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Beginner's guide

How to play mahjong, one hand at a time.

A hand of mahjong is simpler than it looks. You draw a tile, throw a tile, and try to turn 14 tiles into four sets and a pair before anyone else does.

This guide uses Hong Kong rules as the base, because they are the quickest to learn, and points out where Riichi and Chinese Official (MCR) change things. You will need the tile names in your head or open in another tab.

The goal

Four sets and a pair

A winning hand has 14 tiles: four sets and a pair. There are three kinds of set.

The three kinds of set
SetWhat it isExample
ChowThree consecutive tiles of one suit. Winds, dragons and flowers cannot make chows.3 Bamboo4 Bamboo5 Bamboo
PungThree identical tiles, including honours.EastEastEast
KongFour identical tiles. It counts as one set, and you draw an extra tile to replace it.7 Dot7 Dot7 Dot7 Dot
PairTwo identical tiles. You need exactly one.9 Char9 Char

Because a kong is four tiles standing in for three, a hand with kongs has more than 14 tiles on the table at the end. It is still four sets and a pair.

Setup

The wall, the dice and the deal

  • Shuffle and build. Tip all tiles face down and mix them by hand. Each player builds a wall two tiles high along their edge of the table: 18 stacks for a 144-tile game (17 for Riichi's 136), then push the four walls together into a square.
  • Choose the dealer. Roll the dice to decide who sits East. The dealer goes first, and the seats then run South, West and North counterclockwise from the dealer. Your seat wind matters for scoring.
  • Break the wall. The dealer rolls again, and the total counts a number of stacks around the wall to find where the deal begins. Tables differ on the exact counting method. What matters is that everyone agrees on it.
  • Deal. Starting at the break, players take tiles in blocks of four until everyone has 12, then the dealer takes two more and the others one each. The dealer ends with 14 tiles, everyone else with 13.

Stand your tiles up in front of you so only you can see the faces. Sort them by suit so you can see what you have. The rest of the wall stays in place and is drawn from, in order, as the hand goes on.

Flowers

Bonus tiles in Hong Kong and MCR

Before play begins, anyone holding a flower or season tile shows it face up, sets it beside their hand and draws a replacement from the end of the wall. If the replacement is also a flower, repeat. During play, whenever you draw a flower you do the same. In Hong Kong they can add faan, and in MCR each is worth one fan toward a hand that already qualifies. Riichi leaves them out.

A turn

Draw, think, discard

Play starts with the dealer, who already has 14 tiles and just discards one. Every turn after that has the same three steps.

  • Draw the next tile from the wall (or take a claimed discard, below).
  • Decide whether you have won. If not, pick the tile that helps you least.
  • Discard it face up in the middle, and say its name out loud. The discard stays on the table in the order it was thrown.

Your hand always has 13 tiles between turns, one fewer than the 14 you need to win. You are building toward being one tile short, then waiting for the tile that completes it.

Claiming a discard

A tile just discarded can be claimed out of turn if it completes a set for you. You call it, show the set, and place it face up beside your hand. Then you discard, and play continues from your position, which skips anyone sitting between you and the original discarder.

Claiming rules
ClaimWho can do itPriority
Win (it completes your hand)AnyoneHighest
Pung or kongAnyoneSecond
ChowOnly the player after the discarderLowest

If two people want the same tile, the higher priority wins. If two players both want to win on it, most Hong Kong groups let the one closest to the discarder (in turn order) take it. Some allow both to win. Settle it before the game.

Making a kong

There are three ways to get four of a tile. You can claim a discard when you already hold three. You can draw the fourth yourself with three in hand (a concealed kong). Or you can draw the fourth to add to an exposed pung. After any kong you draw a replacement tile from the end of the wall before discarding.

Exposed sets stay face up and are fixed. You cannot take them back, and the more of your hand you reveal, the easier it is for others to guess what you need. Keeping a hand hidden is harder, but it often scores more.

Winning

Declaring a win

You win when your 14 tiles form four sets and a pair, and the hand meets your table's minimum score. You can win two ways.

  • Self-draw. You draw the tile that completes the hand. In Hong Kong that adds a faan, and in Riichi it is called tsumo.
  • Off a discard. Another player throws the tile you need and you claim it. Riichi calls this ron.

Announce the win, tip your hand over so everyone can see all 14 tiles, and count the score together. The scoring pages explain how: Hong Kong faan, Riichi han and fu, and MCR fan.

Draws and the next hand

If the wall runs out before anyone wins, the hand is a draw. In Hong Kong the dealer usually keeps the seat after a draw and after winning, and passes it on after losing. After every player has been dealer, the prevailing wind moves on from East to South, and so on. The usual full game is one round of each prevailing wind, or less if you are short of time.

Differences

Where Riichi and MCR change things

How Riichi and Chinese Official differ from Hong Kong play
Hong KongRiichiMCR
Tiles144 with flowers136, no flowers144 with flowers
Minimum to winUsually 3 faanOne yaku8 fan, not counting flowers
Dead wallVaries by group; many play to the last tile14 tiles kept aside for dora and kong drawsNone; play continues to the last tile
DealerStays on a win or drawStays on a win, or if tenpai at a drawRotates every hand
Special declarationNoneRiichi: declare a ready hand, put down 1,000 pointsNone
Bonus tilesFlowersDora tilesFlowers
ScoringFaan, paid from a doubling tableHan and fu, converted to pointsFan, plus 8 from every payer

The core loop of drawing, discarding and claiming is the same everywhere. If you can play one hand of Hong Kong mahjong, the other two are mostly about learning to score.

First games

A few habits that help beginners

  • Sort your tiles by suit and look for pairs and runs of two. Aim for a flexible hand rather than one specific set of tiles.
  • Throw single honour tiles early. A lone wind or dragon almost never helps unless you already hold a pair of it.
  • Watch the discards. If a suit is being thrown by everyone, the tiles you need from it are probably gone.
  • Count what is still available. Each tile has only four copies, so a tile you see three of elsewhere is dead for you.
  • Claim sparingly. Calling a chow reveals your hand and can slow you down.

Quick answers

Common questions

What is the goal of mahjong?
To be the first to complete a hand of 14 tiles made of four sets (chows, pungs or kongs) and one pair, then declare the win. Most styles also require the hand to be worth a minimum score.
What is the difference between a chow, a pung and a kong?
A chow is three consecutive tiles of one suit, such as 3-4-5 Bamboo. A pung is three identical tiles. A kong is four identical tiles, which gives you a replacement draw and counts as a single set.
Who goes first in mahjong?
The dealer, called East, goes first. They start with 14 tiles and open the game by discarding one. Play then passes to the right (counterclockwise).
Can I take any discard to make a chow?
Only the discard of the player immediately before you in turn order, which is the player on your left. Pungs, kongs and winning tiles can be taken from anyone.
What happens if nobody wins?
When the wall runs out the hand is a draw. In Hong Kong play, nobody scores and the dealer usually stays. In Riichi, players who are one tile from winning collect a small payment from those who are not.

Keep going

More mahjong guides