How to Play Mahjong: Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

What You Need to Play

You need four players and a set of 144 tiles. Each player sits at one side of the table, called a seat. The dealer (East) starts the round.

When you play online, the computer deals, tracks the wall and scores for you — so you only need to focus on building your hand.

Building the Wall and Dealing

The tiles are shuffled face-down and stacked two-high into a wall of 17 stacks per side. Each player builds one side.

The dealer rolls the dice to decide where to break the wall, then each player is dealt 13 tiles (the dealer gets 14 and discards first). Online, this all happens automatically.

Your Turn: Draw and Discard

On your turn you draw one tile from the wall, look at your hand, and discard one tile face-up into the centre. You always keep your hand at thirteen tiles.

Your goal while doing this is to turn your hand into four sets plus a pair.

Calling Tiles: Pong, Chi and Kong

When another player discards a tile you need, you may call it instead of drawing:

• Pong (碰): take the discard to complete a triplet of three identical tiles.

• Chi (吃): take the discard to complete a sequence (three consecutive tiles) — but only from the player on your left.

• Kong (杠): take the discard to complete four identical tiles.

Calling makes your hand open (exposed), which can reduce the patterns you are eligible for — so only call when it genuinely helps.

Winning a Hand

A winning hand is four sets plus one pair. You can win by self-draw (tsumo) or by claiming another player’s discard (ron).

Most rulesets also require a minimum score. Hong Kong style needs at least three faan, Chinese Official needs eight points, and Japanese Riichi needs at least one yaku. Our tables show your distance to ready and explain how each winning hand scored.

Scoring Basics

Points come from patterns built into your hand. Common ones are flushes (all one suit), all-triplets, dragon or wind sets, and the prized seven pairs.

Different rulesets value patterns differently. The simplest rule: the more structured your hand, the more it is worth. Our scoring breakdown shows exactly where your points come from after every win.

Try It Now

The fastest way to learn is to play. Start with Hong Kong Mahjong — three computer opponents, an optional readiness hint, and a full score breakdown on every hand.