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How do you play mahjong?

Four players each build a hand of tiles by drawing and discarding one tile per turn, racing to complete four sets and a pair; the first to finish wins the hand, and the hand is then scored.

The core loop is simple, and it is the same across every variant:

• Deal. Each of the four players takes a starting hand of tiles (13 in most variants).
• Take turns. On your turn you draw a tile and discard one — always keeping the same number of tiles. You are trying to shape your hand into four sets and a pair: a set is three-in-a-row of one suit (a chow) or three identical tiles (a pung).
• Claim discards. You can grab another player's discard if it completes a set for you, which speeds things up and skips turns.
• Win. The first player to complete a legal hand wins that hand.
• Score. The winning hand is scored by the patterns it contains, and the other players pay the winner accordingly.

What changes between Hong Kong, Riichi, Taiwanese and the rest is mostly the scoring and a few special rules — not the basic draw-discard-and-build loop. The hardest part for beginners is always the scoring, which is exactly what a scorekeeper handles for you.

Last reviewed 2026-08-23.

© 2026 Steven Eka Halim · Mahjiku records game points only.