I guess old man Fitch was importing goods from Asia and figured it would be a good idea to bring this game over to America. The game hit it big in New York, and all the yuppies felt more sophisticated and cultured for playing the game, and it was at the height of fashion.

Along comes this businessman by the name of Joe Babcock. He decided it would be a good idea to make this game hit the mainstream of America. In classical American fashion, he dumbs down the rules of the game for the sake of "acceptability". The game hits it pretty big in the US, but since Babcock butchered the rules, the game is only a short lived fad.

Now the game is gone and not forgotten by the late 30's. It is adopted again by a group that formed called the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL), as well the US Military. In WWII, it becomes a popular game for the GI's to play. The Military stuck mostly with Babcock's rules, but fixed the major problems with it. The NMJL creates their own set of variants as well, and they are the ones, as Spacejack mentioned, who change things around on an annual basis as well. Apparently, this is the largest Mahjong playing group in the West, so if you want to play in a Mahjong club, chances are the NMJL annual rules are the rules you adhere to.

I found this tree picture thing that someone posted showing the family tree of Mahjong.

KEY

(Clockwise from trunk at 6:00, then from treeline down to roots)


CHINESE CLASSICAL - the game that took the world by storm in the 1920s
JAPANESE CLASSICAL - the Japanese take on the classic game
RIICHI/DORA - the way it's played in Japan today
KOREAN - the way mah-jongg is played in Korea
WMPA - World Mahjong Players Association (http://www.wmpa.net), Korea
TAIWANESE - the 16-tile game played in Taiwan
FILIPINO - the 16-tile game played in the Philippines (everything is coming up flowers!)
CANTONESE (HKOS) - the simpler take on the classic game
NEW STYLE - uses the modern Japanese take on many hands
12-TILE - like HKOS, only one tile exists only in the player's mind
OFFICIAL - the rules permitted in China today
ZUNG JUNG - Alan Kwan's simpler-scoring version
MMM - Mahjong Masters Millions rules (created for a tournament that never was)
HUNANESE - uses only the 108 suit tiles
SINGAPOREAN - uses special flower tiles that can capture each other
INDONESIAN - uses a DORA-like wild tile
VIETNAMESE CLASSICAL - uses a set of 160 tiles (jokers and extra flowers)
VIETNAMESE MODERN - uses a set of 176 tiles (lots more jokers)
BABCOCK - the game as Babcock introduced to America in 1920
WHITNEY - the "American" rules described by Whitney are not precisely Babcock, not precisely Western
WESTERN - the rules used in Australia and the Asian subcontinent today
WRIGHT-PAT - Wright-Patterson rules (used on American military bases)
NMJL - National Mah Jongg League (yearly card of hands; no chows)
MHING - card game very similar to Western
CANASTA & GIN RUMMY - The popularity of these two card games nearly killed mah-jongg in the 1930s
TILE-MATCHING SOFTWARE - the plethora of computer games incorrectly calling themselves "mah jongg" have got the world confused as to what mah-jongg really is (1986 to present)
PROTO-MAHJONG (ground level - the line of grass separating roots from trunk) - the unknown original Chen Yumen rules
YEH-TZU - ancient Chinese dice game (9th century)
MATIAO - ancient Chinese trick-taking card game (40-card deck) whose four suits led to the mah-jongg suits (Ming era, 1368 - 1644)
KHANHOO - card game described by Culin (1924), played with Kun P’ai cards described by Wilkinson (1895), which led to the gameplay of mah-jongg
DOMINOES - the form of these ancient game devices inspired the tile form of mah-jongg. Egypt's King Tutankhamen had a set of dominoes as far back as 1355 BC. They were entombed with him and today are on display in King Tutankhamen's Museum, in Cairo.

The tree is from http://www.sloperama.com/mjfaq.html