Hong Kong mahjong scoring (faan) explained

The basics

• You count faan only when you win.
• Add up every scoring part of your hand.
• You need at least 3 faan to win. A finished hand with fewer can't be declared.
• There is a top score, called the limit. It's 10 faan in our game. Anything over it counts as 10.
• A few very rare hands are limit hands: they score the limit, and nothing else is added.

Worth 1 faan each

If you sit East in the East round, a pung of East winds is both your seat wind and the round's wind, so it scores 2.

Bigger patterns

The two three-dragons hands already include the dragon pungs, so don't add 1 faan for each dragon pung on top. Small four winds is different: your seat wind and the round's wind pungs still add 1 each.

Flowers and seasons

Flowers and seasons are numbered 1 to 4, and the numbers match the seats: 1 East, 2 South, 3 West, 4 North. Each one with your seat's number scores 1 faan, so you can get 1 for your flower and 1 for your season.

• All four flowers, or all four seasons: 2 faan. This replaces the 1 for your own tile in that group.
• All eight flowers and seasons: a limit hand.
• No flowers or seasons at all: 1 faan.

Limit hands

These rare hands score the limit (10 faan in our game). Nothing else is added to them.

• Great four winds: pungs of all four winds.
• All honors: only winds and dragons.
• All terminals: only 1s and 9s, in pungs and a pair.
• Four concealed pungs: four pungs or kongs, none of them called. If you win on a discard, the set that tile finishes counts as called, unless it finishes your pair.
• All kongs: four kongs and a pair.
• Nine gates: 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 9 in one suit, plus any tile of that suit, with no called sets.
• Thirteen orphans: one of each 1 and 9, each wind and each dragon, plus one more of any of them.
• Heaven's hand: East, the dealer, wins with the 14 tiles dealt.
• Earth's hand: you win on the first tile East throws.
• All eight flowers and seasons.

Adding up a hand

Example 1: 5 faan

You sit South in the East round. You called two of the pungs and won on a discard. Your only bonus tile is Flower 2.

• All pungs: 3
• Red Dragon pung: 1
• Own flower (Flower 2, South): 1
• Total: 5 faan

Example 2: 8 faan

You sit East in the East round. You called nothing, drew the winning tile yourself and have no flowers or seasons.

• Mixed one suit (Bams plus honors): 3
• Seat wind pung (East): 1
• Round wind pung (East): 1
• Self-drawn: 1
• Concealed hand: 1
• No flowers or seasons: 1
• Total: 8 faan

The pair of Green Dragons scores nothing. Only pungs and kongs of dragons score.

Example 3: over the limit

You sit South in the East round. You called the West pung, won on a discard, and your only bonus tile is Flower 4.

• Small four winds: 6
• Mixed one suit (Dots plus honors): 3
• All pungs: 3
• Seat wind pung (South): 1
• Round wind pung (East): 1
• That's 14, so it scores the limit: 10 faan

What each player pays

In our game, each faan doubles the payment. The base is 2 to the power of the faan: 3 faan is 8, 4 faan is 16, and so on.

• Win on a discard: the player who threw the tile pays double the base. The other two pay the base.
• Self-drawn win: all three pay double the base.
• Robbing a kong counts as a discard by the player making the kong.
• A draw: no one pays.

Where groups differ

• The minimum: 3 faan is the most common. Some groups play 0, 1 or 2.
• The limit: 10 faan in our game. 8 and 13 are also common.
• Small four winds: some tables score it as a limit hand.
• Earth's hand: some tables count it on your own first draw instead of East's first discard.
• Seven pairs: many groups don't allow it. Where it's allowed, it's usually 4 faan.
• Payment: some groups have the discarder pay for everyone.

In our game you can set the minimum, the limit, seven pairs and whether flowers are used before you start. Agree on these with your group too, before the first hand.