General Provisions

The basic principles listed in the General Provisions section of the "Mahjong Rules" chapter are also applicable to this chapter. Please pay special attention to the principle of "Active Enforcement by Players".

These rules are based on the latest version available on the World Mahjong Championship Formula website.

General Rules

Players must follow the principle of fair play and play fair and square.

Contestants should play to the best of their ability. It is strictly prohibited to "collude" with other players and intentionally release a gun or "offer a hand" in order to assist others to win. It is forbidden to inform others of the contents of one's hand (with the exception of legally disclosed open cards). When you are behind in points and have no hope of advancing to the next level, you should play with sportsmanship and try your best to win the game, but you should not offer or release a cannon indiscriminately, and you should be responsible for the other players.

Any intentional cheating or "cheating", such as hiding cards on the body, illegal exchange of cards, playing a trick when building a wall of cards, or misrepresenting the score, is strictly prohibited. Players should obey the instructions of the referee and help the game to run smoothly. Complaints or grievances should be made in a civilized manner.

Grievance Procedure

A player who disagrees with the referee's decision may try to raise it with the referee instantly if he/she thinks that he/she has sufficient grounds.

If still dissatisfied with the referee's decision, the player may not argue with the referee and should submit it in writing to the head referee within 30 minutes of the end of the session.

The referee's decision is final and the player may not contest the decision.

Please refer to the section "Announcement of Results" in the separate chapter "Rules of the Game" for the requirement of checking scores.

Dress Code

Competitors should dress properly. Care should be taken not to wear reflective clothing (watch out for buttons), eyeglasses, or jewelry that could reflect your hand to your opponents.

The organizing authority reserves the right to request players to cover up or replace any logos, slogans, symbols, etc. on their clothing.

Bags, handbags, etc., carried into the arena by players during the tournament must be placed under the chairs. (Silver bags and IDs are allowed to be kept in coat pockets.) Players are advised to take care of their personal belongings and the organizer will not be responsible for any loss.

No cellular telephones, computers, or other electronic or communication devices are allowed to be used during the competition, except for the computers provided by the organizer (to assist in scoring). These items must be switched off and the buzzer function turned off and placed under the chairs during the race. Points will be deducted from the total number of points for any noise made during the race.

Drinks will be provided free of charge by the organizers. Participants are advised not to bring their own drinks or containers into the venue.

Competitors should be courteous to other competitors, judges and officials.

Obligations of contestants

The participation of a contestant in the competition automatically grants him/her the right to have his/her image taken by the organizers. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to videotape, record, broadcast, distribute, etc. the contestants.

Contestants are obliged to give interviews when requested to do so by the congress authorities. A contestant who refuses to be interviewed will be penalized by the deduction of points. However, a player has the right to request that the interview be postponed (until the player has finished the race) if he/she has reasonable grounds to believe that an immediate interview would have an impact on his/her performance (ill health, lack of time for the interview, etc.).

The referee may ask a player to testify about an incident that he/she has witnessed, and the player is obliged to testify truthfully. Anyone who knowingly gives false testimony in order to obstruct the referee's impartiality will be severely penalized, and in serious cases, disqualified from the tournament.

Health Matters

There will be a certain amount of physical demand placed on the competitors to complete the day-long event. As in many sports, the physical condition of the competitor is part of the competition; it is the competitor's responsibility to be in good physical condition to compete. The organizers will not be held responsible for any health problems (illness, injury or death) suffered by any competitor during or as a result of the competition.

Competitors are required to prepare their own meals. Complimentary coffee, tea and snacks will be provided during the intermission.

For the sake of fresh air, smoking is not allowed in the venue (including the catering area), thank you for your cooperation.

Competitors are expected to keep a clear head and not to consume excessive alcoholic beverages before or during the competition. One should always be responsible for one's own behavior; drunken offenders will be penalized according to the rules.

Mahjong shuffling may be noisy. Players should bring their own earplugs if needed.

If you are physically handicapped, please inform us at the time of enrollment, and the organizer will make necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.

Language Matters

The official languages of the conference are Mandarin, Cantonese, English and Japanese. All instructions and announcements will be read out in all four languages.

Each competitor and referee will wear a language identification tag stating the language the person understands to facilitate communication.

The tags must be sounded. There are several language-specific pronunciations available for each word.

Code of Conduct in a Card Game

When a card game is in progress, no talking is allowed except for the sounding of the cards. Please remember that you must raise your voice when you call your hand (the same applies to kongs and draws). A player who does not call has no priority, and his opponent may ignore his action and continue to play.

Some discussion is permitted between hands (while shuffling), but be careful not to disturb neighboring games.

Shuffling (for the sake of consistency) is inevitably noisy, but players should not make unnecessary noise by banging their cards on the table when matching and playing. An exception to this rule is to allow one knock during the draw as a reasonable show of affection.

No one is allowed to leave his seat or stand up during a game of poker.

If during a game of poker you need to reach under your chair or drop something on the floor and need to pick it up, you must notify the referee first, and you may do so only under the referee's supervision. Electronic or communication devices such as mobile phones are not allowed to be used during a game of poker.

Anyone showing suspicious behavior during a game will be searched by the referee to confirm his/her innocence. Arrangements will be made to have a person of the same sex conduct the search.

Scorecards

Scorecards will be issued to each table, one for each half (or subsection). Two laps (eight innings) of scoring can be recorded on each scorecard.

The scorecards will be filled out by the umpire, but players may keep their own score if they know the proper way to record it.

Writing on the scorecard by the players should be done openly on the table. Please write carefully and ask the referee to verify and sign the scorecard if there is a need for alteration.

After each game, players must make sure that the score is correct before starting the next game.

After the completion of a half (or fraction) of a game, all four players must confirm that the total score is correctly calculated and sign the scorecard in the designated place. Players must remember to follow this procedure, as errors on the scorecard may not be corrected once it has been submitted to the authorities for tallying.

Seating

Players should enter the arena at least 10 minutes before the start of each session.

Players will be given a table number sheet and should take their seats on time.

Seats will be changed after one lap of the race, and tables will be changed after half a race (two laps). Please refer to the "Regulations" for details.

Competitors should not disclose their previous opponent's score to other competitors after changing tables, nor should they talk in detail about their earlier scores. Nor should a player ask his opponent for such information.

Penalties

The referee will impose the following penalties for foul play. The type and severity of the penalty shall be determined by the referee and the decision of the referee shall be final.

Disqualification and blacklisting: For serious offenses such as cheating, collusion, or intentionally obstructing the game, the player will be disqualified from the tournament, and in serious cases, he/she will be blacklisted from the tournament and will not be allowed to participate in the tournament in the future. Disqualified players will not be entitled to any prizes (including prizes accumulated in previous rounds) and the entry fee will not be refunded. Prize money accrued from previous rounds will be distributed to other players in accordance with the Prize Money System at a later date (after the appeal is invalidated).

Forfeit: A player who is unable to complete the designated round (e.g., absent or leave early, etc.) will be considered a forfeit and will be automatically eliminated from the tournament. The forfeited player will receive the prize money accumulated from previous rounds.

Disqualification: If a player's hand contains errors that prevent him from completing a draw (e.g., over/under, wrong deck, etc.), he is not allowed to make a draw for the round.

Disallowed to play: In order to prevent certain foul play (e.g., big Sagittarius, unintentional exposure or peeking at an opponent's hand, etc.) from causing unfair advantage, the offender will be penalized by being prohibited from playing in the game.

Penalty points: For certain types of foul play (e.g., playing overtime, repeated offenses of not sounding a card, etc.), a penalty point is awarded. Deductions are generally deducted from the offender's score only, and are not added to the opponent's score, although exceptions may be made for serious offenses that jeopardize the opponent's chances for a draw (e.g., disrupting the table to the point where the game cannot continue, etc.).

Penalty Tiles: See the section "Penalty Tiles" in the separate chapter "Mahjong Rules". The main purpose is to prevent someone from unfairly benefiting from inadvertently revealing their hand or revealing the contents of their hand.

Warning: The referee will give a warning for certain minor offenses (e.g., not sounding the tiles, etc.), and will award a penalty for a second offense.

Correction: For certain types of foul play, the referee will correct the foul, or will rule in favor of the other player in order to maintain the fairness of the game. For example, the referee may award a draw to the player who intentionally drew two cards in order to interfere with the player's normal opportunity to draw at the bottom of the sea.

"Collusion" and "Life and Death Chapters"

Players should strive for their own good results, high scores and good rankings. It is strictly prohibited for a player to intentionally harm his/her own performance in order to help another player to get a good score; this is called "collusion", and is a serious offense as well as cheating, which will result in disqualification and blacklisting.

There are times in a poker game when there is a threat of an overcard being dealt. In this case, it is sometimes better if the player helps the other opponent to draw a small hand (or even give him a cannon) to solve the threat, but it will be more favorable. This strategy is known as playing "life and death" and is legal because it is designed to avoid losing a big hand in your favor.

This strategy should be supported by the following arguments. If you don't have enough evidence, you will be suspected of collusion.

There is an actual threat of an overcard in the opponent's hand, or there is a threat of an overcard in the opponent's hand as evidenced by his or her open or playing cards.

The draw is actually a minor, or is seen to be a minor.

The Singijeon player's own hand is small, or difficult to draw.

The referee has all the power to decide.

In fact, the World Mahjong Championship scoring system, the "Points Awarding System", encourages the playing of "Sengoku", as the player with a small hand does not have to pay for the Singijeon.

There is also a situation where an opponent is clearly threatened by a big hand, but he or she also has a big hand and has a good chance of making a draw (has already been dealt a hand or is close to dealing a hand), so it is legal to take the risk of playing a dangerous hand because you don't want to give up your chance of making a big hand.

When the players are behind in points and have no hope of advancing, they should also play sports and try their best to play the game, and should not make reckless offers or release cannons, so as to avoid the suspicion of "collusion".

Voluntary Withdrawal

In the second half of the preliminary rounds, players may lose motivation because they are behind in scores and feel that there is no hope for advancement. The organizer will allow players who are no longer interested in competing to voluntarily withdraw from the tournament, so that the player can take a rest, and to avoid forcing the demoralized player to continue the tournament, which will affect the fairness of the tournament.

A player who voluntarily withdraws from a tournament is, of course, considered to have forfeited his/her right to play and will not be eligible to receive the prize money for the round in progress (regardless of the number of points scored at the time).

Competitors who wish to voluntarily withdraw from the tournament are requested to declare their withdrawal as early as possible to the organizing authority. A player who has completed the first two sections of the preliminary rounds and declares his/her withdrawal more than ten minutes before the start of each of the third through sixth sections will retain the same right to food and beverage, etc., provided by the tournament for the duration of the preliminary rounds as a player in the tournament. If a withdrawal is declared less than ten minutes before the start of a section, the Congress authorities will consider, at their discretion, whether or not to allow the competitor to retain the above rights.

Competitors who wish to withdraw voluntarily from the competition should declare their withdrawal to the Congress authorities and should not be absent from the competition. Contestants who do not declare their withdrawal during the preliminary rounds and who are absent without a reasonable explanation will be placed on a "no-priority list", whereby other contestants will be given priority in the use of publicity offers provided by the organizing authority for a certain period of time.

Players are welcome to continue to play as long as they have the will to do so, no matter how far behind they are in terms of scores. However, those who are too far behind should not chase after the slim chance of winning; for example, those who are still far from winning even if they draw a slam, should not be forced to make a slam when it is obvious that they have no chance of winning, and they should not use this as an excuse to offer a slam to a player who has not won a slam. If the player has a certain chance of getting rewarded (e.g. more than 1%), he can try to make a big hand to get rewarded. However, if the chance is too slim, the player should play with the goal of getting a good result in this section, and should not recklessly chase after the slim chance and offer and release the cannon recklessly. If a player chooses to continue to play, he is obliged to try his best to get a good result.

After the fourth session of the preliminary round, the tournament will not accept "not recognizing the sums in the scoring system" as a reason to play the Singijeon indiscriminately. It would be disadvantageous for the players to play the game without this knowledge. It is recommended that the players make use of the opportunity of the practice game (as mentioned above) or communicate with the referee or other players during the break time to make sure that they understand the sums of the scoring system as soon as possible. If, after three quarters of play, a player has fallen behind in scoring (the total number of game points after three quarters is negative) and still does not recognize most of the major sums, it is recommended that the player voluntarily withdraw from the game.

Players Calling Time Out

Late Arrivals: If a player is late for a game, the player will be deducted points for the period of time that the player was late as if he/she had called time out (see below). If a player is more than 5 minutes late, the Conference reserves the right to classify him/her as an absentee forfeit or to penalize him/her with any number of demerits (not less than the demerits of the "time-out" penalty in the next article).

Suspension: If a player needs to leave the stage before the completion of the half for any reason (e.g. to go to the toilet), he/she must be authorized by the referee. A person who calls a "time-out" will be penalized 5 points for every 30 seconds (or less). Any player who has more than 150 points deducted during the half due to a time-out or tardiness will be deemed unable to complete the match and will be considered as having forfeited the match.

Time-outs should be called between games. Time-outs should not be called while a game is in progress, unless there is a special emergency.

If a player calls a time-out, all three opponents should remain on the same table. If they leave the table, points are deducted as if they had called a time-out.

A player who needs to take medication at regular intervals may call a short time-out (60 seconds or less) to take the medication if a doctor's certificate is submitted to the organizing authority before the match. The referee has the right to award penalty points for any other reasons (including medical reasons).

Absence

Any player who is not present five minutes after the start time of the match shall be entitled to be classified as an absentee forfeit or to be penalized with any number of demerit points. Players who may be slightly more than 5 minutes late for the start time due to an emergency (e.g. needing to go to the toilet) must declare this to the referee in advance, so that the penalty can be reduced (only points will be deducted in accordance with the "Suspension" penalty mentioned above).

If a player is absent, the Congress authorities will call upon the highest placed player among the eliminated players present to take his place.

Players who have an emergency that prevents them from participating in the next round of the tournament are requested to notify the congress authorities as soon as possible.

The organizing authority reserves the right to arrange for a "substitute player" to fill an empty table, or to temporarily change a player's table number to fill an empty table. This will normally only be done in the preliminary rounds, and subsequent rounds will normally call on those who have been eliminated to fill the empty seats.

Practice rounds

The day before the tournament, there are practice rounds at the venue. Players are free to participate.

There will be a referee present at the practice match to give guidance and explain the rules to the players.

Scorecards will be provided by the organizer for practice, but no scores will be counted and no ranking will be given in the practice rounds.

The practice tournaments are purely for the players to practise and compete against each other, no gambling is allowed.