The Goulash
If all the tiles are drawn from the wall without anyone calling Mah-Jong, then the game is declared a draw and no scores are made. The game is re-started with the same player as East Wind, but then played in a slightly different way called the “goulash”.
Preparation
If the set contains jokers then these are used Instead of the four 2 of Bamboo tiles. If jokers are not present the 2 of Bamboo tiles act as jokers and become “wild” tiles (they can stand for any other tile, except a Flower or Season).
Playing the game
The game is played the same as a normal game except that “wild” tiles operate and no chows are allowed (unless they are part of a Special Hand). In consequence, there can be no doubling of the score for having no chows.
The introduction of wild tiles introduces the chance of more than one player wishing to pung or kong the same piece. In this instance the player nearest the right of the discard takes precedence.
Note that there are restrictions on how the wild tiles can be used:
The building of the wall and the dealing are the same as the normal game, but then players are allowed to exchange a number tiles they do not want before they start to play (after replacing any season or flower tiles with tiles from the kong box).
There are three exchanges during which players try to improve their hands:
1. East swaps with West and North swaps with South
Each player takes three unwanted tiles from his rack and places them face down in front of him. East Wind then swaps his three tiles with those of West Wind and North Wind swaps his three tiles with those of South wind. The swapped tiles are placed in the racks and the hands examined for further unwanted tiles.
2. East swaps with South and West swaps with North
The above swapping procedure is repeated, except that this time East Wind swaps his unwanted tiles with those of South Wind and West Wind swaps his tiles with those of North Wind.
3. East swaps with North and West swaps with South
The swapping is repeated again, but this time East Wind swaps with North Wind and West Wind swaps with South Wind.
A player must always exchange three tiles - even if he is within one or two tiles of a Mah-Jong hand. And it’s conceivable that East Wind may be able to call Mah-Jong between exchanges.
- Only one wild tile can be used to make a pair or a pung
- No more than 2 wild tiles can be used to make a kong
- You can use 3 or 4 wild tiles to make a special hand, but not as a pung/kong of just wild tiles
- There is one exception to the above restrictions. If a player picks up a wild tile which would allow him to go Mah-Jong, an additional wild tile can be used to make a pair, pung or kong.
