Menu Close

Official Mahjong Rules – The Ultimate Guide On How To Play

Mahjong Rules

Mahjong has numerous regional varieties, like many other well-known games. This makes it challenging for someone who is new to the game and who wants to understand mahjong rules. We will help you learn how to play mahjong utilizing the fundamental principles and approaches that apply to most variations of the game.

A game of skill and chance, mahjong was introduced to the West in the 1920s after decades of development in China. Mah Jongg is a cooperative game that requires precision, skill, strategy and good luck. It might look complicated but once you get to know the elements of the game and its rules, you’ll to love it.

Mahjong Rules - How To Play Mahjong

At the start of the game, it’s crucial that everyone is aware of the regulations and equipment you need, including any additional rules.

Equipment

Mahjong Equipment
  • 36 Dots Tiles
  • 36 Character Tiles
  • 36 Bamboo Tiles
  • 16 Wind Tiles
  • 12 Dragon Tiles
  • 4 Flower Tiles
  • 4 Seasons Tiles
  • 2 Dice
  • 4 Scorecards
  • Scoring Sticks or Coins
  • 1 Wind Indicator (Optional)
  • 4 Racks And Pushers (Optional)
  • Mahjong Mat (Optional)

Mahjong Tile Count Per Set

Set

Count

Suited

Dots

36

Bamboo

36

Characters

36

Honors

Winds

16

Dragons

12

Bonus

Flowers

4

Seasons

4

Total

144

Game Objective

The goal of this classic board game is to complete a mahjong by arranging all fourteen tiles into four sets and one pair.

You can’t use a single tile in two sets at the same time.

Number Of Players

Mahjong Number Of Players

You usually play Mahjong with four people but as there are varieties, mahjong can be played by 2, 3 or even 5 players.

Mahjong Tiles

Mahjong Game Tiles

Mahjong sets contain 144 tiles, traditionally made of ivory or bone. Three basic suits (dots, characters and bamboos), two honor suits (wind and dragon tiles) and one optional suit (flowers) are included in each tile set. Read about the mahjong tiles in detail here.

Suit

Included Symbols

Number Of Tiles

Circles

1 – 9

Four sets of 9, 36 total

Bamboo

1 – 9

Four sets of 9, 36 total

Chinese Characters

1 – 9

Four sets of 9, 36 total

Winds

N, S, E, W

Four sets of 4, 16 total

Dragons

Red, Green, White

Four sets of 3, 12 total

Flowers

Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo

One of each, 4 total

Seasons

Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn

One of each, 4 total

Craks/Characters

Mahjong Craks/Characters

On the surface of these Mahjong tiles is the character, which denotes 10,000. Each tile has a Chinese character with a number ranging from one to nine.

Bams/Bamboos

Mahjong Bams/Bamboos

These Mahjong tiles have bamboo sticks that depict the strings that ancient copper coin sets of 100 or 1,000 coins were strung on. The tiles have sticks on them from two to nine.

There isn’t a bamboo stick on the tile number one.

Dots

Mahjong Dots

This suit has a circular shape and the number of round shapes on the surface of each tile ranges from one to nine.

Dragons

Mahjong Tiles Dragons

There are four red dragons represented by a bright red character, four green dragons represented by a bright green character and four white dragons represented by a completely blank tile.

Winds

Mahjong Tiles Winds
The winds are one of six tile sets. The Wind is one of two honor suits. Each of these tiles represents a compass direction: North, East, South and West.

Seasons

Mahjong Tiles Seasons

Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter are each represented by one bonus tile. Red characters (or numbers) are frequently used to represent them.

No

Name

Character

Direction

1

Spring

East

2

Summer

South

3

Autumn

West

4

Winter

North

Flowers

Mahjong Tiles Flowers

The four flowers represent Confucian plants, bamboo, chrysanthemum, orchid and plum.

Mahjong Flowers

Flower

Season/Occupation

Number

Corresponding Wind

Plum

Spring/Fisherman

1

East

Lily/Orchid

Summer/Woodcutter

2

South

Chrysanthemum

Autumn/Farmer

3

West

Bamboo

Winter/Scholar

4

North

Jokers

A joker cannot be used for a single or pair. You can replace any tile in a Quint, Kong, Pung or Sextet with a joker.

Dice

Mahjong Dice

You’ll need two dice. By rolling the dice, you determine who will be the East Wind (dealer). The East Wind is whoever rolls the highest score on two dice.

Score Cards

The National Mah Jongg League determines a list of hands for scoring (NML). Each player keeps a card for reference when building hands and employing Mahjong strategies. To read more on the best mahjong strategies, click here.

Scoring Sticks And Coins

Mahjong Scoring Sticks And Coins
You can use scoring sticks and coins to keep track of points.

Quantity

Scoring Stick/Coin

Value

1

9 Dot/Yellow

200 Points

2

5 Dot/Blue

100 Points

8

1 Dot/Red

25 Points

10

8 Dot/Green

5 Points

Mahjong Tile Racks And Pushers

Mahjong Game Tile Racks

Each player has tile racks and pushers to hold tiles. When you’re ready to play, the pusher is placed against the back of the rack and curtsies the tiles.

Mahjong Mat

Players frequently use mahjong mats to muffle the sounds of tiles hitting the table.

The Set-Up And Seating

To get ready to play, players should do the following:

  • Place the mat on the table.
  • Place the rack so that the pusher is away from each player.
  • Shuffle the mahjong tiles.
  • Each player constructs a wall against a pusher.

Building The Wall

Mahjong Building The Wall

When the tiles are shuffled, they are arranged in walls that are 17 tiles long and 2 tiles high. Each player pushes a wall to the front of the board, forming a square in the center of the board.

Breaking The Wall

The East Wind player throws the dice and counts off the resulting number from the tile stack in front of them, from right to left, before breaking the wall. Moving counter-clockwise, each player takes four tiles and continues where the dealer left off, picking two tiles from the top and two from the bottom.

Dealing The Tiles And Picking A Hand

Dealing The Tiles And Picking A Hand

After the breaking, you deal four tiles to each player, beginning with East and working anticlockwise until each player has 12 tiles. East then draws the next two tiles and South, East and North each take only a single tile. On each succeeding turn, a player takes a tile, plays a possible tile combination and then discards a tile.

Replacements

If the dealt hand contains flower or season tiles, they are placed face up above and to the side of the hand and replaced with regular tiles taken from the wall’s back end.

Drawing Tiles

When the game is ready, you’ll take new tiles from the “Wall” where the initial hand drawing ended. The game begins with the dealer who discards a tile face up in the center of the table. South is then the first to draw and discard a tile, followed by West and North.

Game Play

Mahjong Game Play

If any other players have a set that the discarded tile can complete, they may choose to take the discarded tiles when a player discards their one tile. The player must then expose the completed set to the others, allowing them to see what kind of hands they are making. A player can collect a discarded tile to complete one of the following sets.

Chow

A Chow is formed by three consecutive tiles from the same suit.

Pung

A Pung consists of three matching tiles of identical suit and rank (when applicable).

Kong

A Kong consists of four identical tiles of the exact suit and rank. A winning hand requires four sets of chow, pung or kong and a pair.

A player cannot win with an unrevealed Kong in hand and must call and reveal it before winning.

Pair

Two identical tiles form a pair.

Pair

A set of two identical tiles.

Pung

A set of three identical tiles.

Kong

A set of four identical tiles.

Quint

A set of five identical tiles, with the use of Jokers.

Sextet

A set of six identical tiles, with the use of Jokers.

Reading The Scorecard

When playing Mahjong, you need to learn to read the scorecards.

Categories

The National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) card is divided into nine categories.

Year

Hands that use tiles which make up a year.

2468

Only even numbers.

Multiplication

Hands which consist of tiles that perform some type of multiplication.

Quints

These hands contain five of a kind (quints).

Consecutive Runs

Different patterns of sequential numbers.

13579

Only odd numbers.

Wind And Dragon Tiles

Primarily winds and dragons.

369

Only hands with the numbers 3, 6 and 9.

Singles & Pairs

No other groupings other than single tiles and pairs of tiles.

Color

The cards are printed in three colors: blue, green and red. Each color can represent any of the available suits. On the card, all tiles of the same color should be in the same suit within a given hand.

Values

Each hand has an “X” or a “C” next to it, indicating whether it is exposed ‘’X’’ or concealed ”C” and a value.

A value that appears next to the “X” or “C” represents the score for the hand. More difficult hands have a higher value.

Hands

Mahjong Game Hands

Each line on the card represents a winning hand, with 14 tiles in each hand. The hands are depicted in one, two or three colors, indicating the number of suits required.

Hand Combinations

The hand is over when a player makes the mahjong declaration and reveals a full 14-tile hand made up of four sets and a pair.

The standard bonus for winning Mahjong is 20, although there are other situations when you can get extra points or double your money.

Type Of Hand

Description

Points

Mahjong – Kong Box

Drawing the winning tile from the kong box.

20

Mahjong – Player Discard

Winning with the last tile from the live wall discarded by another player.

20

Mahjong – Wall

Drawing the last one from the live wall.

22

Mahjong – Concealed

All Pungs and Kongs have to be hidden.

 

10

Last Wall Tile

A player completes the hand with the final tile before the dead wall.

Standard 20 points

Last Discarded Tile

A player completes their hand by using the final tile from the opponent who drew the final tile from the wall.

Standard 20 points

Robbing A Kong

Winning the tile that a player adds to a melded Pung in order to form a Kong.

Standard 20 points

Heavenly Hand

On the very first draw, the dealer wins a hand.

Automatically score maximum points

Earthly Hand

On the very first round of play, any non-dealer wins a hand.

Automatically score maximum points

Special Hands

Special hands are uncommon tile combinations that also let the player proclaim a Mah-Jong victory.

Buried Treasure

Concealed Pungs are in a single suit, along with Winds/Dragons and a pair. No Kongs are permitted. Every tile must be removed from the wall.

Heads And Tails

Four Pungs/Kongs of ones and nines, plus a pair. There are no Winds or Dragons.

The Wriggling Snake

A run from 2 to 9 in the exact same suit, with each of the 4 Winds and a pair of ones.

Three Great Scholars

All three Dragons’ Pung/Kongs, another Pung/Kong and a pair in a single suit.

Four Blessings Hovering Over The Door

Pungs/Kongs of all four winds, as well as any pair.

The Thirteen Unique Wonders

One of each significant tile (13 distinct tiles). Any major tile from the 14th tile’s discard pile. The final tile can be taken from the discard but the rest are all hidden.

Heaven’s Blessing

East made Mahjong right away.

Earth’s Blessing

Mahjong is immediately made by West, North or South using the first discard made by East.

Gathering The Plum Blossom From The Roof

5 circles drawn from the Kong Box which allows Mahjong.

Plucking The Moon From The Bottom Of The Sea

1 of the Circles drawn is the last tile drawn from the wall, which allows Mahjong.

 

The Charleston

Mahjong Game The Charleston

The Charleston consists primarily of player exchanges of tiles. This allows players to get rid of unwanted tiles and improve their hands.

During the Charleston and courtesy pass, passing jokers is not allowed.

What To Pass

Players should pass tiles defensively by not passing the same numbers, pairs, flowers or dragons. A player should only pass one wind at a time when passing winds.

Blind Pass

A blind pass involves passing 1–3 tiles to the next player without letting them see them, leaving the remaining tiles in the player’s hand.

The Pause

Players can pause the game to take the most recently discarded tile. The player must announce “Pause” before the next player draws and places the tile in their rack.

The Joker

One of the most important Mahjong rules is that using a joker for a single or pair is not allowed. During their turn, a player can exchange a specific tile for an exposed joker.

When a player discards a joker, it is considered dead and another player cannot pick it up from the table.

Rotation And Rounds

There are four rounds in the game. Within each round, the winds and seating positions will alternate as follows: East, South, West and North. This also occurs in the case of a dead hand, where nobody wins. There are a total of 16 hands.

Scoring

Mahjong Game Scoring

Each hand’s value is listed next to the “X” or “C” on the card. The winner receives the value indicated on the NMJL card for basic scoring.

Basic Scoring

Add up the points listed below for each combination and the pair to start scoring a hand.

4 Pungs In A Hand

6 points

4 Chows In A Hand

2 points

1 Dragon Pung Or Kong

2 points

A Pair Of Dragon Pung

6 points

Pung/Kong Of Winds That Matches The Round Or Seat

2 points

Flowers/Seasons Tile

1 point each

Win By Self-Drawn

1 point each

Kind Of Mahjong And Payouts

The payout to the winner is determined by the hand value and how the mahjong was created.

How The Game Ended

Player Payment

Dealer exits by drawing from the wall.

Every player must pay two times the amount of points.

The dealer exits by taking a player discard.

The discarding player is required to pay twice.

Using a drawing from the wall, the non-dealer goes out.

Discarder pays the winner four times the hand’s value.

The non-dealer exits by taking a player discard.

Each player pays four times the hand’s value.

Additional Rules

Occasionally, errors occur and penalties can be imposed in such cases.

Error

Penalty

A dropped tile has either touched the surface of the table or been announced.

Tile cannot be taken back.

A tile has been announced incorrectly.

Tile is not available for claim.

No exposure has been made when a tile is called.

You could withdraw the call.

An incorrect exposure has been made.

Before discarding tiles, the exposure can be corrected.

One player either has too few or too many tiles.

The winner will receive payment from the other players at the conclusion of the game even though the player’s hand is dead.

Three players either have too few or too many tiles.

The game needs to be replayed.

Another player sees that a player’s hand is impossible based on the tiles that are exposed on their rack.

The player’s hand is dead.

Mahjong is announced in error but the hand has not been revealed.

The game goes on without a penalty.

Mahjong is declared in error and the hand is revealed.

The player’s hand is dead.

Variations Of The Game

Mahjong Variations Of The Game

There are some variations of the game if you want to play Mahjong with fewer or more than four people.

Mahjong For 2 Players

This is a great option if you are a beginner and want to practice. One player plays East, while the other plays West.

  • Chows are not permitted. A player must collect four Pungs or Kongs plus a double. Alternatively, you can collect a limit or half-limit special hand.
  • East Wind does not pay or receive double when scoring.
  • If the player going Mahjong has a lower score than the player’s opponent, the player going Mahjong receives the normal total score plus the difference between the scores.

Mahjong For 3 Players

  • Construct four walls.
  • Deal no tiles to the empty seat.
  • Each of the three players takes 12 tiles.
  • The players take turns taking a tile from the wall until the non-dealers have 13 tiles and the dealer has selected the 14th tile.

Mahjong For 5 Players

By changing the rules, you can play Mahjong with five people too.

  • There are East, South, West and North and one person who will sit out.
  • Decide who’s going to play and who’s going to sit by rolling the dice. The lowest roll sits and the highest roll becomes East.
  • After the first hand is over, the player from East bows out and is replaced by the player who chose to sit out this hand.
  • Everyone rerolls to determine who is East and the next hand setup begins.

Frequently Asked Questions

You can play Mahjong step by step like this: firstly, shuffle the tiles. Then choose the dealer by rolling the dice. The first player selects a tile from the pool. You can choose a brand-new tile or a player’s discarded tile. Once a player’s set of tiles has four suits and a pair, they win.

You can play Mahjong as a beginner by playing with just one more player. Deal 13 tiles to both your opponent and yourself. Keep the tiles face down and place them between the two of you. Your opponent can either pick up the new or discarded tile. A player must construct a winning hand of four sets and one pair to win a game.

Yes, there are different mahjong rules. The mahjong rules stipulate the standard types of melds that are allowed, how the tiles are dealt, how to draw and discard a tile and how many tiles you need. There are many mahjong game variations that have different standards for legal melds and winning hands, scoring systems and even additional regulations that are quite complicated.

Mahjong is not difficult to learn but it might be challenging to master the game. You can’t learn how to play it in one sitting but after a couple of weeks of practicing, you will surely be able to become better at playing mahjong. It typically takes a few weeks to understand it because there is so much to learn.

Mahjong means sparrow in English. The game was invented in China and the original name in Chinese was “máquè”. It is still often used in several Southern Chinese languages, including Cantonese and Min Nan, as well as in Japanese. But most Chinese who speak Mandarin now refer to the game as “májiàng” (Mahjong).

Conclusion

You’ll need to learn these Mahjong rules to play and win the game of mahjong. Start with the basics by learning about dots, characters, bamboos, wind, dragon, flower and season tiles. Take your time, use our guide to the game rules and be persistent because you can’t learn it all after a single game.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *