It is played by four players (with some three-player variations found in parts of China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia).

The game was originally called 麻雀 (pinyin: máquè; Jyutping: maa4 zoek3–2)—meaning sparrow—which is still used in several Chinese languages, mostly in the south, such as Cantonese and Hokkien.

Other languages, such as Sichuanese, Shanghainese and Standard Mandarin, now call the game 麻將 (májiàng), which is a nasal erhua form of the original name.

Its name is similar in other languages, except in Thai, where it is called ไพ่นกกระจอก (phai nok krachok), a calque meaning "sparrow cards".

For these reasons Hong Kong mahjong is a suitable variation for the introduction of game rules and play and is the focus of this article.

Sets often include counters (to keep score), dice (to decide how to deal), and a marker to show who the dealer is and which round is being played.

Mahjong sets originating from the United States, Japan or Southeast Asia will likely have extra tiles or specialized markings.

In traditional Chinese culture, the Four Gentlemen are the plum (winter), orchid (spring), bamboo (summer), and chrysanthemum (autumn) which are regarded as the representative plants of those seasons, but people regard it as plum blossom (spring), orchid (summer), chrysanthemum (autumn) and bamboo (winter) now.

Before the game can begin, players need to be assigned one of the wind positions at the table - those being (in counterclockwise order) East, South, West, and North.

Each player now sets aside any flowers or seasons they may have drawn and takes turns to draw replacement tiles from the wall in the counter-clockwise direction from the dealer.

A winning hand must consist of four melds (pongs, kongs, or chows) and a pair (eyes) and must also score the agreed table minimum.

Usually it is agreed once the next player has waited the duration of the "window of opportunity" and draws a tile from the wall, the previous discard is lost and cannot be claimed.

Automatic dealing tables, often used for high stakes playing and tournaments, are able to shuffle tiles, build walls, and randomize dice.

Japanese mahjong, especially in a gambling environment, may optionally use four yakitori markers to indicate which players have not won a hand yet and has to pay a penalty.

In 13-tile mahjong, the largest number of tiles for which a player can wait is 13 (the thirteen wonders, or 13 orphans, a nonstandard special hand).

Some variations of mahjong, most notably Japanese and Korean ones, allow a player to declare rīchi (立直, sometimes known as reach, as it is phonetically similar).

Japanese mahjong has a special rule called sanchahō, which is, if three players claim the same discard in order to win, the hand is drawn.

The rulebook contains 81 combinations, based on patterns and scoring elements popular in classic and modern regional Chinese variants; some table practices of Japan have also been adopted.

[32] He mentions in his papers making the acquaintance of an English-fluent, rank-three official under the Daoguang Emperor, Chen Yumen, who taught him the game.

[33] In 1895, British sinologist William Henry Wilkinson wrote a paper which mentioned a set of cards known in central China by the name of ma chioh, literally, hemp sparrow, which he maintained was the origin of the term Mahjong.

It became a success in Washington, D.C., and the co-owner of the company, Ezra Fitch, sent emissaries to Chinese villages to buy every Mahjong set they could find.

[39] Several hit songs were recorded during the Mahjong fad, most notably "Since Ma Is Playing Mah Jong" by Eddie Cantor.

By the 1930s, many revisions of the rules developed that were substantially different from Babcock's classical version (including some that were considered fundamentals in other variants, such as the notion of a standard hand).

Some doctors speculate that this may be due to stress and complex manual movement correlated with intense brain function similar to playing chess or card games such as poker.

[48] Studies by doctors have also shown in Hong Kong that the game is beneficial for individuals suffering from dementia or cognitive memory difficulties, leading to the development of Mahjong therapy.

[50] Even though both skill and chance play a fundamental role in the game, there is no shortage of superstitions in which players believe where they sit, how they hold their pieces or objects they have on their person will somehow affect the outcome.

Mahjong serves as a minor plot point in the 2016 film Arrival where General Shang uses the game to interact with the extraterrestials.

The MMORPG offers two game rules, one option with kuitan authorizes the formation of the yaku Tanyao after the announcement of chi, pon or kan.

In the 2008 American animated comedy film Kung Fu Panda, Po's father, won his noodle shop in a Mahjong game.

In the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians, the main character Rachel lets the extremely traditional mother of her boyfriend win a Mahjong game at a parlor as a major plot point to convey the nature of their relationship.