Mainland Mahjong Gameplay

Mainland Mahjong	Overview	Gameplay	Scoring

Note: This page applies to Mahjong variants that were played in Mainland China from around prior to the early-90s. Since then, most regional variants have further deviated from one-another.

In addition to basic Mahjong gameplay, the Mainland variants have a few quirks of their own.

Basic English terminology is used on this page, but know that it varies depending on what regional language is spoken (Mandarin, Cantonese, Fuzhou).

Drawing, Discarding, and Calling

East is always the first player to draw. After a player draws a tile…

1. If the tile completes a valid winning hand they say “Mahjong!” or "Hu!" and show it to everyone.
2. If they do not have a valid winning hand, they discard tile face up, and announce the name of the tile.
3. If none of the other players Call the discard, it is the player to their right’s turn.

This process repeats until someone gets a winning hand or until there are no more tiles in the Live Wall.

Players can Call an opponent’s discard to complete a meld or their hand, but there are restrictions…

• A discard can only be Called immediately after it was discarded. Previous discards cannot be Called later.
• To complete a Meld, a player must have 2 out of the 3 tiles that would make up the Meld in their hand.

There are 6 different Calls. They each have different rules…

• Players say "Mahjong" if the tile completes a valid winning hand. They can take this discard from any opponent.
• Players say "Kong" to complete a Kong. They can take this discard from any opponent.
• Players say "Pung" to complete a Pung. They can take this discard from any opponent.
• Players say "Chow" to complete a Chow. They may only take this discard from the opponent to their right.
• Players say "Flower" or "Hua" to declare a Flower or Season. These must be self-drawn.
• Players say "Xi" to declare a Joy (see below).

Calls for "Mahjong" are prioritized over those for "Kong" & "Pung" which are prioritized over those for "Chow".

After calling "Pung" or "Chow"…

1. The player places the Called tile and the self-drawn tiles face up to their right.
2. The player then discards a tile. If no one Calls it, it is the player to their right’s turn.

Called Melds are Exposed. The tiles can no longer be rearranged into other patterns.

Kongs are made up of a Pung and an additional identical tile. At least one of those aspects must be self-drawn. Like called Pungs and Chows, Kongs are displayed to the player’s right. There are 3 types of Kong…

• Self-Drawn Kong = Self-Drawn Pung + Self-Drawn Tile. This is considered a Concealed Meld.
• Called Kong = Self-Drawn Pung + Called Tile. This is considered an Exposed Meld.
• Added Kong = Called Pung + Self-Drawn Tile. This is considered an Exposed Meld.

After a Kong is declared or Called, the player draws a replacement tile from the end of the Dead Wall, and discard a tile.
Some players then add a tile from the end of the Live Wall to the end of the Dead Wall. Others do not.

After a player says "Mahjong" and its confirmed they have a valid winning hand, their Fan are totaled, converted into points, and they receive a payout.

Joys (Xi)

After each player has drawn their initial thirteen tiles, they may immediately declare a Joy. Declared Joys are displayed like other called sets.
If a player does not possess a Joy at that moment, they may wait until they draw their fourteenth tile. If that tile completes a Joy, they may then reveal it (known as "Lu Yu" or "Encounter on the Road").
Any subsequent Joys formed during the Hand may not be declared. But, some groups say "Four Winds" (NEWS) may be declared at any time. If this is the case, Treasure Tiles cannot be used to declare a Four Winds Joy via an "Encounter on the Road" or if drawn later in the Hand.

See scoring for a list of Joys.

Treasure Tiles

At the start of a Hand, each player draws thirteen tiles; the Dealer draws fourteen tiles. Then the dealer draws a 15th tile, flips it face up, and displays it on top of the wall. This is the Treasure Tile. The Treasure Tile serves as a wild card that can substitute for any other tile. It can be used in a player's hand or in a Joy. However, there are two exceptions…

1. Chicken Hands cannot contain a Treasure Tile. The sole exception is if the very last tile drawn to complete a Chicken Hand happens to be the Treasure Tile (Called "Chicken Hand with Treasure").
2. A Treasure Tile cannot be used in a Four Winds Joy that was "Encountered on the Road" or drawn later in the Hand.

Basic Treasure Tile rules denote that if, for example, a 3-Dot was flipped over, the 3-Dot is the designated Treasure Tile. However, there are other variations…

• Upward-Rolling Treasure: The flipped tile itself and the next tile in sequence (in numerical or hierarchical order) are designated as Treasure Tiles. For example, if a 3-Dot is flipped over, both the 3-Dot and 4-Dot are designated as Treasure Tiles.
• Downward-Rolling Treasure: The flipped tile itself and the previous tile in sequence (in numerical or hierarchical order) are designated as Treasure Tiles. For example, if a 3-Dot is flipped over, both the 3-Dot and 2-Dot are designated as Treasure Tiles.
• Up-and-Down Rolling Treasure: The flipped tile itself, the next tile in sequence, and the previous tile in sequence are designated as Treasure Tiles. For example, if a 3-Dot is flipped over, the 3-Dot, 4-Dot, and 2-Dot are all designated as Treasure Tiles.
• No Treasure: No Treasure Tiles are used.

Hierarchical order for dragons goes Green > Red > White > Green and for winds goes East > South > West > North > East.
Numerical order wraps, so if using "Upward-Rolling Treasure", and the flipped tile was a 9-Bam, both the 9-Bam and 1-Bam are designated as Treasure Tiles.

Next: Mainland Mahjong Scoring
Back: Mainland Mahjong Overview