Hong Kong Mahjong Rules — Tiles, Turns & Winning Hands

Tiles and the aim of the game

Hong Kong mahjong is a four-player draw-and-discard game. The 136 regular tiles consist of Characters, Dots and Bamboo numbered 1–9, plus the four winds and three dragons. Each type has four copies. A flower game adds eight flower tiles for a total of 144.

Build four sets and a pair, or a recognised special hand such as Thirteen Orphans. A completed shape is only the first check: it must also qualify under the table’s scoring rules. This guide uses the Hong Kong Mahjong Association (HKMA) rules as an identified reference and labels the differences in our browser game.

Read a winning hand: four sets and a pair

A Chow is three consecutive numbers in the same suit, such as 1-2-3 Characters. A Pung is three identical tiles, such as three Red Dragons. A pair is two identical tiles. Winds and dragons cannot form Chows: East-South-West is not a set.

The example below has 1-2-3 and 4-5-6 Characters, 1-2-3 Dots, 1-2-3 Bamboo and a pair of 5 Bamboo. That is four sets plus one pair. A Kong has four matching tiles but occupies only one of the four set positions, so a hand with Kongs contains extra physical tiles. Special hands use separate structures.

Why 13 tiles become 14

A hand starts with 13 structural tiles, except that the dealer has the extra tile needed to make the opening discard. On a normal turn, drawing takes you to 14 and discarding returns you to 13.

Count exposed sets as part of your hand. A Kong occupies one set but contains four physical tiles; revealed flowers are set aside. These explain why the number of tiles in front of you can exceed the simple 13/14 count.

Seat wind, round wind and the dealer

Seat wind is your position in the current hand: East, South, West or North. East is the dealer. Round wind applies to all four players for the round; it is separate from your seat wind.

In both the HKMA reference and our game, a Pung or Kong of your seat wind is worth 1 faan, as is one of the round wind. When both winds match, that group scores 2. Dealer rotation and repeat-dealer arrangements should be checked before a full match.

Draw, discard, Chow, Pung and Kong

On a normal turn, draw one tile and discard one. Only the player immediately after the discarder may claim a Chow: two tiles from their own hand combine with the discard to make three consecutive numbers in one suit. Any other player may claim a Pung with two matching tiles, or an exposed Kong with three.

A winning claim takes priority over a Pung or Kong, which takes priority over a Chow. After a Chow or Pung, discard without another normal draw. After a legal Kong, take a replacement tile before continuing. The handling of multiple winning claims and missed claims depends on the agreed rules.

Replacement tiles, flowers and robbing a Kong

A concealed Kong uses four matching tiles from your hand. An added Kong extends an exposed Pung with the fourth tile; another player may be able to win on that tile. The HKMA reference also allows Thirteen Orphans to rob a concealed Kong; our browser game only permits robbing an added Kong.

A completed Kong takes a replacement tile. In a flower game, reveal each flower and replace it; flowers do not form sets or the pair. Flower bonuses and the definition of Concealed Hand vary. In the HKMA no-flower rules, any Kong disqualifies Concealed Hand; our game allows concealed Kongs.

Faan, the winning minimum and table differences

Faan (also written fan) measures the scoring patterns and winning circumstances in a hand. Identify the qualifying patterns, apply that ruleset’s combination rules, check the minimum and then apply its cap. Convert the final faan into each player’s payment only after those steps.

HKMA reference: a 3-faan minimum, with limit hands such as Thirteen Orphans listed at 10 faan. All Chows permits a value-tile pair. Its published half-laak table gives a normal 3-faan discard win 32 points from the discarder, or 16 from each opponent for a self-draw.

Our browser game: practice has no minimum; standard and full matches require 3 faan. Ordinary totals stop at 8, and limit hands settle at 8 without ordinary additions. All Chows excludes dragon, seat-wind and round-wind pairs. At 3 final faan, a discard win pays 24 points; self-draw pays 8 from each opponent. These are game points.

Reference and game scores use different rules. Special liability and robbing-a-Kong payments require their own checks.

Worked example: a complete hand below the minimum

Use the four-Chow example above in our browser game, with no exposed sets or flowers, and East as both seat and round wind. The pair is 5 Bamboo. All Chows (1) plus Concealed Hand (1) gives 2 faan on a discard win, below the standard 3-faan minimum. Self-draw adds 1, so the same shape reaches 3.

This example uses our house rules. It demonstrates why you must check the shape and the faan separately; it does not make the game’s flower, concealed-hand or cap rules universal. The calculator link on the scoring page lets you try this example under the same house rules.

Learn the next step, then practise

Before you play, check that you can recognise the suits and honours, build sets and a pair, follow draw-and-discard turns, and tell a completed shape from a legal win. Agree on flowers, the faan minimum, the cap and payment rules with the other players.

Use the illustrated walkthrough to follow one hand from start to finish, or try the interactive lessons one idea at a time. Our guided practice uses three computer opponents and a zero-faan minimum so you can learn the turn flow first.

Sources

• Hong Kong Mahjong Association — rules directory ↗
• HKMA Hong Kong Mahjong Rules — reference checked 15 October 2026 ↗

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