Chinese Official Mahjong
Chinese Official, also called Mahjong Competition Rules, is the ruleset used for international tournament play. Its eight-point minimum forces you to build a hand with real structure rather than racing to the first complete shape, which makes it the most demanding of the three rulesets here.
Waiting for the other players…
How to play
- Standard four-player mahjong: draw, discard, and build four sets plus a pair.
- A hand must be worth at least eight points before it can be declared. Simple hands with no pattern do not qualify.
- Points come from patterns — flushes, all-triplets, dragon and wind sets, and many more — which stack together.
- Because the minimum is high, calling tiles to rush a weak hand is usually a losing plan.
Strategy tips
- Pick a direction in the first few turns. Flush hands and all-triplet hands are the most reliable ways to clear eight points.
- Dragon and seat-wind triplets are worth taking even at the cost of a turn, because they combine with almost everything else.
- A hand one tile from complete but worth only six points is not yet a hand. Keep improving it.
Frequently asked questions
Why can I not declare a win on a complete hand?
Chinese Official requires eight points minimum. If your completed hand scores less, the win cannot be declared and play continues.
Is the scoring here complete?
It covers the common patterns rather than the full official table. It is built for learning and casual play, not for tournament adjudication.
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