Skill Level: Changing the skill level resets all parameters to the default for that level. Default settings for higher skill levels are faster and allow fewer mistakes. There are 3 skill levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Pro. Higher skill levels have fewer help options available by default. To reset to the default skill level values without deleting the profile, change to a different skill level and then back to the desired skill level.
Defense Help: Defense help options give information about which tiles are most likely to be needed by the other players. Defense prevents another player from calling Mah Jongg and prevents them from calling a tile you discard. The defense help options are “None,” “Min,” “Average,” and “Max.”
CP (Computer) Skill: This sets computer player’s artificial intelligence level. Higher skill levels are harder to beat.
CP Defense: This sets the defense level played by the computer players. The options are: None, Min, Avg, and Max. Max means the computer players play the most aggressive defense and None means they don’t play any defense.
Auto Done: Setting “Auto Done” to “On” ends the players turn as soon as the required number of tiles are selected. If set to “Off,” the player can change the selection(s) until the done button is pressed. The game is faster if “Done” does not need to be pressed after each selection. However, if using “Auto Done,” be careful when manually moving a tile. Hold down the mouse button (or touch screen) until after it is moved or it will be selected and automatically discarded. Also, make sure to move the tile far enough horizontally, but keeping it approximately in line with the other tiles vertically. Not moving the tile far enough or moving it too far vertically selects it (and discards with Auto Done set). On touch screens you need to select the tile on the top half of the tile and should move it using the bottom half.
Auto Play: Setting “Auto Play” is used to set a “Demo” mode where all the players are computer players. To enable Demo mode: 1) Set skill level to Beginner, 2) Set Auto Play on, and 3) set Table type to “Demo.” You can then change any of the other options before starting the game. The display then shows all the players’ tiles. The demo speed can be controlled by setting the discard/notify delays and game speed options described below. After the Charleston phase, you can predict who will win based on each players’ hand at that time. If the correct winning player is selected, you (the primary player) are awarded the winning score. If a losing player is selected, the primary player (you) has the losing score deducted. If no selection is made or the game ends as a “wall” game (no winner), the primary player’s score does not change. Multiplayer clients cannot use Autoplay, but the host can. If the host is using Autoplay, “-c” is added to their username. To exit “Demo” mode: 1) during the primary CP turn select Options/Lobby from the main menu, 2) turn off Auto Play.
Auto Hold: When “Auto Hold” is on, if a discarded tile can be called by the primary player, play will be automatically held so she/he has a chance to call the discarded tile. The primary player can either call the tile or use the skip button to continue play.
Auto Skip: The purpose of “Auto Skip” is to speed up the game when you have two or more jokers. Each discarded tile can be called along with 2 jokers to make a set of 3. With two or more jokers, since every discarded tile can be called, the game delays after each discard to allow pressing “Hold,” or “Call.” To avoid this, turn Auto Skip on to skip discarded tiles that are not needed in the goal hand. If a goal hand has not been identified, the app tries to guess what hands you might be making. It will automatically skip if you have at least 2 jokers and the tile is not needed for any hand with odds within 25% of the top-odds hand. If you are making a more difficult hand, then you need to turn “Auto Skip” off using the Menu. If you like keeping “Hint” on, you will probably want “Auto Skip” on.
Auto Sort: There are 4 sort options: 1) Manual, 2) Suit, 3) Like Numbers, and 4) Best Hand. Auto Sort sets how the tiles are sorted at game start. Manual sort means that the player sorts the tiles however she/he wants (they start out randomly). If currently using any specific sort (Suit, Like Numbers, or Best Hand), Manual sort is entered any time a tile is manually moved. Suit sort organizes the tiles by suit first (bams, craks, then dots from left to right) and then by number; with dragons shown to the right. Jokers, flowers, and winds are shown to the left. Like Numbers sorts the tiles according to number first, and then by suit. Best Hand sort shows the recommended best hand at the bottom and sorts tiles by this “Best” hand. Tiles that do not belong to the “Best” hand are shown in the top row on the right. These extra tiles that do not belong to the “Best” hand cannot be manually sorted while “Best Hand” sorting is selected; however, you can sort the “extra” tiles in the top row by selecting a sort button (S or L) on the table. The ”S” button sorts tiles by suit and the “L” button sorts tiles by like numbers. The “Best” hand is updated automatically. You can override the “Best” hand by selecting a different hand from the computer-calculated best hands (discussed later with the “Best Hands” description).
Auto Select: Turning “Auto Select” on automatically selects the last tiles received from another player or drawn. These tiles can then be passed or discarded by pressing the “Done” button. If both “Auto Select” and “Auto Done” are on, “Auto Select” will override the “Auto Done” setting.
Warn MahJongg: If “Warn MahJongg” is “On,” the app warns if you can call a tile for Mah Jongg. A green “MahJongg” button will pop up if you can call a tile for Mah Jongg.
Start Position: This setting is the initial start position (East, South, West, or North) of the primary player. This is the table “wind” position of the primary player who is always at display bottom. For multiplayer games, the host can select his position and the other players’ positions are assigned based on when they join. East starts the draw and discard phase and play proceeds counter-clockwise around the table. By default, the primary player is East. Do not confuse the position wind names with wind tiles. Player positions and wind tiles are separate and have no relationship, even though they are both winds.
Help Level: The help level determines the available data on how to play and the recommended hands. The help levels are shown below with automated aids that are enabled at each level. The default Help Level for skill level Beginner is “All,” Intermediate is “Basic,” and Pro is “None.” The default help levels can be changed during setup. If defense help is enabled, the defensive help amount is controlled by the Defense Help setting.
Default Automated Help Features for Each Help Level
| Help Level | Hint | Best Hands | Best Groups | Tile Ranks | Tile Status | Defense |
| None | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Basic | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| All | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Sound: Pressing the “Sound” button pops up a menu that controls the game sound. The tile discarded, game phase, and notifications are played during the game when the Sound setting is on. Voices can be enabled separately from sound effects. Sound can be muted and unmuted during the game. An additional delay is added when the sound is on to give enough time for the discarded tile names to be voiced; so disabling (muting) the sound can speed the game.
Sound Options Display Example
The two buttons below the “Sound” button enable/disable the sound when playing a multiplayer game over the internet. If “I Hear Others” is on, you can receive and hear other player’s custom voices. “Voice Permission” enables others to receive and hear a custom voice that you record. Voice permission can be “None,” “Restricted,” or “Public.” Restricted means that other players can only use your voice for you. Public permission means other players can also use your voice for computer players.
Below the top 3 control buttons are five rows that control voice assignments. You can assign different voices to each player and to the Charleston voice. Change CP names by selecting the current CP name. Either a standard or custom voice can be assigned to each player and the Charleston voice.
Up to four custom voices can be added using the bottom left and the right-side display elements. To enter a custom voice: press “Add Voice,” enter a voice name. You can then select record on the right side and say the word(s) it shows to record. You have about 1.5 to 3 seconds to record the proper word(s). Start saying the words as soon as you see the red record dot go on. You can play back the recording by pressing play. When done recording a word, press “Next” to go to the next word to record. There are two sets of words: 1) Tiles, and 2) Charleson passes. Only custom Tiles voices can be passed over the internet. The Charleston voice needs to be one of the standard voices. You are not allowed to use someone else’s custom voice as your voice (top assignment).
Tile Type: Multiple tile designs can be available. The app is distributed with two tile designs, standard and Pro. Pro is our custom tile set. Additional tile designs can be added.
Card Type: The available Mah Jongg cards that define winning hands are selected here. There are both standard National Mah Jongg League card(s) (current card name is the current year) and custom MahJonggPro cards available.
Discard Pause: The Discard Pause is the number of seconds delayed after each player discards before the next player draws a tile. This determines the time available for a player to press the hold or call buttons (if not automatically held). The “Auto Hold” option can be used to automatically hold, if the tile can be called. Note: if Discard Pause is set too small, you can easily miss calling a tile you need.
Notify Pause: “Notify Pause” is the delay in seconds after displaying messages about players stealing jokers, calling tiles, and winning tiles. If this time is short, it will be difficult to see these messages, but the game will be faster.
Game Speed: The “Game Speed” setting controls the overall delay between player turns. You can also speed the game by muting the voice.
Flowers: Some Mah Jongg sets have up to 8 different flower tile designs. This option chooses either: 1) a single design (selected from those labelled 1 to 8) to use for all 8 flower tiles or, 2) use of all different flower designs, as available in the tile set.
Discard Warn: This option configures warnings about tiles selected for discard. Options are: Off, Defense, Offense, and All. The Defense discard warnings highlight the tile selected for discard in yellow or red if the tile is considered likely to be used by an opponent based on what tiles they are showing and what has been discarded. The Offense warnings highlight in dark green a tile selected for discard that is currently used in the “Best” hand. When the warning is enabled, the tiles are not automatically discarded, but can be discarded by pressing the “Done” button. The “All” option enables both offensive and defensive discard warnings. Offensive warnings can help prevent accidentally discarding tiles you need when “Auto Done” is enabled.
Table Type: Mah Jongg is played on a table. There are 3 display table types in MahJonggPro: Table Type “Table 1”, Table Type “Table 2”, and Table Type “Demo.” The default table type depends on the chosen skill and device type. Table Type “Demo” is primarily used for demonstration, debugging, guests, or predicting a winner. Table Type “Table 2” is the beginner default unless on an iPad or iPhone, then Table Type “Table 1” is the default. Table Type “Table 1” has less support for game help and has larger tiles. Table Type “Table 1” is optimized for an iPad display. Other than tile size, the main difference between tables is that Table Type “Table 1” has control buttons in the middle and Table Type “Table 2” has control buttons at the bottom and side. You can choose any of the 3 tables to play.
Show Passing: If using Table Type “Table 1”, setting “Show Passing” to “On” lets you see the Charleston passing details. When set to “Off,” the same tiles are passed, but you only see the result.
Total Score: The game keeps track of the accumulated total score of any primary player across all past games since being reset. This option enables resetting the total score to zero and shows the current total score. Note that total score will not be accumulated when in Demo mode, if the network is disabled, or if you use automated help above the default for your skill level setting. If you use extra help above your level, your total score won’t increase, but will decrease if you lose. This is to prevent you from getting addicted to using help.
High Score: This shows the highest score of any single game since the last time high score was reset. The score in a game depends on: which hand is made, if the player draws the last tile for Mah Jongg themselves, and if the final hand is jokerless. The High Score can be zeroed with this button.
Password: Users can set a password to prevent someone else from logging in to the game and playing as you. The game administrator controls the password options available.
Network: Pops up a display to configure how multiple real players can play over the internet. When the network is disabled, a single real player plays against three computer players. There are 4 primary network options: Direct, Server/HTTP, Server/SSH, and Server/SFTP.
Network Options Display Example for Server/HTTP
Default Beginner Option Settings