Before You Start
This guide walks you through one full hand of Hong Kong Mahjong, from setting up the table to calling Hu (winning). Read it in order the first time. The Quick Reference at the end is for when you're at the table.
We use the common 13-tile Hong Kong format with flowers and seasons included. A few small rules (flowers, who deals next, and some procedures) can vary from table to table, so agree on any house rules before you start.
1. Know the Tiles
A flower-inclusive set has 144 tiles: 108 suited tiles, 28 honor tiles, and 8 flowers/seasons. Without flowers, the usual set is 136.
Numbered suits
Dots / Circles
Bamboo / Sticks
Characters
Honors
Flowers & Seasons
2. The Goal: Four Sets + One Pair
Most ordinary winning hands contain four sets plus one pair. A set is normally a Chow, Pung, or Kong.
Chow
Pung
Chow
Pung
Pair
For our beginner tables, a complete shape is a legal hand for Chicken: four sets plus one pair. Later, in 3-faan play, the hand must also meet the minimum faan.
3. Seats & Determining the Dealer
There are four seats: East, South, West, North. East is the dealer. To pick seats, shuffle the four wind tiles face down and have each player draw one, then sit in the seat that matches your tile. Whoever draws East deals first.
4. Build the Wall
5. Roll the Dice & Break the Wall
East rolls three dice and adds the total. That number tells us which wall to use first. Count the walls in order: East = 1, South = 2, West = 3, North = 4, then repeat the cycle.
6. Distribute the Tiles
Starting with East and going counter-clockwise, each player takes 4 tiles at a time (two stacks) from the wall, drawing clockwise from the break. Go around three times until everyone has 12 tiles.
4 each
4 each
4 each
1 each
East gets 1 extra
EAST ×14SOUTH ×13WEST ×13NORTH ×13
7. Flowers & Seasons
If flowers/seasons are in play, expose them instead of keeping them in the normal hand and take a replacement from the tail end of the wall — the opposite end from where normal drawing started. If the replacement is another flower, repeat.
Right after the deal, starting with East, each player exposes any flowers and takes replacements. During play, do this as soon as you draw a flower.
🌸
face-up
from the tail end
8. The Dealer's First Discard
After the deal and flower replacements, East has 14 tiles, so East does not draw on the first turn. East starts the hand by discarding one tile face-up. Play then moves counter-clockwise to South.
9. A Normal Turn: Draw → Check → Discard
Take one tile
Flower? Kong? Hu?
Place one face-up
Unless claimed
On your turn, draw one tile from the wall. Check whether it's a flower, gives you a Kong, or wins the hand. Then discard one tile face-up. If nobody claims your discard, the next player counter-clockwise takes their turn.
Other players can claim your discard to make a set or to win. When that happens, the turn jumps to them. The next two sections explain how.
10. Calling Chow, Pung & Kong
CHOW 吃
Three consecutive numbered tiles in one suit.
PUNG 碰
Three identical tiles.
KONG 槓
Four identical tiles. After a Kong, take a replacement tile from the tail end of the wall, then discard.
Who can you claim from?
- Chow: only from the player right before you (the player on your left).
- Pung or Kong: from any player's discard, as long as you already hold two (Pung) or three (Kong) of that tile.
- Kong from your own hand: if you draw the fourth tile of a set, you can declare a Kong on your turn, lay it out, and take a replacement tile.
11. Claim Priority
Announce claims clearly and right away, before the next player draws. If more than one player wants the same discard, the higher-priority claim wins:
Winning claim
Set claim
Sequence claim
12. Calling HU / Mahjong
Before calling Hu, check the shape and use the table's scoring mode.
3-faan minimum
Reveal + score
Win by Discard
Another player discards your winning tile. Announce Hu before the next draw.
Self-Draw
You draw the winning tile yourself and announce Hu immediately.
After Hu
Stop play, reveal the hand, and verify the winning shape and scoring mode.
13. End of the Hand
Once Hu is called, stop play. The winner reveals the hand, and the table checks the winning shape (and the faan, at 3-faan tables).
Who deals next?
Usually, if East wins, East stays dealer for the next hand. Otherwise, the dealer seat passes counter-clockwise to the next player. Rebuild the wall and start again.
If nobody wins
If the wall runs out and nobody has called Hu, the hand is a draw. Who deals next after a draw varies, so follow your table's house rule.
14. Full Example Hand
15. Scoring: Start with Chicken
At Fourth Seat Social beginner tables, we play Chicken. Focus first on the turn cycle, making a legal hand, and practicing calls — no need to calculate points yet.
Beginner: Chicken
No faan, no points. Concentrate on hand structure, turn order, legal calls, and getting your hands to completion.
Next step: 3-faan minimum
Once you're comfortable, move up to the club's standard scoring: at least 3 faan to win. This adds hand value and scoring patterns once the mechanics feel familiar.
When to move up: Chicken is for learning the mechanics first. Once you're consistently completing legal hands and making calls correctly, try a 3-faan minimum table.
16. Count Faan
Our scoring sheet uses 3 minimum to win, a 13-faan upper limit, same-group hands do stack, and bonuses are added on top. This section is for players progressing beyond Chicken.
| Category | Examples on our sheet |
|---|---|
| Hand patterns | Chicken Hand; All Sequences; Mixed Orphans; Half Flush; All Triplets; Seven Pairs; Small Three Dragons; Small Four Winds; Full Flush; Big Three Dragons; All Terminals; All Honors; Thirteen Orphans; Big Four Winds; Nine Gates; Four Quads |
| Bonus faan | Self-Draw; Concealed; Win on Last Tile; Robbing the Kong; Win by Kong; Win by Double Kong |
| Flowers & seasons | No Flowers; Seat Flower; Seat Season; Four Flowers; Four Seasons; Seven Robbing One; Eight Immortals |
| Wind/dragon bonuses | Each Dragon pung/kong; Seat Wind pung/kong; Round Wind pung/kong |
17. Common Beginner Mistakes
- Starting with the wrong number of tiles.
- Forgetting East starts with 14 and discards first.
- Keeping a flower in the normal hand instead of exposing and replacing it.
- Calling Chow from the wrong player.
- Forgetting to discard after making a call.
- Forgetting that a Kong requires a replacement tile.
- Calling Hu without checking which scoring mode the table is using.
- Confusing seat wind and round/prevailing wind.
- Changing the scoring rules or scoring mode in the middle of a hand.
- Passing the turn clockwise instead of counter-clockwise.
18. Quick Reference
Every turn
Flower / Kong / Hu
unless claimed
Turns go counter-clockwise · Draws come off the wall clockwise
Before Hu
- Legal winning shape?
- Playing Chicken? A legal shape is enough.
- Playing 3-faan? Check the Count Faan section.
- Discard win or self-draw?
- Any flower, wind, dragon, or winning-condition bonuses?
Call vocabulary
吃 CHOW
Three consecutive suited tiles.
碰 PUNG
Three identical tiles.
槓 KONG
Four identical tiles.
胡 HU
Winning declaration: four sets + one pair.
Sources & Rules Note
Primary reference: Hong Kong Mahjong Association — Rules. HKMA identifies Hong Kong Mahjong/Classical Mahjong separately from 16-Tile Modern Mahjong and Riichi Mahjong and links its English Hong Kong Mahjong rules.
Club scoring: scoring terms, the 3-faan minimum, the 13-faan upper limit, and bonus categories follow the Fourth Seat Social Faan & Scoring sheet.
Rule variations: wall-breaking, flowers, claim priority, and who deals next can differ from table to table. When in doubt, agree on the rule with your table before the hand starts.