Mahjong is a gambling game of Asian origin. It is one of those gambling games that involve both skill and chance. It is not played against the house but among players as is poker or rummy. In the real world Mahjong is played with a set of 152 tiles that display symbols. Each player has to complete a legal hand of 13 tiles by drawing and discarding as in rummy. The leading online casino software provider Playtech has developed a fixed odds game based on the principles of Mahjong. A number of variants of this game are on offer are at Playtech online casinos under the category Asian Games.

The most popular of the Playtech Mahjong games is Japanese Solo Mahjong. The structure is based on the Japanese variant of Mahjong. The Solo in the title indicates that this is a single player game in which the player wagers against the casino. The player is given a hand of 13 tiles that is one tile away from a win. A wall of 24 tiles placed face down is displayed on the screen. The player is allowed three selections and must find a tile that completes the hand. If the tile picked by the player does not complete the hand, then it will be discarded. If the hand is not completed in three picks the player will lose his wager. If any of the picked tiles completes the hand, the win screen will open. It will show the sets made and also indicate the point value of each set.

An important area on the screen is the Hand Information, which displays the bonuses associated with the game. These simulate a scenario that takes place in a real Mahjong game. The hand information parameters also contribute to the final score. Below the Hand Information area are the Seat Wind and Quarter Wind indicators. If the player has a set of wind tiles matching either the Seat or Quarter wind in his hand then he is eligible for an enhanced score. Each tile in the hand matching the Dora gives an extra game point. The final score is computed automatically by the software. Players at Playtech online casinos need not be aware of how the calculations are done. Players who are interested in the detailed rules can check out the Help file provided along with the game.

The second Playtech Mahjong variant is titled WMF Solo Mahjong. In this Mahjong variant the scoring is done according to the World Mahjong Federation rules. Again online casino players need not know the rules because the scoring is done automatically. As before, the complete rules are available in the Help file. The game play is more or less similar to that of Japanese Solo Mahjong. There are two notable differences. The Hand Information area offers the Honor Streak Bonus, which is not available in the Japanese version. The Dora tiles matching feature of the Japanese version is not available in WMF Solo Mahjong.

Both the above Mahjong variants are available in “Pro” versions at Playtech online casinos. In real Mahjong games players start with 14 tiles and have to discard one of them up front. This feature is introduced in the Pro versions. Players wagering on these versions need to know the rules and also need to understand the strategy involved in discarding the tile. Some of the popular Playtech online casinos that offer these Mahjong variants are Bet365, Paddy Power and Omni Casino.