Don’t let a ‘False Win’ ruin your Chinese New Year! Mahjong is a staple of HK gatherings, but complex scoring can be tricky. This guide covers everything from seating to a full scoring table, perfect for beginners and veterans alike.
1. Knowing the Tiles & Seating
A standard set of Hong Kong Mahjong has 144 tiles, divided into five categories:
- Dots: 1 to 9 Dots, 4 of each (36 total).
- Bamboos: 1 to 9 Bamboos, 4 of each (36 total).
- Characters: 1 to 9 Characters, 4 of each (36 total).
- Honors: Winds (East, South, West, North) and Dragons (Red, Green, White), 4 of each (28 total).
- Flowers : Seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) and Plants (Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo), 1 of each (8 total).
Seating & Wind Allocation
Hong Kong Mahjong consists of four rounds: East, South, West, and North. Each player is the Dealer (Zhuang) at least once per round. If the Dealer wins, they stay as Dealer (Ren Zhuang); otherwise, the position passes counter-clockwise.
Determining Seats:
- Pick out the East, South, West, and North tiles.
- Shuffle face down and have the four players draw.
- The player who draws East picks their seat first. The others sit to their right in the order of South, West, and North (counter-clockwise).
2. Gameplay Flow: From Shuffling to Winning
Step 1: Shuffle & Build Walls
After “washing” (shuffling) the tiles, each player builds a wall of 18 stacks (two tiles high), pushing them to the center to form a square.
Step 2: Roll Dice & Deal
The Dealer (East) rolls the dice to determine which wall to break.
- Drawing Order: Players take turns taking 4 tiles at a time until everyone has 12.
- The Jump: The Dealer takes 2 extra tiles (14 total), and other players take 1 extra (13 total).
Step 3: Replenishing Flowers (Crucial for Beginners)
If you draw a Flower Tile, you must reveal it immediately, place it aside, and draw a replacement tile from the back (tail) of the wall.
- Order: The Dealer replaces first. If the replacement tile is also a Flower, wait until other players have finished their replacements before drawing again.
Step 4: The Game
The Dealer discards the first tile. Players then take turns drawing and discarding in a counter-clockwise direction until someone wins (“Hu”) or the wall runs out (“Draw/Liu Ju”).
3. Winning Conditions & Terminology
To win (“Hu”), your 14 tiles (including the one you draw or steal) must form a specific structure, usually “4 Sets + 1 Pair of Eyes.”
- Chow (Sheung): A sequence of three tiles of the same suit (e.g., 1-2-3 Bamboo). Note: Can only be claimed from the player to your left.
- Pung (Pong): Three identical tiles (e.g., three White Dragons). Note: Can be claimed from any player.
- Kong (Gong): Four identical tiles (can be Exposed or Concealed).
- Eyes: A pair of identical tiles.
4. Hong Kong Mahjong Scoring Table (0 – 13 Fan)
The standard HK style usually requires a minimum of 3 Fan to win. Winning with less is considered a “False Hu.”
0 Fan (Chicken Hand)
- Chicken Hand: Mixed suits with sequences and triplets, but no scoring combinations.
- Warning: If playing with a 3-Fan minimum, this is a False Win.
1 Fan
| Hand Type | Description |
| Own Flower | Flower number matches your seat (e.g., East Seat gets Flower #1 / Spring / Plum). |
| No Flowers | The hand contains absolutely no Flower tiles. |
| Own/Round Wind | A triplet of the Round Wind (e.g., East in East Round) or your Seat Wind. |
| Self-Pick | Winning by drawing the tile yourself (Self-Touch). |
| Concealed Hand | No Chows, Pungs, or Exposed Kongs. Winning by drawing off the wall. |
| All Chows (Ping Wu) | All sets are sequences (Chow). No Triplets. Eyes cannot be Honor tiles. |
| Robbing the Kong | Winning off a tile that another player tries to add to an exposed Pong. |
| Last Tile Win | Winning by self-drawing the very last tile in the wall. |
| Flower on Kong | Self-drawing a winning tile immediately after declaring a Kong. |
2 Fan
| Hand Type | Description |
| Flower Bouquet | Collecting a full set of Flowers (Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter OR Plum/Orchid/Chrys/Bamboo). |
| Ping Wu & Wind | An “All Chows” hand that also contains a Seat Wind or Round Wind (in the eyes or sequence). |
3 Fan (The Usual Minimum)
| Hand Type | Description |
| All Pungs (Toi Toi) | All sets are Triplets (Pungs). No sequences. |
| Mixed One Suit | Composed of only one suit (e.g., Bamboos) plus Honor tiles (Winds/Dragons). |
| Flower Hu | Collecting 7 Flower tiles. You can win immediately (Counted as 3 Fan Self-Pick). |
5 to 6 Fan
| Hand Type | Description |
| Small 3 Dragons (5 Fan) | Two triplets of Dragons + a pair of the third Dragon as eyes. |
| Small 4 Winds (6 Fan) | Three triplets of Winds + a pair of the fourth Wind as eyes. |
7 to 8 Fan
| Hand Type | Description |
| Pure One Suit (7 Fan) | Composed of only one suit (No Winds or Dragons). |
| Big 3 Dragons (8 Fan) | Triplets of all three Dragons (Red, Green, White). |
| All Concealed Pungs (8 Fan) | “Toi Toi Hu” where all triplets are drawn yourself (Concealed). No open Pungs. |
| Big Flower Hu (8 Fan) | Collecting all 8 Flower tiles. |
| Kong on Kong (8 Fan) | Declaring two Kongs in a row and winning on the replacement tile. |
10+ Fan (Limit Hands / Baau Pang)
| Hand Type | Description |
| All Honors (10 Fan) | Hand composed entirely of Winds and Dragons. |
| All Terminals (10 Fan) | Hand composed entirely of 1s, 9s, and Honors. |
| Nine Gates (10 Fan) | Holding 111-2345678-999 in one suit + any one matching tile. |
| Big 4 Winds (13 Fan) | Triplets of all four Winds (East, South, West, North). |
| 13 Orphans (13 Fan) | One of each: 1 & 9 of all suits + E, S, W, N + R, G, W Dragons + 1 matching eye. |
| 18 Arhats (13 Fan) | Four Kongs (18 tiles total) + a pair of eyes. |
Expert Tip: The “Pay-All” Rule (Bao)
In HK Mahjong, you must be careful not to “feed” high-scoring hands, or you will have to pay for the other two losers.
- 12-Tile Penalty: If you discard a tile that lets someone win a Limit Hand (like Big 4 Winds), you pay for everyone.
- Suit Penalty: If a player has exposed 9 tiles of one suit (showing they are going for Pure One Suit), and you discard a tile of that suit which allows them to win, you must pay for everyone.
- Dragon Penalty: If a player has exposed two sets of Dragons (Red/Green/White), and you discard the third Dragon allowing them to Pong/Win, you pay for everyone.