Hong Kong vs American mahjong

The differences at a glance

What's the same

• Three suits numbered 1 to 9 (Dots, Bams and Craks), four winds and three dragons, four of each.
• Four players, each with a seat wind. East is the dealer and starts with 14 tiles; everyone else has 13.
• Play goes counter-clockwise: the player on your right goes after you.
• On your turn you draw, then discard. You can call a discard to finish a pung or kong.
• Pungs (3 alike) and kongs (4 alike) are sets in both games. After a kong you take an extra tile.

Chows: runs are allowed

This is the biggest change for American players. In Hong Kong mahjong, 3 in a row in one suit is a set called a chow. You can call a discard for a chow, but only from the player on your left.

American mahjong has no runs. Numbers in a row show up on the card only as matching sets, like a pung of 3s, a pung of 4s and a pung of 5s.

No card: faan instead

American players win by matching one exact hand on the card, and the card changes every year. Hong Kong mahjong has no card. Any 4 sets and a pair is a winning shape.

Instead, the hand has to score enough. Faan are points for features like a dragon pung, a hand in one suit, a concealed hand or a self-drawn win. Most tables need 3 faan to win. See Hong Kong mahjong scoring.

So the planning is different. In American mahjong you pick a hand from the card early. In Hong Kong mahjong you look for where your faan will come from, and keep your options open.

Jokers and flowers

Hong Kong mahjong has no jokers. Every set is made of real tiles, and there are no joker swaps.

Flowers work differently too. In Hong Kong mahjong, a flower or season never stays in your hand. You put it face up beside you, take a replacement tile, and it may add faan at the end. In American mahjong, the 8 flowers are all the same tile and are part of many hands on the card.

No Charleston, and more calling

There is no Charleston in Hong Kong mahjong. After the deal, East discards and play starts.

• Chow: only from the player on your left.
• Pung or kong: from anyone, as in American mahjong.
• To win: any tile from anyone, for any set or for your pair.
• No quints: with no jokers there are only 4 of each tile, so the biggest set is a kong.

Calling costs something in Hong Kong mahjong: a hand with no called sets scores 1 more faan. American hands marked C (concealed) on the card can't call at all, except for the last tile.

Scoring and paying

In American mahjong, each hand's value is printed on the card. In Hong Kong mahjong, you add up the faan, up to a top score called the limit (10 faan in our game). In our game, each faan doubles the payment.

Who pays works the same way in both: on a discard win, the player who threw the tile pays double and the others pay single; on a self-drawn win, everyone pays double.

Tips for switching

From American to Hong Kong

• Look for chows. They are the fastest way to finish a hand.
• Count your faan early. A fast hand that scores 1 faan can't win.
• Watch the player on your left: only their discards can make your chows.
• Don't pass tiles at the start, and don't look for jokers.

From Hong Kong to American

• Forget runs. Every set is matching tiles.
• Pick a hand from the card. Any 4 sets and a pair won't win.
• Keep your flowers: they are part of many hands.
• Use jokers in sets of 3 or more, never in pairs.

To learn either one with tiles on the screen, try the free Hong Kong mahjong course or the American mahjong course. Then play Hong Kong mahjong or play American mahjong against the computer.