Mahjong Guide

made by @luckytiles.social ✨

What is Mahjong?

Mahjong is a tile-based game for 4 players. Each player draws and discards tiles to build a complete winning hand of 14 tiles — made up of sets and a pair. The first to complete their hand calls Hu! and wins the round.

The Tiles (144 total)

🀙🀚🀛

Circles

1–9 × 4 copies
36 tiles

🀐🀑🀒

Bamboo

1–9 × 4 copies
36 tiles

🀇🀈🀉

Characters

1–9 × 4 copies
36 tiles

🀀🀁🀂🀃

Winds

East, South, West, North × 4
16 tiles

🀄🀅🀆

Dragons

Red, Green, White × 4
12 tiles

🀢🀣🀤🀥

Flowers & Seasons

Bonus tiles — kept aside when drawn
8 tiles

Building Sets

A winning hand = 4 sets + 1 pair (14 tiles).

🀙🀙🀙

Pong 碰

3 identical tiles. Call "Pong!" to steal any discard.

🀙🀚🀛

Chow 吃

3 consecutive same-suit tiles. Can only claim from the player to your left.

🀙🀙🀙🀙

Kong 杠

4 identical tiles. Draw a bonus tile after declaring Kong.

🀙🀙

Pair 眼

2 identical tiles. Every winning hand needs exactly one pair.

How a Turn Works

1

Draw

Take the next tile from the wall (the stack of face-down tiles).

2

Win or Discard

If you have a winning hand, declare Hu! Otherwise discard one tile face-up in the centre.

3

Others May Claim the Discard

Before the next player draws, opponents can call Pong, Kong, or Chow — or win on it. The highest-priority claim wins.

Key Calls

Hu! 胡 I win!
Pong 碰 I'll take that — 3 of a kind
Kong 杠 I'll take that — 4 of a kind
Chow 吃 I'll take that — sequence
Zimo 自摸 Self-draw win — all players pay

Scoring (Hong Kong Style)

Hands are worth a number of faan (番). The faan total determines the payout — usually doubled for each faan above the minimum.

Hand / Bonus Faan
Zimo — self-draw win1
Pong of your own wind or dragon1
Pong of the round wind1
All Pongs — no Chows3
Mixed One Suit — one suit + honours3
Pure One Suit — one suit only7
All Honours — only winds & dragons10
Thirteen Orphans 十三幺13
Nine Gates 九子連環13
Flower/Season matching your seat1 each

Beginner Tips

Watch the discards. The discard pile tells you what tiles are safe to throw — if three of a tile are out, the fourth is safe to discard.
Build flexible hands early. Favour partial sequences and pairs in the first few turns; specialise once your hand takes shape.
Don't be greedy. Winning a small hand quickly beats chasing a big hand that never comes.
Defend when the wall runs low. With fewer tiles left, prioritise not dealing into an opponent's win over finishing your own hand.
Flowers are free points. Any flower or season tile matching your seat wind is instant extra faan — keep track of them.

Ready to Play?

Join a Lucky Tiles social mahjong session near you — all levels welcome, no money involved.

Visit Lucky Tiles Social Club — Australia & New Zealand's social mahjong community