Mahjiku › Mahjong variants › Hong Kong vs Riichi
How Hong Kong and Riichi mahjong differ — the tile set, the hand, and above all how each one is scored.
| Hong Kong | Riichi | |
|---|---|---|
| Also called | 廣東麻雀 / 香港麻雀 | 麻雀 / リーチ麻雀 |
| Played in | Hong Kong, Guangdong | Japan, international competitive scene |
| Tiles | 144 | 136 |
| Flowers | 4 flowers + 4 seasons (8 bonus tiles) | none — flower and season tiles are omitted from standard riichi sets |
| Jokers | none | none |
| Hand size | 13 | 13 |
| Scored in | faan (番) | han + fu |
| Scoring system | faan-counting | han-fu scoring against a point table |
| Learning curve | beginner | advanced |
Hong Kong. Hong Kong (Cantonese) mahjong is the most widely played faan-scored variant: 144 tiles, four sets and a pair, hands counted in faan with house rules set per table.
Riichi. Riichi (Japanese) mahjong is the modern competitive ruleset centered on the riichi declaration, mandatory yaku, and han/fu scoring — 136 tiles, four players, no flowers in play.
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