Basics of Mahjong

Full Mahjong Set - Singapore Style

A Full Mahjong Set consists of 148 tiles - 36 Character Suits, 36 Dot Suits, 36 Bamboo Suits, Honour Tiles - 12 Dragon Suits, 16 Wind Suits, and 12 Bonus Tiles - 4 Seasons, 4 Flowers and 4 Animals.

Bonus Tiles are non-playable tiles. When collected, they need to be replaced with playable tiles. Bonus Tiles provide additional points (also known as Fan or Tai) with conditions.

Season or Flower Tiles must match the seat of the player in order to get an additional point. All Animal Tiles award the player one point.

Setting up the Wall & Breaking the Wall

In Singapore Mahjong, there are 148 tiles and 3 dices used. The Dealer's wall is 19 stacks, the right of the player is 18 stacks, opposite the Dealer is 19 stacks and the player on the left of the Dealer is 18 stacks.

Each game starts with a roll of Dice. The wall that is broken is determined by the dice count. Counting anti-clockwise, starting with the dealer as 1, the count is incremented until the wall is identified. For example, if the dice roll is 8, then the player on the right of the dealer has the wall broken. If the dice roll is 9, then the dealer's wall is broken.

Dealer starts by taking a pair of stacks (4 tiles), then the next player (on the right), etc until 12 tiles are taken by each player. For the last tiles, Dealer will take 2 alternate tiles from the top, and each player will take 1.

Each player will then open all the Bonus tiles (Animals, Flowers, Seasons) and replace them from the back of the broken Wall, starting with the Dealer. Each player must have 13 tiles except the Dealer who has 14 tiles. The game starts with the Dealer discarding the first tile.

Forming Melds

To win, a player needs to form 4 Melds and 1 Pair (also known as the Eyes). Bonus Tiles (Animals, Flowers and Seasons are not included in the Melds).

A Meld is formed by Pongs (3 identical tiles), or Chows (3 consecutive tiles of the same suit, or Gangs (4 identical tiles). Bonus Tiles do not form Melds.

Basic Game Play

Every player has a Closed Hand and an Open Hand. He also has a Seat Wind - 1 for East, 2 for South, 3 for West and 4 for North. Bonus Tiles go to the Open Hand. If the player claims a Pong, Gang or a Chi (Chow), the tiles go to the Open Hand.

Dealer starts the game by discarding the first tile. The Dealer starts with 14 tiles. In other to win, you must have 4 Melds + 1 Pair structure (Open Hand + Closed Hand, minus Bonus Tiles). This is the basic winning hand.

All discarded tiles must go to the Discarded Area.

The basic flow of the game is - Draw a Tile, Decide to Retain, Discard a Tile. If an opponent discards a tile, any player may Pong or Gang. The player may only Chi from the preceding player (on the left). If there is a Pong or a Chi, the player must Discard a tile to maintain the 4 Melds + 2 tile structure.

If the player decides to Gang - he must draw a Replacement tile from the back of the Wall, and Discard a Tile.

Next player is counter-clockwise on the right of the player. The turn is repeated until a player has a winning hand.

Winning Hands

The basic structure of a Winning Hand is 4 melds and 1 Pair. Each Meld is either a Chow, a Pong or a Gang and 1 Pair. Here are some typical special hands that award higher points. These are usually agreed between players.

Mahjong Huat complies with these winning hand structures.

Special Payouts

During game play, there are special payouts that may occur from time to time for players to get extra wins. These are usually agreed upfront before any game is played between players.

Mahjong Huat complies with these Special Payouts.

Bao Conditions

The concept of Bao is quite simple. If any player has the potential to reach a Limit Hand, any dangerous discard will allow this player to have the full payout. A Bao Villain is the player that makes such a careless discard. Once the Bao Villain is identified (or has been Bao), if the Limit Hand player (Self-Draw) Zimo, the Bao Villain will pay the Winner on everyone's behalf, thereby protecting the other player's from the full limit payout.

Mahjong Huat complies with these Bao Conditions.