Mahjiku › Mahjong variants › American vs Taiwanese
American and Taiwanese mahjong differ above all in how a hand is scored: American counts in points (card-assigned) (fixed point value per card pattern), Taiwanese in tai (台) (additive tai-counting, no exponential doubling). Beyond the scoring, the tile sets are different sizes (152 against 144), and a winning hand is 13 tiles against 16, and they treat jokers differently. Both are played by 4 players, and the everyday consequence is that a hand worth a lot at one table can be worth very little at the other.
How American and Taiwanese mahjong differ — the tile set, the hand, and above all how each one is scored.
| American | Taiwanese | |
|---|---|---|
| Also called | American Mah Jongg | 臺灣麻將 |
| Played in | United States | Taiwan, diaspora communities |
| Tiles | 152 | 144 |
| Flowers | 8 flowers — a distinct honor category; how many a hand needs is set by that year's card | 4 flowers + 4 seasons; drawn flowers are exposed and replaced from the wall, scoring bonus tai outside the hand |
| Jokers | 8 jokers — wild only in groups of three or more (pungs/kongs/quints), never singly or in a pair | none |
| Hand size | 13 | 16 |
| Scored in | points (card-assigned) | tai (台) |
| Scoring system | fixed point value per card pattern | additive tai-counting, no exponential doubling |
| Learning curve | advanced | intermediate |
American. American mahjong (NMJL rules) is a four-player game where legal hands are defined entirely by an officially published card that changes every year, played with 152 tiles including 8 wildcard jokers and preceded by the Charleston tile-passing ritual.
Taiwanese. Taiwanese mahjong is defined by its 16-tile hand (17-tile win: 5 sets + a pair), flowers drawn and replaced into play for bonus tai, and an additive, largely uncapped tai scoring system.
Last updated: 2026-08-27.
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