but accounts for the different set of tiles used therein. Again, standard payment variations apply, although variants exist where the dealer must also pay and receive double. Japanese scoring The Japanese scoring system is the system that is found in many Mahjong video games. In this variation, each player begin with a start score. Usually, this number is either 25,000 or 30,000. However, it can be any agreed start value. In real tile settings, this is typically represented by a series of bars resembling elongated Chinese dominoes, in four denominations: 10,000, 5,000, 1,000, and 100. Otherwise, online the representation is simply the displayed point scores. American scoring A side effect of the Babcock scoring system in the 1920s was that many players frequently sought after limit hands rather than hands of smaller value. Because of this, the common hands were eventually abandoned, and the only way one could win was to match a hand from a list of hands. Today, in the American variations, players use a card that defines a small set of hands that are the only valid winning hands, with a point value given for each hand. This system is used by the two major governing bodies of Mahjong in the United States, the National Mah Jongg League and the American Mah-Jongg Association, with new cards that define the valid winning hands released annually. Typically, each card contains scoring criteria that make references to the year the scoring cards are released. For example, the 1985 scoring hand will have hands containing "melds" of a one, nine, eight, and five of a certain suit. Scoring limits Some variations may impose a scoring limit - a maximum to the number of points for a given hand. In many cases where limits exist, there may be either multiple limits, or ways to obtain multiples of a limit. In many cases where limits exist, the typical point translation function is exponential, where a constant score is assigned to points up to the first limit, and afterwards increases (often doubles) as further limits are reached. The Taiwanese system does not employ scoring limits. A scoring limit may be more of a gambling incentive: for example, if six and nine points were scoring limits, a seven- or eight-point hand would be worth the same as a six-point hand, which may be an incentive for players to go for nine-point hands. High-risk discards Many