Singapore Mahjong Rules

The complete how-to-play, written for someone who already knows the basics of any mahjong variant. If you're brand new, jump to the beginner section.

The tile set — 148 tiles

Characters (萬) 1–9 — four copies each:

Bamboo (索) 1–9:

Dots (筒) 1–9:

Winds (East 東, South 南, West 西, North 北) × 4 each:

Dragons (Red 中, Green 發, White 白) × 4 each:

Flowers (plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo) and seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) — one of each, owner-tagged 1=East, 2=South, 3=West, 4=North:

Animals — Singapore-only. Cat eats rat, cockerel eats centipede:

Goal of the game

Be the first to assemble a winning hand of four sets and one pair (the "eye"). A set is one of:

Chow — three consecutive tiles in the same suit:

4-5-6 of dots

Pong — three identical tiles:

three red dragons

Kong — four identical tiles. Counts as one set but draws a replacement:

four 1-bamboos

Eye (pair) — two identical tiles:

east-wind pair

Bonus tiles (flowers, seasons, animals) sit aside — they aren't part of the four sets but add tai points.

Setup and dealing

1. Build the wall: each player stacks 18 columns × 2 tiles. The four walls form a square (148 ÷ 4 = 37 each).
2. The starting banker is determined by dice rolls; the banker's seat is East.
3. Deal 13 tiles to each player. The banker draws a 14th tile to start.
4. Anyone holding a flower, season, or animal tile in their starting hand reveals it and draws a replacement from the back of the wall. Repeat until no bonus tiles remain in any hand.

Turn flow

On your turn, in order:

1. Draw one tile from the live (front) end of the wall. If you draw a flower, season, or animal, declare it and draw a replacement from the back of the wall — repeat until you draw a normal tile.
2. You may then either declare a win (if your 14-tile hand qualifies) or discard one tile face-up to the table.
3. After your discard, opponents have a brief window to claim it.

Claiming a discard

When a tile is discarded, other players may interrupt the normal turn order to claim it. Priority order, highest first:

1. Win (mahjong) — anyone who can complete a winning hand with this tile. They reveal their hand and the round ends.
2. Kong — any player who has three identical tiles and the discard is the fourth. They expose the kong, draw a replacement, and discard.
3. Pong — any player who has two identical tiles. They expose the pong and discard.
4. Chow — only the player to the discarder's right can claim a chow. They expose the run and discard.

If multiple players claim the same tile, win beats kong/pong, kong/pong beats chow.

Concealed (in-hand) kong

If you draw the fourth copy of a tile you already hold three of, you can declare a concealed kong on your turn. You expose all four, draw a replacement, then discard. Robbing the kong: if a different player can win on the tile you're using to extend an exposed pong into a kong, they may "rob" it by declaring win on that tile (counts +1 tai).

Winning

Two ways to win:

• Self-draw (zi mo, 自摸): The tile you just drew completes your hand. All three other players pay double the base.
• Discard win: You complete your hand on someone else's discard. The discarder pays double, the other two pay normal.

You must have at least 1 tai to win (default minimum). A "chicken hand" (zero tai) is not a win.

Special wins outside the standard shape

• Eight Flowers (八仙过海): Collect all four flowers and all four seasons. Instant win.
• Seven Flowers (七星伴月): Seven of the eight flowers/seasons plus a self-drawn pair to complete.
• Thirteen Wonders (十三幺): One of every 1, 9, wind, and dragon, plus a pair of any one of them.
• All Dragons (大三元): Three pongs/kongs of all three dragons.
• All Winds (大四喜): Four pongs/kongs of all four winds.

End of round and end of game

If the wall runs out (typically the last 14 tiles aren't drawn — they're the dead wall) and no one has won, it's a "drawn game" — no payouts. The banker rotates only if East didn't win; if East wins, East stays banker. After everyone has been banker once, you've completed one wind round. A full game is four wind rounds (East, South, West, North).

Next: Scoring (tai) →