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Mahjong variant · Taiwan

Taiwanese Mahjong

臺灣麻將 · also called Taiwanese 16-tile Mahjong, Taiwan 16 Mahjong Not in Mahjiku yet

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.

Players
4
Tiles
144
Hand size
16 + winning tile
Scored in
tai (台)
Played in
Taiwan, diaspora communities
Learning curve
intermediate

The tiles

Total144
SuitsCharacters, Bamboo, Circles — 1–9, four of each
HonoursWinds (E/S/W/N) and Dragons (Red/Green/White), four of each
Flowers4 flowers + 4 seasons; drawn flowers are exposed and replaced from the wall, scoring bonus tai outside the hand
Jokersnone

Same physical 144-tile set as other variants — the defining difference is hand size, not tile count.

How you win & score

A winning hand: Five sets plus a pair — 17 tiles on the winning tile, vs. the 14-tile wins of most other variants.

Scoring: Points equal the tai total plus a dealer-streak bonus; scoring is additive rather than doubling, and most rulesets impose no upper limit — unlike Hong Kong's faan-to-limit system.

Unittai (台)
Systemadditive tai-counting, no exponential doubling
Minimum to win1 tai to win in most rulesets
Limitno scoring cap in most rulesets

Who pays: Self-draw: each of the three opponents pays the winner's full value. Discard: only the discarder pays; the other two pay nothing.

What makes Taiwanese mahjong distinct

In Mahjiku. Taiwanese 16-tile hands need a different engine from Mahjiku's 13-tile Hong Kong scoring — not supported yet.

Compare Taiwanese with other variants

Taiwanese vs Hong KongTaiwanese vs RiichiTaiwanese vs Chinese OfficialTaiwanese vs AmericanTaiwanese vs Singaporean

Sources: mahjong.wikidot.com · mahjong.wikidot.com

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