Start with these ideas
- Start with the turn order, then check the hand’s shape and faan separately.
- After a Chow or Pung, discard without drawing; after a Kong, replace first.
- The worked scoring example uses our browser house rules: 0 faan in training, 3 at standard tables.
1. Recognise the tiles
Hong Kong mahjong is a four-player game. Characters, Dots and Bamboo each run from 1 to 9. The four winds and three dragons are honours. These 34 ordinary types have four copies each: 136 tiles. A set with eight flowers has 144 physical tiles; flowers are exposed and replaced, not used in sets or the pair.
Read groups as well as names: 1–2–3 Characters is a Chow, three Red Dragons are a Pung, and two matching tiles form a pair. East–South–West cannot form a Chow, and 1 Character cannot pair with 1 Dot. Try the tile and pair lessons if those distinctions are new.
1 Bamboo is often drawn as a bird; White Dragon may be blank or framed. Names help when designs vary. Flowers are separate from these 34 ordinary types.
2. Take your seat and start the hand
The dealer is East. In turn order the other seats are South, West and North; these are seat winds, not compass directions. Your next player is on your right, and your previous player is on your left. The round wind is shared by everyone and may differ from your seat wind.
In the browser game the deal is automatic: the dealer starts with 14 ordinary tiles and the other players with 13, after flowers have been exposed and replaced. The dealer discards first without another draw. After an unclaimed discard, the next player draws and discards.
Opening: dealer 14 → discard → 13. Ordinary turn: 13 → draw → 14 → discard → 13.
3. Build four melds and a pair
An ordinary winning hand has four sets (melds) and one pair (eyes). A Chow is three consecutive tiles in one suit; a Pung is three identical tiles. A declared Kong has four identical tiles but occupies just one set. Each Kong adds one physical tile, so a complete hand with one Kong contains 15 ordinary tiles, not an extra fifth set.
The diagram has four Chows and a pair of 5 Bamboo: 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 14. Each physical tile belongs to only one group. Special hands such as Thirteen Orphans use another structure; seven pairs is not a winning structure in our browser game. A complete shape still needs the table’s minimum faan.
4. Draw one, discard one
On a normal turn, draw one tile and discard one face up. With no claims or Kongs, drawing increases your concealed hand from 13 to 14 tiles; exposed sets still count toward the structure after a claim. Play continues to the next seat unless somebody claims or wins on that discard.
A claim changes the rhythm: after a Chow or Pung you already have the extra tile, so expose the meld and discard immediately. After a Kong, take its replacement tile first.
5. Follow a claim from discard to your next action
You hold 1 and 2 Characters and your previous player discards 3 Characters. Provided nobody has a higher-priority claim, you may chow: expose 1-2-3, then discard from the 11 concealed tiles left. Ten concealed tiles plus the exposed chow make 13. Do not draw again after a chow or pung.
The same 3 Characters from the opposite player cannot be chowed. A pung or exposed kong may use any opponent’s discard when you hold enough matching tiles. A win takes priority over pung/kong, which take priority over chow.
For an exposed kong, three matching concealed tiles join the claimed tile. Ten concealed tiles remain; draw a replacement to reach eleven, then discard back to ten. The four-tile kong counts as one meld, so the extra physical tile does not mean you have an extra meld.
6. Check faan before declaring a win
For this example, all four Chows are concealed, the pair is 5 Bamboo, seat and round winds are East, and no flowers or other bonuses apply. Our browser rules award All Chows (1) and Concealed Hand (1). Winning on a discard gives 2 faan, below the standard 3-faan minimum. Self-draw adds 1, making a legal 3-faan win.
That self-draw receives 8 points from each opponent, 24 in total, under our house payment formula. A different legal 3-faan discard win charges the discarder 24. Do not apply that payment to this example’s 2-faan discard hand: it fails the standard minimum.
These are browser practice values. HKMA’s reference and other tables can differ on All Chows, concealment, flowers, limits and payments. At a real table, agree the rules first; the scoring guide explains the differences.
With East as both seat and round wind, the 5 Bamboo pair is not a value pair.
Sources
A few things to know
Do I hold 13 or 14 tiles?
With no Kongs or flowers counted, an ordinary hand has 13 between turns and 14 after drawing. The dealer starts with 14 and discards first. Exposed sets remain part of the total; each Kong adds one physical tile.
Can I Chow a discard from any player?
No. Chow only the previous player’s discard. Pung and exposed Kong may take any opponent’s discard with enough matching tiles. A win has priority. After Chow or Pung, discard without drawing.
Why can a complete hand still fail to win?
Shape and faan are separate checks. In our standard mode the minimum is 3 faan; a concealed All Chows hand without other bonuses has 2 on a discard. Guided practice lowers the minimum to 0 without adding faan.
Where should a complete beginner start?
Start with the 12 interactive lessons, then play one guided hand. Once you can draw, discard and respond to claims, try a standard 3-faan hand and read the beginner strategy guide.