r three fives of
the character suit, may _pung_ when another player discards a five
character, expose his set and discard, the play going on in the regular
direction from him.

It is not necessary for it to be the player's turn to draw in order to
"_Pung_" as it is in the case of a "_Chow_." A player having a pair
similar to a tile discarded, may announce "_Pung_" and appropriate the
tile, _regardless of who discarded it and of whose turn it is to draw_.
Also after a player "_Pungs_" and discards, the play goes on from him to
the right. It can be seen that due to _punging_ one or even two players
are liable to lose their turn.

[Illustration: Illustration No. 12. In this illustration, _East_ played
in regular turn and _South_ drew the 9 _character_, which, having no use
for, he discarded. _East_ having a pair of nines _character_ in his hand
"_Punged_," completing the set and causing _West_ and _North Winds_ to
lose their turns. _East_ then exposed his set of nines next to the
sequence of three he had previously _chowed_ and exposed, discarded and
play went on in the usual routine, _North_ drawing and discarding.]

There are a few rules applying to the "_Chow_" and "_Pung_." They are as
follows:

1. All tiles must be "_punged_" or "_chowed_" _as they are discarded_;
for a tile discarded by a player and allowed to remain in discard until
the next player discards, becomes "dead" and _cannot be_ touched during
the rest of the game.

2. It has been stated that one cannot "_pung_" unless it makes up three
or four of a kind. This is true with one exception. In the case: when a
tile will complete a player's hand allowing him to "_Mah-Jongg_," the
tile may be punged. Example: A player with four sets and an odd tile may
_pung_ a tile which matches his odd one. The rule is that "_a player may
at any time 'Pung' a discard which will complete his hand and allow him
to Mah-Jongg_."

3. The denomination and suit of each tile must be announced as it is
discarded, a player discarding a 3 of _character_, announcing _3
character_, to prevent confusion of a player who may be studying his
hand. This is more of a courtesy of the game, than a rule.

4. A "_Pung_" has precedence over a "_Chow_" and if one player can pung
the same discard that another player can chow, the former has the right
to appropriate the tile.

5. If a player can pung a discard which will complete his _hand_ and
another player can pung the same discard to comp