Chinese Mahjong: Official Rules Explained

Mahjong is a classic game with over 2,500 years of history. It evolved from silk cards to the modern hard tiles made with different materials. The game combines strategy, precision, and skill — but luck also plays a big role in the development of each match.

First Steps in Chinese Mahjong

Mahjong matches require four players. There are 144 tiles, and you also need two dice to play. At the start of each game, the tiles are shuffled and stacked upside down, building four walls. The walls are two rows of 18 tiles stacked in front of each player.

The players then roll the dice, and the one who gets the highest result is the dealer, also called East. The other players are assigned clockwise as South, West, and North. Each player takes 13 tiles from the walls, and the dealer takes an extra tile.

For each turn, players must take one tile and discard another. The game starts with the dealer and moves counterclockwise.

Basic Rules of Chinese Mahjong

Players need to make four sets and a pair to say “Mahjong” and win. To do that, you need to know the different tiles and the combinations that form the accepted sets.

Tile Types and Their Meanings

The 144 tiles of Mahjong are divided into two categories: suits and honor tiles. Suits, in turn, are divided into three subcategories: characters, bamboos, and circles. Circles represent wealth. Bamboos symbolize flexibility. Characters represent prosperity. They depict numbers from 1 to 9, along with a character meaning 10,000.

Honor tiles are divided into wind and dragon tiles. Wind tiles represent the four directions of the wind. The dragon tiles represent red, green, and white dragons.

Turn-by-Turn Gameplay Basics

For each turn, a player must take a tile and discard another. Rounds are followed counterclockwise. On each turn, a player can choose between drawing a tile from the wall, which is upside down, or taking the tile that the previous player discarded.

Winning the Game

The winning hand consists of four sets and one pair. A pair is, evidently, two identical tiles. Sets can be varying formations of consecutive values from the same category. In short, once you know the different tiles, you can start forming sets and pairs. For that, you can either use the tiles discarded by other players or new tiles taken from the wall.

Chinese Mahjong: Special Moves

Let’s take a look at the possible sets. There are different variations allowed that are necessary to understand and recognize. Knowing this, it’s easier to identify what’s in your hand and move faster towards victory.

Pung

Pung is a set of three identical tiles. You can form a pung by drawing tiles from the deck or by claiming a tile discarded by the previous player. A pung can be concealed when it’s formed by tiles drawn from the wall. But if you take a tile that was discarded, it’s placed on the side, visible to the rest of the players. In that case, the pung is visible.

Chow

Chow is a sequence of three consecutive numbers in a suit. Chow can also be formed from tiles drawn from the wall or tiles discarded. Forming chows can be difficult, but it’s good to keep an eye out for any tile that can help you complete this formation.

Kong

Kong is similar to a pung, but it requires a set of four identical tiles. In the same way, it can be formed from tiles drawn from the wall or discarded by other players. Pairs can evolve to pung and kong.

Beginner-Friendly Mahjong Strategies

Mahjong involves making strategies to complete your sets, but also taking a look at what the other players are doing.

Common advice for beginners is to focus on one or two suits to form chows. Also, keeping a couple of pairs is important because they can turn into pungs or kongs.

Keeping an eye on the discarded tiles that other players take can also give some insights about their formation. Knowing this, you can avoid discarding tiles that could help them win. In the end, the more you play, the better you’ll get at identifying worthy moves and refining your strategy.

Ready to Try Your First Game?

Mahjong can feel overwhelming or too complicated at first. But the best way to understand the game dynamics is to play.

Now that you can identify the tiles and the different sets, and you know the basics of the game, it’s time to start playing. In no time, you’ll be able to recognize good moves and stay ahead of the competition.