How to play › Scoring: fan and points
Scoring: fan and points
Mahjong scores are counted in fan. The better the win, the more fan it earns, and fan turn into points. Mala Mahjong keeps the counting short so you can follow it from your first game.
The basics
- Everyone starts at 0.
- Only the winner of a hand scores.
- Every win starts at 1 fan, called a chicken hand.
- Each fan is worth 1 point.
- A hand with no winner scores nothing.
What earns a fan
On top of the 1 fan every win gets, three things each add one more:
- +1 fanWon on your own draw. You drew the winning tile from the wall yourself.
- +1 fanConcealed hand. You claimed nothing along the way.
- +1 fanNo flowers. There are none beside you.
Add them up. Win on your own draw with a concealed hand and no flowers, and that is 1 + 3 = 4 fan, or 4 points.
A chicken hand still counts
There is no minimum to win. A win with none of the three is a chicken hand: 1 fan, so every win scores at least 1 point.
Who wins the game
A game is one East round of four deals, one for each player as dealer. The dealer deals again after winning, or after a hand with no winner. When the deals are done, the player with the most points wins.
A note on other rules
This is how Mala Mahjong scores Version 1 of the game, kept simple on purpose. Mahjong played around a real table often counts fan for more kinds of hand, and the details vary from table to table.
Learn it by playing
Mala Mahjong is a cozy iPhone game, coming soon, that teaches all of this as you go. A panda walks you through real moments from a game, and you can ask for help on any turn.
Join the waitlist