A Concise Mahjong Reference Sheet
The Tiles
Circles
(Dots)
Bamboos
(Sticks)
Characters
(Cracks)
Winds
Dragons
There are four identical copies of each of these tiles.
Note that 1 Bamboo is a bird, not a stick of bamboo, and the White Dragon is a blank tile with a black-and-white border, not a dragon.
Bonus Tiles: Flowers
Whenever you draw a flower, set it aside and draw a replacement.
When playing Filipino Mahjong, Wind and Dragon tiles are also considered flowers.
Your Hand
Pong
(3x)
Chow
(3-run)
Kong
(4x)
Pair
(2x)
An Pair is a set of any two of the same tile, a Pong is a set of any three of the same tile, and a Kong is the set of all four copies of the same tile.
A Chow is a run of any three numbered tiles (i.e. Dots, Bamboos, or Characters).
Mahjong (Winning Hand)
A winning hand is made up of fourfiveFiveFour, when playing 16-Tile Mahjong. Pongs/Kongs/Chows and one Pair.
Special Mahjong: Seven Pairs
A rare alternative way to win is with a hand made up of seven Pairsseven Pairs And one Pong/Kong/Chow, when playing 16-Tile Mahjong..
Gameplay
On each turn you draw discard then discarddrawDiscard Draw then drawdiscard, when playing 14-Tile Mahjong. a tile.
Remember that if the drawn tile is a flower, set it aside and draw again.
Stealing and Melding
If you can use a tile that was just discarded to complete a Pong, Kong, Chow, or Mahjong in your hand, you can choose to steal it by calling:
at any time
at any time
when you're up next
If multiple people want to steal the same tile, use the order above to determine who gets it. If there is still a conflict, it goes to whoever's turn is closest to next.
+
— Meld —>
After you steal, you must meld (i.e. “lock in”) the Pong, Kong, or Chow you made by revealing these tiles to the table face-up.
Tiles in a meld can no longer be discarded, and must be part of your final Mahjong.
Finally, you must discard a tile to offset the one you stole. Play continues as if you had just finished your turn, skipping anyone in between you and whoever discarded.
Remember that you cannot steal to complete a Pair.
Special Rules for Melding Kongs
Even though a Kong is equivalent to a Pong or a Chow in terms of getting a Mahjong, it takes one more tile to form. Thus, for every Kong you want to use in a Mahjong, you will need an extra tile. This is the justification for these three rules:
1. Whenever you meld a Kong, you must immediately draw a tile.
— Concealed Meld —>
2. If it is your turn and you have a Kong in your hand that you have decided you want to use as part of your final Mahjong, you must meld it by calling “Kong!” and placing the tiles face-down. This is called a Concealed Kong. Remember to draw.
+
— Add to Meld —>
3. If it is your turn and you draw the fourth tile of one of your melded Pongs, you may add to your meld and turn it into a melded Kong. Remember to draw.
A rarely encountered edge-case to this final rule is that if another player adds to a melded Pong to form a melded Kong, but you can use that tile to complete a Mahjong, then you can rob their Kong (i.e. take the fourth tile) and win.
Remember that you cannot steal to add to a melded Pong to form a melded Kong.
Filipino Mahjong Scoring
The way a player's score is calculated varies tremendously between versions of Mahjong, and can be very complex. This section just describes the elegantly simple scoring system of Filipino Mahjong, extended to work for games with all tiles (see underlines below).
Score for a Winning Hand
| Score | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winning | Completed a Mahjong |
| 1⁄2 | Seven Pairs | Completed a Seven Pairs Mahjong |
| All DragonsIgnore this rule when playing Filipino Mahjong, or any other variant where Wind and Dragon tiles are considered flowers | Hand contains all three Dragon tiles | |
| All WindsIgnore this rule when playing Filipino Mahjong, or any other variant where Wind and Dragon tiles are considered flowers | Hand contains all four Wind tiles | |
| Straight | Hand contains 1-9 of a single suit in Chows | |
| Flush | Hand contains only tiles from one suit | |
| 1⁄4 | Only Pongs | Hand with only Pongs/Kongs, no Chows |
| Only Chows | Hand with only Chows, no Pongs/Kongs | |
| Concealed | Hand with no melds, except for concealed melds | |
| Revealed | Hand where every Pong/Kong/Chow was melded before winning – no concealed melds | |
| Difficult Wait | Needed one specific tile to win | |
| Quick Win | Win before the fifth tile is discarded |
When a player wins by stealing a discarded tile, all players except the player who discarded pay the winner the total of the winner's score – the player who discarded who pays double. When a player wins by drawing a tile, all players pay double.
Bonus Score
| Score | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1⁄2 | Set of Flowers | Drawing a complete set of four flowers (numbered 1-4)Instead, any 13 flowers, when playing Filipino Mahjong, or any other variant where Wind and Dragon tiles are considered flowers |
| Concealed Kong | Making a Concealed Kong | |
| Pong to Kong | Making a melded Kong from a melded Pong | |
| 1⁄4 | Stolen Kong | Making a melded Kong from a stolen tile |
| No Flowers | WinningOr, being dealt no flowers at the start, when playing Filipino Mahjong, or any other variant where Wind and Dragon tiles are considered flowers the game with no flowers | |
| Seat FlowerIgnore this rule when playing Filipino Mahjong, or any other variant where Wind and Dragon tiles are considered flowers | Drawing the flower tile corresponding to your seat |
These bonus scores for events related to melding Kongs and drawing flowers are paid out by all players immediately when they occur.
Notes and Sources
Overview of Other Scoring Systems
An excellent scoring system the next step up in complexity from that of Filipino Mahjong is that of Hong Kong (Old Style) Mahjong. It adds the idea of special high-scoring hands that players can shoot for, but some versions are still simple enough to be described in a clear and concise way.
An additional complication in most scoring systems, including that of most versions of Hong Kong Mahjong, is the presence of a score minimum required for a Mahjong to be valid. Since such scoring systems also do not provide a base score simply for completing a Mahjong, knowledge of which hands will result in a high score is essentially required to play.
An example of a complex scoring system is that of Chinese Official Mahjong, whose many different hands present a steep learning curve for new players – each of whom must have at least some familiarity with these hands in order to play, as described above.
Another complex scoring system is that of American* Mahjong (*historically and still mostly played by Jewish Americans), which does away with the standard Mahjong hand all together, leaving the many complicated special hands as the only ways to win. Additionally, this set of winning hands is changed yearly by the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL), so players need a current reference card sold by the aforementioned association in order to play.
Disclaimer
Not included in this guide are the way tiles are set up and distributed at the beginning of the game, the way different rounds of the game are coordinated, and the additional rare winning hands beyond the Seven Pairs which are added by many versions of Mahjong. Some variants also add additional pieces, mostly commonly Joker (i.e. wild) tiles.
Sources
This reference sheet is based on the general rules of Mahjong as described by the Mahjong Picture Guide and Wikipedia.
The rule changes for 16-tile Mahjong are based on Taiwanese Mahjong as described by Mahjong Time, and Filipino Mahjong as described by the Mahjong Wiki, Mahjongero, Theresa A, and Jason Singleton.
The scoring system is based on Filipino Mahjong as described by the aforementioned sources, with changes inspired by Hong Kong Old Style Mahjong as described by the Mahjong Wiki.
All tile graphics are based on the Wikimedia illustrations created by Cangjie6.
Compiled by Matthew Yacavone, 2024.