Books on mahjong only arrived on the scene in the 1980s. Even then, they were not readily available, unlike today. In short, unless someone patient enough decides to teach you, the process of learning mahjong could be lengthy and even costly.

A mahjong player wannabe might find the learning curve to play mahjong to be steep. However, if you ask any seasoned player, they would all say it is not too difficult to pick up the game.

Learning mahjong the traditional way was costly. There is even a term for it called the “tuition fee”. It is analogous to a fee one would pay to be good at a subject. The fee would be paid out in a mahjong game when the player losses would be the “tuition fee”. This tuition would pile up with each loss. So only through numerous games and ever-piling up “tuition fees’ paid would the player get better and better

Thanks to modern technology, we can reduce the learning curve and tuition fees considerably.

Learning mahjong today is similar to the training undergo by a pilot today. The training is multi-step and goes through different phases. It includes both online and offline training for a better outcome. We will explain below.

Like a pilot who needs to understand some basic theory, a mahjong newbie needs to understand some basic game details. Details like what equipment is needed to play the game, how to start and end the game, rules of the game, winning formation etc.

In the past, anyone who wanted to learn to play mahjong would have to sit beside the mahjong table and watch how the older family members were playing. It was a long drawn process as lessons were only dispensed after the game was over.