How To Play Hong Kong Mahjong

Desert Dragon Mahjong Club
How to play Mahjong

Determine the Starting Wall
By: Desert Dragon Mahjong Club
The dealer rolls 3 dice. The dealer then uses this
Published: June 15, 2024 Updated: September 3, total and starting with themselves, counts the walls
2024 counterclockwise. This determines which wall the tiles
Introduction will be dealt.
Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy, and chance. Breaking the Wall
The objective of Mahjong is to be the first player to The dealer takes the same total of the dice that
complete a legal hand of 14 tiles. This “how to” is in line was used to determine the wall and counts the tiles starting
with the Chinese/Hong Kong style and designed to get from right to left. The tiles after this number will be the
you playing and does not cover technique, strategy, or first to be dealt.
scoring. The Deal
Equipment The players are dealt 13 tiles and the dealer 14. Starting
 4 Players with the dealer, each player deals themselves 12 tiles in
 Chinese Mahjong Tiles sets of 4 counterclockwise. The dealer (east) then takes
 3 Dice their 13th and 14th tiles called “jumping tiles” from the top
 Wind Indicator *Optional of the wall as shown. The rest of the players take their 13th
Preparation title in order.
4 players sit down across from each other forming
a square in the middle. The tiles are face down in the
center of the game area.
Determine 1st Dealer
Each player rolls 3 dice. The player with the
highest roll will be the first (East) dealer. You can mark
the dealer with the wind indicator. After the initial dealer
has been determined, the dealer continues counter Replacements
clockwise making them the next east dealer. At this point you will expose and replace any
flower/season tiles from the back end of the wall
(opposite end in which you dealt). If you get another
flower/season tile, draw again.
Arrange your hand
Players should arrange their tiles in a logical
Building the Wall order. Generally, this is organizing them by suit and in
All 4 players then mix the tiles at the same time. numerical order.
Each player builds a wall 18 tiles long and 2 tiles high in Gameplay
front of them. The walls are then pushed together to form If the dealer did not deal themselves a Mahjong,
a square. the dealer starts the game by discarding 1 tile.
Players will now take turns counterclockwise drawing a
tile and discarding a tile until someone declares a
Mahjong.
General Rules
1
Desert Dragon Mahjong Club
Matches, Rounds, Hands  Certain special hands do not include 4 melds and
Match: 1 game of 16 hands 1 pair when scoring.
Round: 4 hands Kong
Hand: 1 mahjong  A kong is a meld of 4 of any kind in a suit.
 If the dealer wins the hand, they will remain the  You can upgrade a melded pung into a kong by
dealer and an extra hand is played in addition to drawing a tile from the wall only.
the minimum 16 hands in a match.  You can meld a concealed kong at any time to the
Claiming & Discarding Tiles table then draw your replacement tile from the
When it is your turn, the order of operations is to back end of the wall and then discard as usual.
pick up a tile then discard. You can pick up a tile from the  Since mahjong takes priority, you can take the tile
wall or the discard pile. The only tile that can be claimed someone was using to upgrade their melded kong.
by discard is the last tile played. This is called “Robbing the Kong”
Order of Priority Pung
In Mahjong, when you pick up and discard, there may be a  A pung is a meld of 3 of a kind in any suit.
time when two people want the same tile to make a meld. Chow
The tile goes to the highest priority. If two people are  A chow is a meld of 3 tiles in sequential order in
going for the same meld, the tile goes to the player next in the same suit.
turn.  When making a chow from a discard, the only tile
Mahjong that can be claimed is the tile to the players left.
Kong or Pung Pair
Chow  Two identical tiles
Concealed meld Rhythm of play
If you make a meld from drawing a tile from the Players may agree on the pace of the game. For
wall you do not have to declare the meld, therefore brisk games players may agree that a couple seconds after
making it concealed. a discard are allowed for a "window of opportunity"
Exposed meld before the next player picks up from the wall. Usually, it is
Whenever you make a chow, pong, or kong from agreed that once the next player has waited for the
the discarded tiles, you must verbally declare the meld and duration of the "window of opportunity" and draws a tile
place them face up on the table for everyone to see. from the wall, the previous discard is lost and cannot be
claimed.
What to Say
When you declare a chow, pung, kong, or mahjong you
say it loud enough for the table to hear.
Chow - “Chi”
Pung – “Pong”
Kong – “Gong”
Mahjong – “Hu or Hu Le”
Mahjong
 4 melds and 1 pair

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