How to play mahjong

The goal: 4 sets and 1 pair

A finished hand has 14 tiles: four sets of three, plus one matching pair.

There are two kinds of set. A Chow is three in a row from one suit, like 6-7-8 dots. A Pung is three of the same tile. Any mix of the two is fine. When your hand is complete, you call Mahjong! and win the hand.

Your turn: draw one, throw one

You start with 13 tiles. Play goes around the table, and every turn is the same three steps:

1. Draw a tile from the wall, the pile of face-down tiles.
2. Keep it if it helps a set.
3. Throw away one tile you don’t need, face up, so you are back to 13.

Keep tiles that sit next to each other or match, and throw away the lonely ones. A single wind tile with no partner is a classic first discard.

Grabbing a discard

You don’t have to wait for the wall. When another player throws away a tile you need, you can grab it before the next turn starts:

• Pung: from anyone, if you hold the two matching tiles.
• Chow: only from the player on your left, the one who goes just before you.
• Mahjong! from anyone, any time the tile finishes your hand.

The set you make goes face up beside your hand, and then you throw a tile away. More about Pung, Chow and Kong.

Winning the hand

You win the moment a tile completes your 4 sets and 1 pair. It can be a tile you draw yourself or one somebody else throws away. Winning on your own draw is worth a little more.

If the wall runs out before anyone finishes, the hand has no winner and nobody scores.

Hands and games

A game in Mala Mahjong is one East round: four deals, one for each player as dealer. The dealer deals again after winning, or after a hand with no winner. Only the winner of a hand scores, and the most points at the end wins the game. See how scoring works.