MahJong Rules (Chinese Classical)
Seating Method: Before the tiles are shuffled and the wall is built, each player sits down arbitrarily at the
table. Set aside one of each wind tile, an even, and an odd numbered tile. Shuffle the wind tiles face down
and arrange them in between the odd and even tile as shown below.
Random wind tiles face down
Any arbitrary player rolls two dice and counts off, starting with him/herself as one, the next player as two,
etc. continuing in play order. The indicated player rolls the dice once more noting both the total and if the
total is even or odd (ignore the previous roll of the dice). This will determine who draws first and from
which side. Again, count starting with dice roller to see who draws this tile.
Wind tiles face up for illustration purposes.
If the number is odd, for example, the indicated player draws the face down wind tile closest to the oddnumbered tile (in this case South). The next player in turn draws the next wind tile (North), and so on (East
and last West). The wind tile drawn is your seat wind. The player who is East remains stationary while the
other players arrange themselves accordingly.
The Prevailing Wind is always set to East when starting the game. It only changes after every player has
lost as the Dealer (the very first Dealer will now be East again, but the prevailing wind will no longer be
East). The order that Prevailing Wind changes go is the same order as the player order as they take turns.
The Chinese system rotates counterclockwise (see American Players, below). Players keep their seats
between games and between prevailing wind rounds.
East ► South ► West ► North
S
W
E
N
American Players
American players used to different cardinal directions may prefer to have game play proceed to the player
on the left (clockwise) and instead use the cardinal directions shown above but with N on top and S on the
bottom, W on the left and E on the right. Note that this still results in the same turn order:
East ► South ► West ► North
Building the Wall
All tiles are placed face down and shuffled. Each player then stacks a row of tiles two tiles high in front of
him, the length of the row depending on the number of tiles in use:
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136 tiles: 17 stacks for each player
144 tiles: 18 stacks for each player (136 + Flowers)
“Dealer” / East Wind: East Wind is always the Dealer. After each game, the winds rotate unless the
Dealer wins, or there is a draw, in which case that player stays as East Wind. When winds rotate, players
do not change seats; the winds simply rotate.
East Wind now throws two dice to ascertain which one of the 4 SIDES of the wall is to be breached. This
is arrived at by counting East Wind’s wall as "one" and counting the walls in play order until the end of the
throw is reached.
The player whose wall is to be breached now throws the two dice to determine WHERE his wall is to be
breached. He then adds the number he has thrown to the number thrown by East Wind and counts this total
along the upper row of the wall, from the right-hand end, and breaches the wall by removing the piece
arrived at and the one underneath it. The latter piece is then placed (face down) on top of the wall on the
third piece to the right of the breach, and the former is placed on top of the fifth piece to the right of the
breach. This small wall of 16 pieces to the right of the breach is moved away from the rest of the wall and
comprises the set of “Loose Tiles” or “Supplement Tiles”. This set is also called the “Dead Wall” or
“Kong Box” and is used for replacement tiles for Kongs, as described below. These dead tiles are not
replenished from the live wall.
Flower and Season tiles, if used, are replaced from the live wall and not from “Loose Tiles”.
The Dealer now takes a block of 4 tiles to the left of the breach / divide. The player to the Dealer's right
takes the next 4 tiles to the left, and players (in player order) take blocks of 4 tiles until all players have 12
tiles. The Dealer now takes 1 tile (to make 13); the next player takes 1 tile, etc, until all players have 13
tiles, then finally the Dealer takes a final 14th tile (the other players end up with 13 tiles each) and Dealer
will begin the game by discarding a tile.
Many players prefer to speed up this process by having the Dealer take their 2 pieces right away in this last
tile allocation round – e.g. once each player has 12 tiles then Dealer takes the next top tile and another top
tile but not the one directly adjacent to the one just taken but the next top one over (this is easier to
understand by dealing the 1 tile to each player at the end as originally described in the previous paragraph,
and then you see which 2 final tiles the Dealer always ends up getting).
Gameplay
A turn involves a player drawing a tile from the wall (or the previously discarded tile – see Melds, below)
and then placing it in his or her hand. The player then discards a tile onto the table. This signals the end of
his or her turn, prompting next player to make his or her move. As a form of courtesy, each player should
announce loudly the name of the tile being discarded. The discarded tiles should be placed in an orderly
fashion in front of the player discarding that tile so that each player can tell who discarded which tile. A
player must discard a tile after picking one up. A player with either too many or too few tiles must continue
until someone else wins. With too few tiles, they may score their hand but cannot win. With too many
tiles, they may not score their hand. In either case that player owes the winner and other losers their
respective scores.
Melds
When a player discards a tile, any other player may "call" or "bid" for it in order to complete a meld (a
certain set of tiles) in his or her own hand. The disadvantage of doing this is that the player must now
expose the completed meld to the other players, giving them an idea of what type of hand he or she is
creating and lowering the combinations possible with those tiles if they had instead been left concealed in
their hand.
There are three types of melds. The player must state the type of the meld and place the meld face-up. The
player must then discard a tile, and play continues to the right. Because of this, turns may be skipped in the
process. If a meld is formed from an opponent’s discard, turn the discarded tile so that each player can tell
who discarded that tile (for example, if you form a chow from a discard left by the opponent across from
you, turn the middle tile sideways).
Kong - A Kong is a set of four identical tiles. There are 3 types of Kongs.
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Big Melded Kong: If you want to use the most recently discarded tile in a Kong, you must already
have a concealed Pung in your hand that matches the discard.
o Declare “Kong” and take the discard. (Do not place the discard in your hand).
o Lay down the four tiles of the Kong face-up as a set in front of your hand.
o Draw a replacement tile.
o Discard a tile.
Small Melded Kong: If you draw a tile that matches a melded Pung you already have, you may
promote the Pung to a Kong. Note that you can NOT use a discarded tile for this purpose (you
cannot use more than 1 discarded tile for a meld). You DO NOT have to promote the Pung. If you
want to promote the Pung, you DO NOT need to do it on the same turn you drew the matching tile.
You can declare a small melded Kong on any of your turns, but ONLY immediately after drawing a
tile from the wall or replacement tile.
o Declare “Kong” and add the matching tile to your melded Pung.
o Draw a replacement tile.
o Discard a tile.
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Concealed Kong: If you draw a tile that matches a concealed Pung you have in your hand, you may
declare a concealed Kong. Note that you DO NOT have to use these tiles as a Kong. If you DO
want to use the tiles as a Kong, you DO NOT need to do it on the same turn you drew the matching
tile. You can declare a concealed Kong on any of your turns, but only immediately after you draw a
tile from the wall or a replacement tile. If another player should terminate the hand by going
MahJong before you have placed your Kong on the table, the Kong will only count as for a
concealed Pung. The reason for this is that if a player keeps a Kong in his hand he cannot go
MahJong, since he is not allowed to draw a Loose Tile until he places the Kong on the table.
o Declare “Kong”.
o Lay down the four tiles of the Kong in front of your hand. The middle two tiles are face-up
and the outer two tiles are face-down, signifying this is a concealed Kong.
o Draw a replacement tile.
o Discard a tile.
Replacement Tiles for a Kong: Draw the Loose Tile on top of the tiles farthest away from the breach, or, if
that Tile has already been drawn, draw the other Loose Tile on top, after which you discard a tile in the
usual way. If both the original Loose Tiles are drawn, the pair of pieces closest to the breach are placed on
the small wall exactly in the same manner as the original Loose Tiles and serve as additional Loose Tiles.
Robbing a Kong: Robbing a Kong occurs when you win off of an opponent's drawn tile that is used to
promote a melded Pung into a small melded Kong. For example, you have 2- and 4-bamboo and are
waiting on the 3 in order to win. Your opponent currently has a Pung of 3-bamboo melded. He
subsequently draws another 3-bamboo and declares a Kong. Unbeknownst to him this is the tile you need
and you declare mahjong. Your mahjong trumps his Kong as the 3-bamboo completes your hand.
Pong or Pung - A pong or Pung is a set of three identical tiles. An exposed Pung may not be converted to
a Kong by claiming a discarded tile (no more than 1 discarded tile per meld) but CAN be converted to a
Kong by using a self-drawn tile. However, see Robbing the Kong.
Chow - A chow is a meld of three suited tiles in sequence. Unlike other melds, an exposed Chow may only
be declared off the discard of the player just before you, in play order. The only exception is when any
player needs that tile to form a chow to win (go MahJong) in which case you may claim that tile to win.
Pair (“Eye”) -The pair, while not an exposed meld, is the final component to the standard hand. It consists
of any two identical tiles. You may complete the pair from a discard only if you are going MahJong.
Precedence - When two or more players call for a discarded tile, a player taking the tile to win the hand
has precedence over all others, followed by Kong declarations, then pongs and lastly chows. When the
next player's turn starts (i.e. the tile leaves the wall), the opportunity for taking the discard has been lost. If
two players are calling at the same time, and both want the same discarded piece to go MahJong, then the
player whose turn to play would come next has precedence, and takes the piece.
Draws - If only the loose tiles remain and no one has won, the round is drawn. The last live tile drawn is
discarded. If this last discarded tile does not result in a MahJong, the round is drawn. The deal passes to
the next player in order.
Turns and rounds - If the dealer wins the game, they will stay as the dealer. Otherwise, the next player
becomes dealer and that player's wind becomes the Game Wind. After the wind returns to East (each
player has been dealer), a round is complete and the Prevailing Wind will change. A full game of MahJong
ends after 4 rounds.
Winning
A player wins the round by creating a standard MahJong hand consisting of four melds and a pair. That
player may also claim a piece which has been drawn from the wall by another player and use to convert an
exposed Pung into an exposed Kong, and this is called "Robbing a Kong". He may not however, take a
piece drawn from the wall and used to complete a concealed Kong.
Limit Hands
A limit is fixed, of 500 points (if not using Flowers) or 1000 points (if using Flowers) as the maximum
score which a player (except East Wind) can receive on one hand from each player (East Wind can receive
up to double this amount).
In addition to the ordinary complete hands, a few other combinations of 14 pieces entitle the player to go
MahJong. See the scoring section for full details.
Standing Hands
If any player is "Calling" (1 tile short of a MahJong) after he has drawn and discarded for the first time
in that hand, he may declare a "Standing Hand". A player who has declared a Standing Hand must not
change any piece in his or her hand, but must go on discarding the piece he draws until he draws or takes in
the usual way the piece that he needs to win. This hand scores a bonus of 100 points.
Scoring
Each player begins the game with the same set score (in Classical Chinese rules, this is 2000 points, see
below). Each player scores their hand, but at most only one of those players gets the 10 point bonus for
going MahJong. The winner collects his total points from each of the three losers. The winner does not pay
anybody else. The losers then pay each other the difference in their points. East pays or receives double
amounts in any of his transactions. A loser can have a higher score than the winner who went MahJong.
Traditional Chip/Stick Allocation per player
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Two 500-point (5 red dots)
Nine 100-point (1 red dot)
Eight 10-point (1 or 2 black dots)
Ten 2-point (10 black dots) / Alternate: round all scores to nearest 10 points, use 10x 10pt instead of
8x 10pt and don’t use any 2pt
Playing with the Seasons and Flowers
Player
Tile
Season
Flower
East Wind
No. 1
Spring
Plum
South Wind
No. 2
Summer
Orchid
West Wind
No. 3
Autumn
Chrysanthemum
North Wind
No. 4
Winter
Bamboo
When playing with these pieces the wall is built 18 pieces long, making each side of the wall 36 pieces, and
the total 144 instead of 136. If a player has any of these pieces in the hand originally dealt him he lays them
out, face upwards, in front of them on the table. Starting with East Wind, and continuing in the usual
direction, each player then draws from the live wall (not from the loose tiles or dead wall) for each Season
or Flower; the same applies for Seasons or Flowers drawn at any time during the game.
Scoring Pungs
Tiles
Exposed
Concealed
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 of any suit
2
4
1 or 9 of any suit
4
8
Any Wind or Dragon
4
8
Scoring Kongs
Tiles
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 of any suit
Exposed
8
Concealed
16
1 or 9 of any suit
16
32
Any Wind or Dragon
16
32
Scoring the Pair (Winner’s Hand Only) - Each of the following Pairs in a winning hand score 2
points (pair scores can combine):
Pair of player’s own Wind
Winning tile completes a Pair*
Pair of the Wind of the Round
Winning tile completes a Pair of
Terminals or Honors*
Pair of Dragons
* = also scores another +2 points
for last chance tile, see next page
Scoring Flower and Season Tiles - Each Flower or Season tile scores 4 points.
Limit Hands (Winner’s Hand Only - 1000 points is the limit)
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THIRTEEN ORPHANS: consisting of a one and nine from each suit, one of each Dragon, one of each Wind, and a pair
to any of these 13 to make 14 tiles. Winning tile can be self-drawn, a discard, or a robbed Kong.
NINE GATES: consisting of a set of three ones, set of three nines, the complete sequence from 2 to 8, all in the same
suit, and any other Tile of the same suit to make the fourteenth piece. This hand must be entirely concealed (but does
NOT have to be a self-drawn win; therefore robbing a Kong is also OK).
HEAVEN’S GIFT: Dealer’s hand is already complete at the very start of the game.
EARTH’S GIFT: Players hand is completed by Dealer’s very first discard.
ALL HONORS: Complete hand entirely of Dragons and/or Winds.
ALL TERMINALS: Complete hand entirely of Ones and Nines.
ALL FOURS: Complete hand including four Kongs.
ALL GREEN: Complete hand composed entirely of Green Dragons and Bamboo 2s, 3s, 4s, 6s and 8s.
THREE GREAT HONORS: Complete hand has Pungs or Kongs of each Dragon. No chows are allowed in this hand.
FOUR GREAT BLESSINGS: Complete hand has Pungs or Kongs of each Wind.
BURIED TREASURE: Complete hand with 4 concealed Pungs or Kongs.
EAST’S THIRTEENTH CONSECUTIVE MAH-JONG: After winning this hand, East wind passes to the next player.
MOON FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA: Self-drawn win from last tile where that tile is a 1 dot.
GATHERING THE PLUM BLOSSOM FROM THE ROOF: 5-dot replacement tile win
SCRATCHING A CARRYING POLE: Win by robbing a Kong where the tile is a 2 bamboo
TWO-FOLD FORTUNE: Two Kongs on the same turn where the replacement tile for the 2nd Kong results in a win.
Replacement tiles for Flowers are allowed, however the winning tile must be the replacement tile for the 2 nd Kong and
Kongs made by promoting melded Pungs do not count.
Bonus Scores Applied to Winner's Hand Only
Tiles
Points
For going MahJong
20
Winning with a tile dealt from the Wall (“self-drawn”)
2
Winning with the only possible tile (“last chance tile”)
2
Winning with a Standing Hand
100
Win all concealed on a discard (otherwise see below = 1 double)
10
Doubles for All Players
Tiles
Doubles
Pung or Kong of player's own Wind, or Wind of the Round
1 Double
Pung or Kong of any Dragon
1 Double
Player's own Flower or Season
1 Double
All Four Flowers or All Four Seasons
1 Double
At least 3 Concealed Pungs and/or Kongs
1 Double
Two Sets of Dragons and a Pair of the 3rd Dragon
1 Double
Three Sets of Dragons
2 Doubles
Three Sets of Winds and a Pair of the 4th Wind
1 Double
Four Sets of Winds
2 Doubles
Doubles for Winners Only
Winning with the last tile dealt from Wall
1 Double
Winning with the very last discard (do NOT score this if the
last discard gives you a Kong and you then win on a
supplement tile) (DO score this if Robbing a Kong)
1 Double
Winning with a replacement tile
1 Double
Robbing a Kong (considered a discard) to go MahJong
1 Double
No scoring value in winning hand (4 Chows and a worthless
pair). All other points (bonuses, eyes, doubles, etc) are OK.
1 Double
Winning with 4 Pungs and/or Kongs
1 Double
Win all concealed with self-drawn tile (otherwise, 10 pts)
1 Double
Win with one suit without Winds and Dragons (“Pure”)
3 Doubles
Win with one suit with Winds and/or Dragons (“Semi-Pure”)
1 Double
Win with 2s-8s without Winds/Dragons/Terminals
1 Double
Win with nothing but Terminals and/or Honors (can combine
with all Pungs hand)
1 Double