Classic four-player mahjong with Hong Kong rules. Draw, discard and claim tiles to build four sets and a pair before the computer players do.
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How to play Mahjong
You play against three computer players: Ava, Ben and Cleo. Everyone starts with 13 tiles, and the dealer takes a 14th. The first player to build a complete hand wins.
The tiles
- Three suits numbered 1 to 9: characters, dots and bamboo.
- Four winds: East, South, West and North.
- Three dragons: red, green and white. The white dragon is the tile with an empty blue frame.
- There are four copies of each tile, 136 in all.
A winning hand
A winning hand is usually four sets and a pair, 14 tiles in all. A set is one of these:
- Chow: three tiles in a row in one suit, like 4, 5 and 6 of dots.
- Pung: three of the same tile.
- Kong: four of the same tile. It counts as one set, and you draw a replacement tile to make up for the extra one.
Seven Pairs and Thirteen Orphans (one of each 1, 9, wind and dragon, plus one extra) also win.
Your turn
- Play goes counter-clockwise, starting with the dealer.
- You draw a tile automatically, shown a little apart from the rest of your hand.
- Tap any tile to discard it. If you can win or make a kong, a button appears first.
- Your houses are outlined in your hand: solid for a finished set, dashed for a pair or two tiles that could become a set. You can turn this off above your hand.
Claiming a discard
- When someone discards a tile you can use, buttons appear so you can claim it or pass.
- Anyone can claim a tile to make a pung or a kong, or to win.
- Only the player next in turn can claim a tile to make a chow.
- A win beats a pung or kong, and a pung or kong beats a chow.
- Claimed sets lie face up on the table, and you then discard a tile.
Scoring
Your hand earns faan, up to a limit of 13. The highest-scoring way of reading your hand is the one that counts.
- 1 faan: self-drawn win, fully concealed hand, all chows, a pung of dragons, a pung of your seat wind or the round wind, winning on the last tile, winning after a kong, robbing a kong.
- 3 faan: all pungs, or one suit mixed with winds and dragons.
- 4 faan: Seven Pairs.
- 5 to 8 faan: Little Three Dragons (5), Little Four Winds (6), one suit alone (7), Big Three Dragons (8).
- 10 faan: all honours, or all 1s and 9s.
- 13 faan: Thirteen Orphans, Big Four Winds, Four Kongs, or four concealed pungs.
Faan turn into points: 0 faan is 1 point, 1 is 2, 2 is 4, 3 is 8, 4 is 16, 5 is 24, 6 is 32, 7 is 48, 8 is 64, 9 is 96, 10 is 128, 11 is 160, 12 is 192 and 13 is 256. Win off a discard and the player who threw it pays double while the other two pay single. Win off your own draw and all three pay double. After 4 or 8 hands, the highest score wins the match. The deal passes to the next player unless the dealer wins or the hand is a draw.
A little history
Mahjong took its modern form in China in the second half of the nineteenth century, probably growing out of older Chinese card games. It reached America and Britain in the 1920s, when it became a craze, and many countries have since developed their own rules. The Hong Kong style played here keeps the scoring fairly simple, and it's one of the most common ways the game is played today.
Mahjong FAQ
Is this the same as Mahjong Solitaire?
No. This is the original four-player game, where you draw and discard to build a winning hand against three opponents. Mahjong Solitaire, which you can also play here, is a one-player matching game that borrows the tiles.
Which rules does this game use?
Hong Kong rules, the most widely played classic style. Rules and scoring vary from table to table, so the details here may differ a little from how you learned.
Where are the flower and season tiles?
This version plays with the 136 standard tiles. Flowers and seasons are an optional extra in Hong Kong mahjong and aren't used here.
What is the minimum score to win?
There isn't one. Any hand of four sets and a pair can win, even one worth no faan. Many real tables ask for three faan, so this is a friendlier way to learn.
What is a faan?
A faan is a scoring unit. Your hand earns faan for things like being all one suit or winning off your own draw. More faan means more points, up to a limit of 13.
Who pays when someone wins?
On a win off a discard, the player who threw the tile pays double and the other two pay single. On a self-drawn win, all three pay double.
What happens if the wall runs out?
If only the last 14 tiles are left and no one has won, the hand is a draw. No one scores and the same dealer deals again.
Ready for more? The Mahjong strategy guide → covers what to do in every phase of a game.