Mahjong rules

If you have never played, start with the step-by-step guide on how to play mahjong and come back here when you need a rule. The rules below follow the Hong Kong game, in the order a game uses them; the last section shows where other styles differ.

Object of the game

Be the first player to complete a hand of fourteen tiles made of four sets and one pair. A set is three identical tiles, four identical tiles, or three numbers in a row in one suit. Bonus tiles, the flowers and seasons, never count toward the fourteen.

The tiles

• Three suits, dots, bamboo and characters, each numbered 1 to 9, four of each: 108 tiles.
• Four winds, East, South, West and North, four of each: 16 tiles.
• Three dragons, red, green and white, four of each: 12 tiles.
• Eight bonus tiles, four flowers and four seasons, one of each: 8 tiles.

That makes 144 in all. See mahjong tiles explained for pictures and names of every tile.

Seats and the dealer

Each seat takes the name of a wind. The dealer sits East; going counter-clockwise from East come South, West and North. Note that this is the opposite of a compass: South sits to East's right. Players usually roll dice to choose the first dealer.

A full game has four rounds, named after the winds and played in order: East round, South round, West round, North round. The round's wind is called the prevailing wind. Many groups play only the East round, or the East and South rounds, which takes about as long as a relaxed evening.

The deal

1. Turn all tiles face down and shuffle them on the table.
2. Each player builds a wall 18 tiles long and two tiles high, and the four walls are pushed into a square.
3. The dealer rolls the dice to find where the wall is broken open.
4. Players take tiles from the break in blocks of four until each has 12, then one tile each. The dealer takes one extra tile, for 14.
5. Anyone holding flowers or seasons places them face up and draws replacements from the far end of the wall.

A turn

The dealer begins by discarding one tile. After that, each player in turn draws a tile from the wall, or claims the last discard if the rules allow, and then discards one tile face up. Play moves counter-clockwise. Outside your own turn, you always hold thirteen tiles.

Name each discard aloud as you play it. Once a discard has been passed over and the next player has drawn, it is dead and cannot be claimed.

Sets: pung, kong and chow

• Pung: three identical tiles. You may claim any player's discard to complete a pung.

• Kong: four identical tiles. You may claim any player's discard to complete a kong. After any kong, draw a replacement tile from the far end of the wall, then discard.

• Chow: three consecutive numbers in one suit. You may only claim a discard for a chow from the player directly before you.

• Pair: two identical tiles. Every standard winning hand has exactly one pair, sometimes called the eyes.

A set made with a claimed discard is placed face up and stays that way. A set made only from tiles you drew yourself can stay hidden in your hand, and many scoring systems reward that.

When two players want the same discard

A claim to win always comes first. After that:

1. A claim to win the hand.
2. A claim for a pung or kong.
3. A claim for a chow, which only the next player can make.

If two players both claim the discard to win, most tables give it to the player who would normally play next. Some house rules let both win.

Winning hands

Call “mahjong” when the tile you draw, or a discard you claim, completes your hand. Lay all fourteen tiles face up so the table can check them.

Most tables also accept a few special hands that do not follow the four-sets pattern:

• Seven pairs: any seven different pairs.

• Thirteen orphans: one of every 1 and 9 in each suit, one of each wind and one of each dragon, plus a second copy of any of them.

When nobody wins

If the wall runs out before anyone completes a hand, the hand is a draw. Nobody scores, the tiles are shuffled and the same dealer usually deals again.

Passing the deal

If the dealer wins, or the hand is a draw, the dealer keeps the deal. If anyone else wins, the deal passes to the player on the dealer's right, who becomes the new East. A round ends when the deal has gone all the way around the table.

Scoring

Hong Kong scoring counts faan, points for features of the winning hand. Common examples:

• Winning on a tile you drew yourself.
• A pung of dragons, or of your own seat's wind or the prevailing wind.
• A hand of all pungs, with no chows.
• A hand of one suit mixed with honors, or of one suit alone, which scores much more.
• A flower or season whose number matches your seat.

Most tables agree on a minimum, often three faan, before a hand may win, and set a maximum as well. Payment tables differ from group to group, so agree on yours before the first hand. For your first few games you can skip scoring entirely and simply count who won the most hands.

Common table rules

• Wrong number of tiles: a player who ends up with too many or too few tiles can no longer win that hand, but keeps playing so the others are not disturbed.

• False mahjong: calling mahjong on a hand that is not complete usually costs a penalty agreed by the table.

• Discards stay put: keep your discards neat and face up in front of you, or in the center, so everyone can see what has been played.

How other styles change the rules

American mah jongg is played from a card published each year by the National Mah Jongg League. The card is the League's copyrighted publication, so we do not reproduce its hands here; buy a copy from the League to play.