While the basic gameplay is more or less the same throughout mahjong, the most significant divergence between variations lies in the scoring systems.
Criteria can include particular melds or other tiles held, how the (winning) hand was completed, possession of various special combinations, etc.
When gambling with mahjong, these scores are typically directly translated into sums of money paid between players.
A common English term is double, as the point-to-score translation is typically exponential with a base of 2.
Taiwanese mahjong, however, uses the term 台 (pinyin: tái) along with a linear scoring system.
A common set of modifiers (for which this article will call the standard payment variations) include: If playing with chips, there is no universal rule for the situation when a player runs out.
Alternatively, the loser may pay cash to buy back chips from the winners and the game continues.
When one player has won the hand by obtaining mahjong The winner collects their total points from each of the three losers.
Singaporean scoring is similar to that of the Chinese Classical system but accounts for the different set of tiles used therein.
Again, standard payment variations apply, although variants exist where the dealer must also pay and receive double.
In real tile settings, this is typically represented by a series of bars resembling elongated Chinese dominoes, in four denominations: 10,000, 5,000, 1,000, and 100.
This system is used by the two major governing bodies of Mahjong in the United States, the National Mah Jongg League and the American Mah-Jongg Association, with new cards that define the valid winning hands released annually.
The intent of these rules is to punish the player who foolishly enabled the completion of the limit hand.