Learn Hong Kong mahjong from scratch in 12 interactive lessons. Practise tiles, Chows, Pungs, turns and waits, then compare 0-faan and 3-faan winning minimums.
Start with the tiles and finish by checking a legal win. Each lesson has free practice and two exercises. Scoring follows our browser house rules: 0 faan in training, 3 at standard tables.
Progress stays in this browser. No account needed; you can revisit any lesson.
LESSON 01 / 12
Tell suits and honours apart.
Characters, Dots and Bamboo each run from 1 to 9. East, South, West, North and the Red, Green and White dragons are honours. Each ordinary tile has four copies. Flowers are separate bonus tiles, covered later.
The bird tile is 1 Bamboo, not a flower. Ordinary tiles have four copies of each type; the eight flowers are separate bonus tiles.
LESSON 02 / 12
Pick two identical tiles.
A pair is two identical tiles: both suit and number must match. Two identical honours also form a pair. The pair in a standard winning hand is called the eyes.
Matching numbers are not enough: 5 Characters and 5 Dots are different tiles. A pair may be used as the eyes or developed into a Pung, but the same two tiles cannot do both at once.
LESSON 03 / 12
Pick three identical tiles.
A pung is three identical tiles. Suited tiles and honours can both form pungs. It counts as one set in a standard winning hand.
Three consecutive numbers make a Chow, not a Pung. Building a Pung in your hand is different from calling Pung on an opponent’s discard; the calling lesson covers that action.
LESSON 04 / 12
Pick three consecutive tiles of one suit.
A chow is three consecutive numbers in the same suit, such as 2–3–4 Dots. Honours cannot make chows. 8–9–1 does not wrap around.
Use one suit and three consecutive ranks. 2 Characters, 3 Dots and 4 Bamboo do not form a Chow. Winds cannot form one even if their names appear in turn order.
LESSON 05 / 12
Complete a basic winning shape.
The basic winning shape has four sets and a pair. Here all sets have three tiles, so the total is 14. Special hands are covered in the rules. Completing the shape is only the first check; faan matters too.
Do not use one tile in two groups. 3–4–5–6 can supply either 3–4–5 or 4–5–6, not both. A declared Kong counts as one set but adds one physical tile to the total.
LESSON 06 / 12
Know when to draw and when to discard from the tile count.
On an ordinary turn with no exposed sets, draw to go from 13 tiles to 14, then discard one to return to 13. This exercise checks the order and count, not the strategic quality of your discard. Claims and replacements have different steps.
The dealer’s opening discard is an exception: the dealer already has 14 usable tiles and must not draw again first. This exercise starts on an ordinary 13-tile turn.
LESSON 07 / 12
Check when you can Chow, then discard without drawing.
You may chow only the previous player’s discard, using two tiles from your hand to form a chow. The examples assume nobody wins or claims a pung or kong. After a chow, expose the set and discard without drawing.
Chow is limited to the previous player’s discard. Even then, a win or Pung/Kong has priority. A legal Chow can also remove your Concealed Hand bonus under our rules.
LESSON 08 / 12
Use two matching tiles to Pung, then discard without drawing.
With two matching tiles, you may pung a matching discard from any opponent. These examples assume nobody claims a win. After a pung, expose the set and discard without drawing.
Any opponent can supply the discard, but a win takes priority. After exposing the Pung, discard without drawing. Do not spend your only pair without checking where the eyes will come from.
LESSON 09 / 12
Make an exposed Kong, replace one tile, then discard.
Three identical held tiles plus an opponent’s matching discard can form an exposed kong. A kong has four tiles but counts as one set. Take a replacement from the end of the wall before discarding. We assume a replacement is available and nobody wins; concealed and added kongs are covered in the rules.
A fourth matching tile does not grant an extra set. Declare the Kong and take its replacement before the next discard; holding four identical tiles is not the same as having declared a Kong.
LESSON 10 / 12
Replace flowers and keep them out of the usable hand count.
In our Hong Kong house rules, flowers are set aside and replaced from the end of the wall. They do not fill a set or pair. Another flower means another replacement, not another usable tile. Practise once, then replace repeated flowers and check the usable hand count.
An exposed flower is outside the usable hand. If its replacement is another flower, expose and replace again until an ordinary tile arrives or the wall cannot supply a legal replacement.
LESSON 11 / 12
Try tiles and see which complete the shape.
A 13-tile hand is waiting for its shape when adding one tile can complete it. More than one tile may work. Here we check the shape only; the final lesson adds the winning minimum.
A tile can complete the shape while failing the faan minimum. Check its remaining copies too: four already accounted for means no fifth copy can be drawn.
LESSON 12 / 12
Separate adding faan from lowering the winning minimum.
Our standard table requires 3 faan; guided practice requires 0. This concealed all-chow hand has All Chows (1) and Concealed Hand (1). Self-draw adds 1. Change the win method and table to see the result. Other Hong Kong tables may use different house rules.
Lowering the minimum does not add faan. With no extra bonuses, this hand stays at 2 faan on a discard whether the table minimum is 0 or 3; only its eligibility changes.
You have completed all twelve lessons. Put them together in guided practice, with a 0-faan minimum and optional hints.
Guided practice →