Learn Chinese Mahjong

Winning Hands

To declare Mahjong you need 14 tiles arranged as four melds plus one pair. Each meld is either:

A Chow — three numbers in a row, same suit

A Pung — three identical tiles

The Pair (Eyes) — two identical tiles

What counts where

• Chows can only be formed from the three number suits: Characters (Wan), Bamboo (Bam), and Circles (Dot).
• Pungs can be formed from any tile: numbers, Winds, or Dragons.
• No Jokers — every tile in your winning hand must be a real tile. No wild cards in Chinese Mahjong!
• A Kong (four identical tiles) counts as a meld of three — the fourth tile is locked. Drawing a tile after a kong keeps your hand count correct.

Example of a complete winning hand

That's a chow, a pung, a chow, a pung of winds, and a pair of dragons — 14 tiles, Mahjong!

Our Rules

This is 5XJ Ranch house-style Chinese Mahjong, following the core rules played across China for generations. No special scoring tables, no complex point calculations — just clean, classic mahjong.

The tiles (136 total)

• Characters (Wan / Craks): numbers 1–9, four of each tile.
• Bamboo (Bam): numbers 1–9, four of each tile.
• Circles (Dot): numbers 1–9, four of each tile.
• Winds: East, South, West, North — four of each.
• Dragons: Red (Chun), Green (Hatsu), White (Haku) — four of each.

No Flowers, no Jokers — keeping it classic.

The deal

Each of the four players receives 13 tiles. East (the dealer) draws one extra tile and discards to begin.

Playing a turn

On your turn, draw one tile from the wall, then discard one tile face up to the middle. The game flows around the table draw-discard, draw-discard.

Claiming discards

When any opponent discards a tile, you may claim it for a Pung (if you hold 2 matching tiles), a Kong (if you hold 3 matching tiles), a Chow (if the player to your left discards and you can complete a run), or Mahjong (if it completes your hand). Claim buttons appear automatically — or press Pass to skip. After a Pung, Kong, or Chow claim you must discard one tile. After a Kong, you also draw a replacement tile from the wall.

Winning

Win by collecting four melds (chows or pungs) plus a pair — 14 tiles total. You can win on your own draw, or by claiming the last discard if it completes your hand. If the wall runs out before anyone wins, it is a draw.

Help & Tips

How to use this game

• New Game deals 13 tiles to you and three computer players. No Charleston — Chinese Mahjong goes straight to play!
• On your turn, press Draw, then tap a tile and press Discard.
• Auto Arrange sorts your tiles into labeled chows, pungs, and pairs automatically. Turn it off to arrange tiles yourself — tap one tile, then tap another to swap places.
• If a drawn tile or a discard completes your hand, the Mahjong! button appears — press it to win.

• Teaching mode: the button you should press next flashes gold. On your turn, the coach's suggested discard flashes too. You can always ignore the suggestion and choose your own tile.

Tips for new players

• Commit to a plan early. Look at your 13 tiles and find where you have the most connections — runs in one suit, pairs of honors? Build toward your strongest groups.
• Chows are easy to build in the number suits. Middle tiles (4, 5, 6) connect to more runs than edge tiles (1, 2, 8, 9).
• Pairs matter. Every hand needs a pair. Protect pairs that could become pungs, and always save one pair as your “eyes.”
• Honors need three. A lone Wind or Dragon is useless unless you get two more. Discard isolated honors early.
• Watch the discards. Tiles your opponents throw tell you what is safe to discard yourself — and what is not.
• No Jokers here! Every tile must earn its place in your hand.