Rule presets

This rule preset corresponds to the official rules acknowledged by the Japanese Mah Jong Association several decades ago but that are still used today, only slightly modified (in Four Winds 2 the rules have been updated to meet the current specifications, so the rule preset differs slightly from the Japanese Official rule presented in version 1). Contrary to what is often believed, these rules are by no means outdated. Besides being the rules acknowledged by about 20,000 members of the Japanese Mah Jong Association, these rules are very popular in Europe, especially in the Nordic countries.

As always in Japanese Mah Jong, only the winner receives payments and the discarder pays for all. This calls for defensive strategy and encourages going out quickly on simple basic hands. On the other hand, a bonus double is given for a couple of relatively easy-to-collect hands.

Unlike modern Japanese versions, Japanese Classical rules do not use a settling table to determine the total score of the winner, but rather use the traditional point-double scheme. The rule of Riichi is not used, either, nor are special tiles like Dora, so the gambling features are not as prominent in these rules as in modern versions of Japanese Mah Jong.

Note: These rules differ slightly from the Japanese Official rules included in Four Winds 1.x, so if you load a version 1.x game in Four Winds 2, the rules will be displayed as "customized" rules.

Tiles	136 (no extra tiles)
Initial points	2,000
Limit points	500
Restrictions for the winning hand	None
Claiming rules for going out	Player first in turn wins
Passing of the deal	When non-dealer wins or deal ends in a draw
Rule of Ready	None
Dead hand rules	None
Payment	To winner only; Japanese scheme
Discards	Per player, no extended discard information
Specialties	Sacred discard (Traditional); Missed Discard (Traditional)
Scoring	Standard
Basic tile points	Standard + 10 pts for One suit only [Note: Scores additionally 3 doubles; this is the only change made to the rules during the last decades. In Four Winds 1 this additional point assignment was not supported.]
Scores for basic sets	Standard
Scores for Flowers and Seasons	Not used
Scores for patterns based on Chows	3 Chows of 1 suit, step 3 (1 dbl)
Scores for patterns based on Pungs and Kongs	Little Three Dragons (3 dbl), Three concealed triplets (1 dbl), Four triplets, three concealed (2 dbl; 1 double for Pung hand is implied)
Scores for patterns based on the whole hand	Concealed hand (last tile discarded) (10 pts), Fully concealed hand (1 dbl), No-points hand (1 dbl), Pung hand (1 dbl), All Simples (1 dbl), Terminal or Honor in all sets (1 dbl), All Terminals and Honors (2 dbl, Pung hand not implied); One suit with Honors (1 dbl), One suit only (3 dbl)
Scores for miscellaneous patterns	None
Scores for winning	Standard: Winning (20 pts), Self-drawn last tile (2 pts), Out on a one-chance Chow (2 pts), Out on a pair (2 pts), Out on the last tile of the Wall ( 1dbl), Out on the last tile discard (1 dbl), Out on a supplement tile (1 dbl), Out by robbing a Kong (1 dbl).
Rounding	Rounding off to nearest ten after doubles
Penalties	Faulty out: Deal ends and the offender pays 50% of Limit points, East pays/receives double (the deal is passed if the offender is East); Faulty claims: 100 pts for each faulty claim, paid to the winner; Insurance penalties: None
Limit hands	Classical: Hidden Treasure (100%, concealed Kongs allowed), Three Great Scholars (100%), Little Four Winds (100%), Big Four Winds (100%), All Honors (100%), All Terminals (100%), Nine Gates (100%), Thirteen Orphans (100%); Serpents: None; Pairs: None; Special ways of going out: Heavenly hand (100%) and Earthly hand (100%); American hands: None; Miscellaneous: None.

Japanese Classical (in Four Winds 1, Japanese Official)

Note: These rules differ slightly from the Japanese Official rules included in Four Winds 1.x, so if you load a version 1.x game in Four Winds 2, the rules will be displayed as "customized" rules.