Editing Mahjong (section)

===Other variants===
* '''[[American mahjong]]''' is a derivative of mahjong, standardized and regulated by the U.S.-based National Mah Jongg League, Inc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalmahjonggleague.org |title=National Mahjjong League |publisher=Nationalmahjonggleague.org |access-date=7 September 2012}}</ref> and the American Mah-Jongg Association.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amja.net/|title=American Mah-Jongg Association – news, products and tournaments – Join us for our next American Mah-Jongg tournament or cruise!.|website=www.amja.net}}</ref> Unlike other forms of Mahjong, permitted "legal" hands are changed annually through a published card that must be purchased by players from one of the sponsoring organizational bodies. It uses joker tiles, the Charleston, plus melds of five or more tiles, treats bonus tiles as honors, and eschews the chow and the notion of a standard hand. Purists claim that this makes American mahjong a separate game. In addition, the NMJL and AMJA variations, which have minor scoring differences, are commonly referred to as ''mahjongg'' or ''mah-jongg'' (with 2 Gs, often hyphenated).
* '''European classical mahjong''' is a family of European variants that remained closer to Chinese classical mahjong than most modern Chinese variants, some of which are still actively played today. Most notably:
:* '''Dutch tournament rules''' (''Nederlandse Toernooi Spelregels'' or '''''NTS''''') are a ruleset formalized in 2002 that is now maintained by the Dutch Mahjong Federation. Although nowadays not as popular as MCR in the Netherlands, it is still actively played in local clubs, tournaments, and living rooms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mahjongbond.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/NMB-NTS-Spelregelboekje.pdf|title=Spelregelboekje NTS|publisher=Nederlandse Mahjong Bond|access-date=2025-04-15|language=nl}}</ref>
:* '''Italian official rules''' (''Regolamento Ufficiale Italiano'') are a ruleset maintained by the Italian Mahjong Federation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fimj.it/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/111213_Regolamento_FIMJ_A4.pdf|title=Regolamento Ufficiale Italiano|publisher=Federazione Italiana Mah-Jong|access-date=2025-04-15|language=it}}</ref>
* '''Japanese classical mahjong''' is still used in tournaments. It is closer to the Chinese classical scoring system but only the winner scores.
* '''[[Japanese mahjong]]''' is a standardized form of mahjong in Japan and South Korea. It is also found prevalently in video games, which helped make it one of the most widespread forms of mahjong worldwide, including in English-speaking countries and Europe. In addition to scoring changes, the rules of ''[[Japanese Mahjong#Rīchi|rīchi]]'' (ready hand) and ''[[Japanese mahjong scoring rules#Dora|dora]]'' (bonus tiles) are unique highlights of this variant. In addition, tile discards are specifically arranged in front of each player by discard order, to take discarded tiles into account during play. Some rules replace some number 5 tiles with red tiles so that they can eventually get more value.<!--A standard rule set for Japanese mahjong was designed in 2008 by the European Mahjong Association,<ref>[http://gamenoodle.blogspot.com/2012/09/mahjongs.html European Mahjong Association]</ref> in cooperation with the Japan Mahjong Organizing Committee, in order to organize the first European Riichi Mahjong Championship in Hanover, Germany, June 2008. Danish player Thomas Kragh was the winner.<ref>http://www.mahjongnews.com/en/index.php/ec-riichi/54-ec-2008/104-rmc2008.html {{Bare URL inline|date=March 2022}}</ref>-->
* '''Pussers bones''' is a fast-moving variant developed by sailors in the [[Royal Australian Navy]]. It uses an alternative vocabulary, such as ''Eddie'', ''Sammy'', ''Wally'', and ''Normie'', instead of ''East'', ''South'', ''West'', and ''North'' respectively.
* '''[[Singaporean mahjong]]''' and Malaysian mahjong are two similar variants with much in common with Hong Kong mahjong. Unique elements are the use of four animal bonus tiles (cat, mouse, cockerel, and centipede) as well as certain alternatives in the scoring rules, which allow payouts midway through the game if certain conditions (such as a ''kong'') are met. Melds may also be presented in a form different from most other variations.
* '''South African mahjong''' is a variant of Cantonese mahjong. It is very similar in terms of game play and follows most of the rules and regulations of Cantonese mahjong. However, there are some minor differences in scoring, e.g. the limit on the maximum points a hand can be rewarded is three or four ''faan'' depending on the ''house'' rules. A chicken hand (gai wu) is normally considered a value hand. Depending on the house rules flowers may also be used to boost scoring.
* '''{{Interlanguage link|Taiwanese mahjong|lt=|zh|台湾麻将|WD=}}''' is the variety prevalent in Taiwan and involves hands of sixteen tiles (as opposed to the thirteen-tile hands in other versions), features bonuses for dealers and recurring dealerships, and allows multiple players to win from a single discard.
* '''Thai mahjong''' has eight specialized jokers with eight extra flowers and eight animals for a total of 168 tiles.
* '''Vietnamese mahjong''' has the same eight specialized jokers but with only eight different extra flowers for a total of 160 tiles. A modern variant triplicates or quadruplicates the jokers for a total of 176 or 184 tiles.
* '''Western classical mahjong''' is a descendant of the version of mahjong introduced by Babcock to America in the 1920s. Today, this term largely refers to the "Wright-Patterson" rules, used in the U.S. military, and other similar American-made variants that are closer to the Babcock rules.
* '''Zung Jung''' is a mahjong variant designed by statistician Alan Kwan, intended for both competitive and casual play. It has a scoring system informed by statistical mathematics, and a more streamlined and simplified ruleset than traditional variants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zungjungmahjong.com/whats-zung-jung/|title=What's Zung Jung?|website=Zung Jung Mahjong.com|access-date=2025-04-15}}</ref> A slight modification of this ruleset was used in the [[World Series Of Mahjong]] tournament.
* '''[[Three-player mahjong]]''' (or 3-''ka'') is a simplified three-person mahjong that involves hands of 13 tiles (with a total of 84 tiles on the table) and may use jokers depending on the variation. Any rule set can be adapted for three players; however, this is far more common and accepted in Japan, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines. It usually eliminates one suit entirely, or tiles 2–8 in one suit leaving only the terminals. It needs fewer people to start a game and the turnaround time of a game is short—hence, it is considered a fast game. In some versions there is a jackpot for winning in which whoever accumulates a point of 10 is considered to hit the jackpot or whoever scores three hidden hands first. The Malaysian and Korean versions drop one wind and may include a seat dragon.<ref>[http://mahjong.wikidot.com/rules:three-player "Three-player mahjong"]. ''The Mahjong Wiki''. Retrieved 17 November 2017.{{user-generated source|date=July 2022}}</ref>
:* In '''Korean three-player mahjong''', one suit is omitted completely (usually the bamboo set or 2–8 of bamboo) as well as the seasons. The scoring is simpler and the play is faster. No melded chows are allowed and concealed hands are common. Riichi (much like its Japanese cousin) is an integral part of the game as well.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mahjong.wikidot.com/rules:korean-overview|title=Korean Mahjong Rules – Mahjong Wiki (麻将维基)|website=mahjong.wikidot.com}}{{user-generated source|date=May 2025}}</ref>