Singapore Mahjong Rules

Rules for Singapore Mahjong

The following gives an overview of the rules of Singapore Mahjong. It is assumed that the web version of the Singapore Mahjong game (contained on this website) and the mobile version of the game support these rules unless explicitly stated. However, these rules do not cover the procedures, processes, and etiquette involved with playing a real in-person game. Also, these rules do not discuss playing strategy. If you are interested in additional details about playing Singapore Mahjong, then refer to the e-books found at this link below.

E-books about Singapore Mahjong

For any questions email: support@sinaporemahjong.com

In general, the following rules apply to the Singapore style of mahjong. In practice there are always variations to rules and some of the known variations will be pointed out in the description below. There are many different ways to play Mahjong. Each country, region, and even household may play with a different set of rules. However, there is a large portion of the rules that remain common throughout most of the different variations that are played.

The Tile Set

The tile set is made up of 148 tiles. These 148 tiles are broken into suits that contain 136 total playable tiles, flower suit tiles that contain 8 tiles, and animal suit tiles that contain 4 tiles.

The Bamboo, Circle, and Million suits

There are 36 tiles each of the Circle, Bamboo, and Millions Suit. Each one of these suits has numerical tiles ranging from one to nine containing 4 tiles for each number in the suit. These tiles are shown below.

Bamboo Suit

Circle Suit

Millions Suit

The Honor Tiles

The Honor Tiles are made up of two types of tiles, the Dragon Tiles and the Wind Tiles which are explained below.

The Dragon Tiles

The Dragon Tiles contain three unique tiles with each unique tile having four tiles each for a total of 12 tiles. Each unique tile is referred to as the Green Dragon, Red Dragon, and White Dragon, respectively, which are shown below.

Dragon Tiles

The Wind Tiles

The Wind Tiles contain four unique tiles with each unique tile having four tiles each for a total of 16 tiles. Each unique tile is referred to as the East Wind, South Wind, West Wind, and North Wind, respectively, which are shown below.

Wind Tiles

Flower Tiles

There are two sets of Flower Tiles called the Season Set and the Flower Set with each set containing four unique tiles for a total of 8 tiles. Each flower set has tiles numbered from 1 to 4 with the Season Set numbers in red and the Flower Set numbers in blue or black. The number 1 corresponds to the East Wind, the number 2 corresponds to the South Wind, the number 3 corresponds to the West Wind, and the number 4 corresponds to the North Wind. The complete set of Flower Tiles are shown below.

Season Set

Flower Set

Animal Tiles

There are four animal tiles with each one displaying a unique animal. The animal set is shown below.

Animal Tile Set

Achieving Mahjong

Getting Mahjong and meeting the Minimum Fan Requirement is the main way a player wins a game. To achieve Mahjong you must have one and only one Eye and four sets of any combination of Chows, Pongs, and Kongs.

Chow

A Chow contains three tiles in numerical sequence of the same suit (either Bamboo, Circle, or Million). For example a 5, 6, 7 of Circles (shown below) is considered a Chow. The Honor Tiles, Flower Tiles, and Animal Tiles cannot be used to form a Chow.

Chow

Pong

A Pong contains three tiles of the same number and suit. An example of a Pong is shown below. The Flower Suit Tiles and Animal Tiles cannot be used in a Pong.

Pong

Kong

A KONG contains four tiles of the same number and suit. An example of a Kong is shown below. The Flower Suit Tiles and Animal Tiles cannot be used in a Kong. When a Kong is formed a replacement tile is selected by the user.

Kong

Eye

An Eye contains two tiles of the same number and suit. An example of an Eye is shown below. The Flower Suit Tiles and Animal Tiles cannot be used as an Eye.

Eye

Examples of Mahjong

Below are two examples of Mahjong.

How To Play Mahjong

The following describes how to play Singapore Mahjong.

Mahjong Game, Mahjong Round, and Banker Definition

A game of mahjong is where tiles are distributed to the players and the game is played until a player declares they have won the game or the unused tiles run out and the game is declared a tie. A round of mahjong is made up of many games. At the beginning of the mahjong round a banker is determined, usually by rolling the dice. When a player has won a game or the tiles run out and someone has declared a Kong, the banker position rotates to the player to the right (counterclockwise) of the banker of the previous game, otherwise the banker remains the same. A mahjong round is complete when the banker position has rotated around the table four times.

Prevailing Wind

When the mahjong round starts, the Prevailing Wind starts at the East position. When the banker position rotates one full time around the table the prevailing wind changes to South, then West, then finally North. After the North prevailing wind, the round is complete. The Prevailing Wind can be determined when playing the computer game by looking at the middle of the compass shown below. For this situation the Prevailing Wind is South.

Player Wind

During each game, a player is assigned a wind value. This Player Wind value is different from the Prevailing Wind. The banker is assigned the East Player Wind for that game, and the player to the right of the banker is assigned the South Player Wind. The player to the right of the South Player is assigned the West player Wind, and the player to the right of the West Player is assigned the North player Wind. You can easily identify the Player Winds of all the players by looking at the compass on the game board. An example is given below. In this example the player at the top has the West Player Wind.

In this scenario, the Prevailing Wind is South and

the top player is assigned the West Player Wind.

Starting the Game

The 148 tiles are shuffled and each player selects 13 tiles to start the game. Each player starts with 13 tiles and these tiles are not seen by the other players. These are called the players Concealed Tiles. If a player selects any Animal or Flower Tiles, these tiles must be shown to the rest of the players by putting them in the players Exposed Tiles. A player s Exposed Tiles are always displayed to the other players for the entire game. When a player exposes an animal or flower tile, they will take a replacement tile from opposite end of the Tile Wall.

The player who is the banker for this game will start by taking another tile from the remaining unused tiles. At this point, the banker has 14 tiles and must discard a tile. The banker will discard a tile which is then shown to the rest of the players. This discarded tile will be placed in the Discarded Tile Area in the middle of the table.

Playing the Game

When a tile is discarded by a player, the other players have the option of using that tile when it is first discarded. The different options for using discarded tiles are described below. If no one wants to use that discarded tile, the player to the right of the player who discarded the tile picks a new tile and adds it to their Concealed Tiles. After the player picks a new tile, that player has the option to declare a Kong, Win the Game, or discard a tile. When a player discards a tile, that players turn is over.

Mahjong Moves

The Mahjong Moves correspond to the action buttons on the table of the computer game. These moves include Game, Kong, Pong, Chow, and Next Move.

Game Declaration

When a player completes Mahjong with a discarded tile or a newly selected tile and has met the Minimum Fan requirement, then the player can declare a game win by hitting the Game action button. When a tile is discarded, any other player may decide that they would like to win the game using that tile. If more than one person can win the game using a discarded tile then the person closest to the right hand side of the player (counterclockwise from the player) who discarded the tile will have priority and win the game. Furthermore, the Game declaration has priority over the Kong, Pong, and Chow declarations. A player may not use a discarded tile to win the game if that same tile was discarded previously and was not used by that player after that players last move. A players last move is defined by any new tile, Chow, Pong, or Kong that was performed by the player. A player may not win the game on a tile that they last discarded.

Kong Declaration

There are three unique ways to perform a Kong.

Kong-3 Declaration

When a tile is discarded and a player has three of the same tiles in the Concealed Tiles, the player may declare a Kong-3 by pressing the Kong action button. When this happens, the three concealed tiles and the discarded tile is moved to the players Exposed Tiles and the player will pick a replacement tile from the opposite side of the Tile Wall.

Kong-1 Declaration

When a new tile is selected by a player, and that player has three of the same tiles in the Exposed Tiles, then that player may declare a Kong move by pressing the Kong action button. When this happens, the new selected tile in the Concealed Tiles is transferred to the Exposed Tiles and the player will select a replacement tile. Note, when a player performs a Kong-1, the tile that is transferred to the Exposed Tiles is treated as a special discard for that moment. Any other player can use that tile to win the game if they are able. This is called Robbing the Kong.

Kong-4 Declaration

When a new tile is selected by a player, and there are four of the same tiles in that players Concealed Tiles, then that player may declare a Kong-4 move by pressing the Kong action button. When this happens, the four concealed tiles used for the Kong are transferred to the exposed tiles and the player will pick a replacement tile.

If a player declares a Kong and more than one Kong is possible, then the player must press on the tile that they wish to Kong.

Pong Declaration

When a tile is discarded, any other player may decide to Pong using that tile. A Pong can be declared when a player has two other Concealed Tiles that match the last discarded tile. When a player declares a Pong by pressing the Pong action button, the discarded tile plus two tiles from the players Concealed Tiles are moved to that players Exposed Tiles. A player may not use a discarded tile to Pong if that same tile was discarded previously and was not used by that player after that players last move. A players last move is defined by any new tile, Chow, Pong, or Kong that was performed by the player. A player may not Pong on a tile that they last discarded. The Game and Kong declarations have priority over the Pong declaration.

Chow Declaration

When a tile is discarded, the player to the right of the player who discarded the tile may decide to declare a Chow with that tile. When a player declares a Chow with a discarded tile, the discarded tile plus two tiles from the players Concealed Tiles are moved to that players Exposed Tiles. The Game, Kong, and Pong declarations have priority over the Chow declaration. If the user decides to Chow, there may be multiple ways of obtaining the Chow. The user should click on the tiles that they wish to use for the Chow. A player may not Chow on a tile that they last discarded.

Next Move Action Button

If a player does not want to use a discarded tile, the Next Move action button is selected and play will proceed. When pressing the Next Move action button after the player to the left has discarded a tile, assuming no other players claim the discarded tile, the player will receive a new tile from the Tile Wall. After a player has selected a new tile, the new tile will be highlighted in red. Pressing the Next Move action button at this time will cause the new tile to be discarded.

Ending a Game

The game is finished when someone wins the game or when there are 15 tiles left in the Tile Wall. When a player selects the last remaining new tile in play, it may be used to win the game or perform a Kong. It also can be used to complete an Animal or Flower set. However that player is not required to discard any tiles after the last tile has
been selected. After the last tile has been selected, a replacement tile for a Kong, Flower, or Animal tile will not be taken. The computer game will ask for a discard (the player should press the Next Move action button) in this situation, however, the card is not actually discarded and the game is finished at that point.

Minimum Fan Requirement

To win a game, a player must meet the Minimum Fan requirement. Fan (or Doubles) are awarded for different types of Mahjong Combinations, for different tiles and tile combinations, and different events. The list of ways to earn Fan are given later in the rules. When a player thinks they have won the game and the computer will not recognize it as a win, this issue is caused by the player not meeting the Minimum Fan Requirement which is set to one by default. The Minimum Fan setting can be changed by the player. A Fan is something that will double the number of points that can be won for that particular game. Fan values add together, such that if there are three tiles that are worth one Fan a piece, the player has a total of three Fan. Only the winning player for each game gets credit for the Fan that they have at the end of the game.

Types of Mahjong Combinations

There are many types of Mahjong Combinations. Each different type of Mahjong Combination is worth a different number of Fan.

All Chow game

In Singapore Mahjong the rules for All Chow game are very unique and different from other types of Mahjong. To have an All Chow game, the following criteria must be met;

1. The EYE cannot be a Dragon Tile or the Prevailing Wind or the Players Wind for that game.

2. The tiles must be made up of one Eye and four Chows.

3. If the player wins the game on a discarded tile, there must be more than one unique tile that could have caused the player to win the game (get Mahjong).

Ping Wu game

A Ping Wu game is an All Chow game with no Flower and Animal Tiles in the players Exposed Tiles.

All Pong game

To have an All Pong game, the tiles must be made of an Eye and four Pongs and/or Kongs.

Half Color game

To have a Half Color game, the tiles must form a valid Mahjong combination and be made of the either the Bamboo suit, the Circle Suit, or Millions Suit combined with Honor Tiles (Winds and Dragons).

Full Color game

To have a Full Color game, the tiles must form a valid Mahjong combination and be made of the either the Bamboo suit only, the Circle Suit only, the Millions Suit only, or Honor Tiles only.

All Terminal game

To have an All Terminal game, the tiles must form a valid Mahjong combination and be a combination of one and nine tiles only.

Half Terminal game

To have a Half Terminal game, the tiles must form a valid Mahjong combination and be a combination of one tiles, nine tiles, and Honor Tiles (Wind Tiles and Dragon Tiles).

Chicken game

A Chicken game is having a valid Mahjong combination without qualifying for any of the above Mahjong Combinations. An example of a Chicken game is shown below.

Ways To Win Without Mahjong

There are a few special tile combinations that allow a player to win without having a valid Mahjong Combination. These are listed below.

13 Wonders game

To have a 13 Wonders game, the tiles must have the one and the nine of the Bamboo Suit, the Circle Suit, and the Millions Suit along with each unique Honors Tile. There must also be an Eye which can be made up of any of the previous mentioned tiles.

Eight Flower game

In the case that a player has all eight Flower Tiles, that player automatically wins the game regardless of their other tiles. If a player has seven Flower Tiles and another player selects the eighth and last Flower Tile, this eighth Flower Tile is automatically transferred to the player with seven Flower Tiles and that player automatically wins the game regardless of whether they have a valid mahjong combination.

All Dragon game

In the case where a player has a Pong and/or Kong of all the three Dragons Tiles, then they will automatically win the game regardless of whether they have a valid Mahjong combination. Note: the current web version of the computer game does not implement this rule; however, the mobile versions do support this rule.

All Wind game

In the case where a player has a Pong or Kong of all the four wind tiles they will automatically win the game regardless of whether they have a valid Mahjong combination. Note: the current web version of the computer game does not implement this rule; however, the mobile versions do support this rule.

How To Earn Fan (or Doubles)

There are many ways to earn Fan during a game. Below is a list of the different ways and the values assigned to each way. Remember, Fan value add together, so if a player has a Half Color game (two Fan) and an All Pong game (two Fan) that is worth a total of four Fan.

A Pong or Kong of Dragon Tiles - 1 Fan for each

A Pong or Kong of the Prevailing Wind for that game - 1 Fan

A Pong or Kong of the Player Game Wind for that game - 1 Fan

Chicken game - 0 Fan

All Chow game - 1 Fan

Ping Wu game - 4 Fan

All Pong game - 2 Fan

Half Color game - 2 Fan

Full Color game - 4 Fan

All Terminal game - 9 Fan

Half Terminal game - 2 Fan

13 Wonders Game - 8 Fan

Animal Tiles - 1 Fan for each

Complete Animal Set - 1 extra Fan

Flower Tile that matches the Players Wind - 1 Fan for each

Complete Flower Set - 1 extra Fan

Complete Season Set - 1 extra Fan

Winning the game with a Replacement Tile - 1 Fan

Winning the game with the last valid tile left in the game - 1 Fan

Robbing the Kong - 1 Fan

Winning the game with Eight Flower Tiles - 12 Fan

Winning the game with Seven Flower Tiles - 10 Fan

All Dragon game - 7 Fan

All Wind game - 12 Fan

Winning the game with a Pong and/or a Kong of two of the three Dragon Tiles and having the third Dragon Tile as the Eye - 1 extra Fan

Winning the game with a Pong and/or a Kong of three of the four Dragon Tiles and having the third Dragon tile as the EYE - 4 Fan total

Maximum Fan Limit (Doubles Limit)

There is a maximum number of Fan that is allowed for a player when they win a game. The default setting for the game is five Fan, however this can be changed by the player.

How does a player win the game?

To win the game, a player must have a valid Mahjong Combination and meet the Minimum Fan requirement. A player can also win with non-Mahjong Combinations such as 13 Wonders, Eight Flowers, All Dragons, and All Winds.

How do you score?

There are events that cause immediate payouts to a player. When a player performs a Kong-1 or Kong-3, they receive two points from each player. This number can be changed under the options menu for the web version of the game.

When a player gets the Animal Set Tile set, they receive four points from each player. This number can be changed under the options menu for the web version of the game.

When a player gets the Season Set or the Flower Set, they receive four points from each player. This number can be changed under the options menu for the web version of the game.

When someone declares Mahjong and wins the game, the number of Fan they have is counted. If they have zero Fan they receive 1 point from each player. By default this cannot happen in the game because the Minimum Fan requirement to win the game is set to one. If the winning player has one or more Fan, 1 point is doubled for each Fan the winning player has. This number of points is received by the winning player from each player. If the winning player picked the winning tile from the Tile Wall, then they receive double the calculated points. If the winning player won via a discarded tile, then the winning player receives double the points from the player who discarded the winning tile. Example, player 1 wins the game with 3 Fan and Player 2 discarded the winning tile. Player 1 receives 16 points from Player 2 and 8 points (1 x 2 x 2 x 2) from the rest of the Players. Another example, if Player 1 wins the game with 3 Fan and Player 1 picked the winning tile from the unused tiles, then Player 1 receives 16 points from each player.

When a player wins with a 13 Wonders Game, the scoring is treated as if the player selected the winning tile, even if the winning tile was discarded by another player.

When a player gets the cat and the mouse Animal Tiles they receive two points from each player. If the cat and the mouse were received during the initial 13 tiles at the beginning of the game, the player would receive four points from each player. This number can be changed under the options menu for the web game.

When a player gets the chicken and the centipede Animal Tiles they receive two points from each player. If the chicken and the centipede were received during the initial 13 tiles at the beginning of the game, the player would receive four points from each player. This number can be changed under the options menu for the web game.

When a player gets both Flower Tiles that match the wind number for that game they receive two points from each player. If these flowers are received during the initial 13 tiles at the beginning of the game, the player would receive four points from each player. This number can be changed under the options menu for the web game.

Pay All Situations

There are a number of game situations where discarding a particular tile may result in that player paying for all the other players. These game situations are described below.

Dragon Tile Set Scenario

If player A has a Pong or a Kong of 2 of the 3 Dragon Tiles showing in the Exposed Tiles, and a discard by player B of the Dragon Tile (that is not currently showing in player A's Exposed Tiles) would cause player A to Kong, Pong, or Game where player A now has the completed Dragon Tile set, then player B would pay for all the other players if player A won by picking his own winning tile or player B threw the winning

tile to player A.

An example of this scenario is shown below and is as follows. Assume player A has the exposed tiles as shown below. If player B discards the White Dragon and Player A Pongs or Kongs on that tile, then player B is in a pay for all situation. In this case if player A wins by picking his own winning tile or player B causes player A to win with a discarded tile, player B will pay for all the other players.

This is the way the web computer game plays, but the actual rule is that when a player has the complete dragon set, that player automatically wins and the player that discarded the winning tile would pay for all in the scenario listed above.

With these Exposed Tiles for Player A,

the White Dragon is now a Pay All discard.

Wind Tile Set Scenario

If player A has a Pong or a Kong of 3 of the 4 Wind tiles showing in the Exposed Tiles, and a discard by player B of the Wind tile (that is not currently showing in player A's Exposed Tiles) would cause player A to Kong, Pong or Game where player A now had the completed Wind tile set, then player B would pay for all the other players if player A won by selecting his own winning tile or player B threw the winning tile to player A. An example is shown below.

This is the way the web computer game plays, but the actual rule is that when a player has the complete wind set, that player automatically wins and the player that discarded the winning tile would pay for all in the scenario listed.

With these Exposed Tiles for Player A

the North Wind is a pay all discard.

Fan Limit Scenario

If player A has the number of Fan Limit (default to 5) showing in the Exposed Tiles, and player B discards a Dragon Tile, Prevailing Wind Tile, or Players Game Wind that causes player A to win the game or Pong or Kong, then player B would pay for all the other players if player A won by selecting the winning tile or player B discarding the winning tile to player A.

If player A has 1 less than the Fan Limit showing in his Exposed Tiles (4 Fan by default), and player B discards a Dragon Tile, Prevailing Wind Tile, or Players Game Wind that causes player A Pong or Kong and it brings player A to the Fan Limit, then player B would pay for all the other players if player A won by selecting the winning tile or player B discarding the winning tile to player A. This rule also applies if player A were to win the game with the discarded tile that was used in a Pong to win the game and bring player A to the Fan Limit.

The above scenario can also apply to players with only 3 Fan in the Exposed Tiles. This scenario occurs when the Prevailing Wind and the Player s Wind are the same. In this case only the Prevailing Wind would be a Pay All discard (worth 2 Fan for the player).

Below, Player A has 4 Fan in the Exposed Tiles which is one less than the Fan Limit of 5. Therefore any Dragon Tile, Prevailing Wind tile, or Players Wind tile is a Pay All discard.

Full Color Scenario

If player A has 3 or 4 sets of Chows, Pongs, or Kongs that are all in the same suit in the Exposed Tiles, and player B discards a tile of that same suit that causes player A to win the game with Full Color, then player B will pay for all the other players.

Below, Player A has 3 sets of the same suit on the exposed tiles, therefore any Bamboo Suit tile becomes a pay all discard.

End of Game Scenario (Fresh Discard Scenario)

When there are less than 4 tiles to play in the game, any player that discards a tile that is not contained in the discarded tiles which causes another player to win the game, the player who discarded the tile will pay for all. The number of tiles that this rule applies to can be set in the options menu for the web game.

Rule Variations

These are some of the rule variations.

Seven Pairs game - This allows a player to win when they have seven pairs. This is not supported by the web game, but is an option in the mobile game.

Pay all for Kong at the End of Game - Some games play that any fresh tile that causes a Kong at the end of the game (usually fewer than 7 tiles remaining) is pay all for the Kong for the person who threw the tile. The web and mobile games do not support this rule.

Robbing the Kong for Kong-4 on 13 Wonders - If a player performs a Kong-4 and another played needs that tile to win with 13 wonders, then that Kong-4 tile is transferred to the player and that player wins the game with 13 wonders. This rule is not supported by the web and mobile games.

Extra Fan for concealed game - Some games play that when a player wins with no Exposed Tiles showing (excluding Animal and Flower Tiles) and the player selects the winning tile, that player gets an extra Fan. This rule is not supported by the web and mobile games.

Extra points for self draw winning - Some games play when a player wins a game by selecting the winning tile, extra points are received from each player. This rule is not supported by the web and mobile games.

Winning with Dragon or Wind Set - Some games play that once a Pong and or Kong of the Dragon or Wind set is obtained by a player that player automatically wins the game without having to obtain Mahjong. This rule is not supported by the web game, but is supported by the mobile versions.

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