Basic Mahjong
13-tile hands, 4 melds + a pair, flat-coin payment. The default ruleset running at the table. Read it once, then go play.
New to mahjong? Start here: every tile face, what a winning hand looks like, how to set up the table, and the four calls of chow, pong, kong, and win.
- 13 tiles, 14 to win
- 4 melds and 1 pair
- Chow, pong and kong all legal
- Win off a discard or your own draw
- Flat 1 coin a win, with no scoring table
Tutorials
Casual Chinese Mahjong Channel Guide
What this channel is and what you'll get from it to start your Chinese Mahjong playing.
Part 1: Chinese Mahjong Tiles Explained
Dots, bamboo, characters and honors: every tile on the table, explained.
Part 2: How to Win a Game of Chinese Mahjong
What it takes to go out: the winning hand patterns explained.
Part 3: Chinese Mahjong Game Setup
Building the wall, seating, and dealing in: getting the table ready to play.
Part 4: Game Actions to Win a Game of Mahjong
Turn order and calling melds: the actions you'll take on the way to a winning hand.
Rules
The tiles: 136 total
Three suits, numbered 1–9, four copies each (108 tiles), plus seven honor tiles, four copies each (28 tiles). No flower or season tiles.
The White Dragon tile is shown bordered in blue rather than blank, so it reads as intentional, not a misprint.
Hands and melds
Each player holds 13 tiles; the dealer draws to 14 to open the hand. A complete winning hand is 4 melds + 1 pair (14 tiles). A meld is any of:
Chow: three consecutive tiles, one suit.
Pong: three identical tiles.
Kong: four identical tiles. Draws a replacement from the dead wall.
Pair: two identical tiles, the hand's “eye.”
The wall and the break
Four walls of 17 stacks of 2 (136 tiles). Two dice pick which wall breaks and where; play draws from that point around the ring. Play passes counterclockwise (dealer, then the seat to their right, then across, then left) and the dealer always goes first.
Calling a discard
- Chow: only the seat immediately after the discarder may call one, using two tiles from hand to complete a run with the discard.
- Pong / Kong: any seat may call these off a discard.
- Win: any seat may declare a win off a discard that completes their hand, or off their own draw (a self-draw).
If more than one seat wants the same discard: a win outranks a pong/kong, which outranks a chow. Ties on pong/kong go to whichever seat sits soonest after the discarder.
Example winning hand
Chow
Chow
Chow
Pong
Pair
Three chows, a pong, and a pair: 4 melds + 1 pair, 14 tiles, a complete hand.
Another winning hand (no honors)
Chow
Chow
Chow
Pong
Pair
Three chows, a pong, and a pair using only suits: no honor tiles required.
Payment
Winning pays a flat 1 coin. On a self-draw, all three opponents each pay 1 coin. On a discard win, only the discarder pays. No dealer doubling. Everyone starts with 10 coins.
Gameplay
Basic Mahjong Narrated Game 1
Game 1, narrated start to finish, so you can follow each decision at the table.
Learn Rules and Play Online: Game 1 with Basic Mahjong
Playing online, plus how to get the rule PDFs to follow along.
Play Mahjong Online With Me: Basic Mahjong Games 2 and 3
Games 2 and 3, played online back to back.
Live Paced Mahjong: Basic Mahjong Game 2
Game 2 at real table speed.
Live Mahjong Narrated: Basic Mahjong Game 2
Game 2, narrated start to finish.
Live Paced Mahjong: Basic Mahjong Game 3
Game 3 at real table speed.
Live Mahjong Narrated: Basic Mahjong Game 3
Game 3, narrated start to finish.
Ready to try it?
Play Basic Mahjong against the bots, right in your browser.