The San Diego Mahjong Club (SDMC) is a multi-format club offering three game formats — Zung Jung, Riichi, and International Mahjong — to appeal to players of all levels. Below is a brief summary of the games offered at the club. To help the club’s membership learn the rules of the formats played at the club, the Club has created printable cheat sheets as handy table references.

Below is a brief overview of the Mahjong styles played in the club and their associated cheat sheet.

Zung Jung Mahjong

Zung Jung Mahjong is the flagship format at SDMC and our basic-tier and most popular offering. This is the style of Mahjong played at our Mahjong Night events, and it’s the variant we like to teach to brand-new players. Zung Jung was designed by a statistician and Mahjong enthusiast named Alan Kwan. It is designed to be both beginner-friendly and strategically deep, so it can grow with players as they become more sophisticated and provides a strong foundation for our other games at SDMC: Riichi and International Mahjong.

Zung Jung Mahjong shares similarities with both Japanese Riichi Mahjong and Hong Kong Mahjong. Players coming from a Riichi background will immediately feel comfortable with Zung Jung’s scoring patterns as the variant’s Yaku list is based on Riichi’s. Hong Kong players will immediately feel comfortable with the game’s simplicity and pace while enjoying the expanded list of scoring patterns. Zung Jung could be understood both as a simplification of Riichi Mahjong and a modernization of Hong Kong Mahjong. Zung Jung is to Mahjong what Esperanto is to European languages, and there is typically no friction or additional learning curve for players with any Mahjong background.

Learn more about Zung Jung by reading about it in in Zung Jung Movement’s article What is Zung Jung? article on this website. The full rules for Zung Jung are available in the Learn Mahjong page.

We do not offer Hong Kong Mahjong as a regular game at SDMC because Zung Jung already fills the role Hong Kong typically would fill in our lineup.

Riichi Mahjong

Riichi Mahjong is the popular Japanese variant of the game and is our mid-tier offering. The learning curve for this format is steeper than that of Zung Jung due to increased rules complexity. It is suitable for people already familiar with the basic rules of Mahjong or an ambitious beginner. This variant of Mahjong is currently the fastest-growing in the United States, driven by several video game offerings such as Mahjong Soul, Riichi City, Tenhou, and Amatsuki Mahjong.

Riichi Mahjong offers a fun, exciting, and tense game that is deeply strategic as you shape your hand while trying to evade your opponents. The added Riichi mechanic adds considerable excitement to the game as it has the ability to significantly boost your score while at the same time leaving you vulnerable to your opponents! The full rules for Riichi Mahjong are available on the Learn Mahjong page.

International Mahjong Competition Rules

International Mahjong (MCR) is our high-tier offering. This format has the steepest learning curve and is the most difficult game at SDMC. It is suitable for players who are comfortable with another Mahjong variant. While it can be a new player’s entry point into Mahjong, it is exceedingly difficult and not recommended for anyone but the most ambitious beginners. The difficulty of the game stems from the 81 scoring patterns, intricate scoring rules, and a high point minimum to win. SDMC offers a class designed for players already familiar with the basic rules of Mahjong, designed to help them learn and acclimate to MCR’s system. This class is not designed for Mahjong beginners.

MCR offers a strategically sophisticated, cerebral, and chess-like experience. It is a more relaxed game than Riichi Mahjong with a high emphasis on pattern building. The play experience is extremely rewarding, and players at SDMC have called it the most elegant version of the game. The full rules for MCR are available on the Learn Mahjong page.

Strategy Guide

The San Diego Mahjong Club also offers a strategy guide to help members improve their skills. The strategy guide is intended to be a quick, easy-to-read, ecumenical document on basic strategy to help new players progress to intermediate levels.

Mahjong Variants not played at SDMC

In an effort to support the wider Mahjong community. The San Diego Mahjong Club has produced cheat sheets for a variety of different formats which are not regularly played in the club. These cheat sheets can be used by individuals or external clubs for a quick table-ready reference for their Mahjong games! If you would like access to the full list of cheat sheets offered by SDMC, [please click here]!