Reference
Mahjong Rules Compared: Five Axes
Seven popular rule sets, five differences that actually matter at the table. Read this before joining a table whose rules you do not know.
At a glance
- Seven styles
- MCR, Hong Kong, Sichuan, Taiwanese, riichi, American, British
- Five axes
- Claims, minimum hand, special tiles, scoring, shared-tile rule
- Biggest single difference
- Whether a minimum hand is required at all
- Fastest to learn
- Hong Kong; strictest is MCR
Five questions that separate every rule set
Mahjong variants differ in dozens of small ways, but almost every practical difference at the table comes from five axes. Ask these before you join a table you do not know, and the rest is detail.
- What can be claimed? Is chow allowed, and is it limited?
- What is the minimum hand? A fan threshold, a tai threshold, or no threshold at all.
- Which special tiles exist? Flowers, Jokers, wild tiles, removed honours.
- How is a hand scored? Fan, fu and fan, tai, points, or a printed card.
- What happens when two players want the same tile? Nearest wins, or everyone is paid.
The comparison table
| Style | Chow | Minimum | Special tiles | Scoring unit | Shared tile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Official (MCR) | Yes | 8 fan | Flowers, optional | Fan | Nearest wins |
| Hong Kong | Yes | 3 or 8 fan, by table | Flowers, optional | Fan | Nearest wins |
| Sichuan | Yes | Void suit plus 1 fan | No honours at all | Fan plus kong payments | All winners paid |
| Taiwanese | Yes | 5 tai | Flowers, 1 tai each | Tai | Nearest wins |
| Riichi | Yes | At least one yaku | Dora, red fives, dead wall | Fu and fan | Nearest wins |
| American (NMJL) | No | Pattern on the card | Eight Jokers | Card value | Card decides |
| British (BMJA) | Once per hand | None | Kong box | Points, base 20 | Nearest wins |
Axis one: claims
Chow is the fault line. Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong and riichi play allow it without limit. American mahjong bans it outright, because its scoring language has no runs. British play permits exactly one per hand, which makes the decision of when to spend it a core skill.
Two styles add a further restriction worth knowing: in Sichuan play you may not claim a tile at all until you have discarded your void suit, and in riichi a claim permanently closes the hand and puts riichi, pinfu, ippatsu and several other yaku out of reach.
Axis two: the minimum hand
This is the difference that most often causes a beginner to lose a hand they thought they had won.
| Minimum | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| 8 fan (MCR) | A complete shape is often not enough. You must count before declaring. |
| 5 tai (Taiwanese) | Lower than MCR, and flowers contribute. |
| 3 or 8 fan (Hong Kong) | Ask the table. The difference changes the whole game. |
| One yaku (riichi) | Cheap patterns count. Tanyao alone is enough. |
| No minimum (British) | Any complete hand scores. The simplest of the seven. |
| Card pattern (American) | Not a threshold at all: the exact printed pattern is the requirement. |
Axis three: special tiles
Flowers are the common case and the easiest to get wrong. In Chinese Official they are worth 1 fan each but do not count toward the minimum. In Taiwanese they are worth 1 tai each and are collected as they arrive. In Singapore and Malaysian play they act as wild tiles, each standing in for a tile of its own suit.
American Jokers are the most restrictive wild tile in the game: they may only substitute inside a group of three or more identical tiles. Philippine Jokers, by contrast, may substitute for anything, and Vietnamese play uses a graded hierarchy of wild tiles that cannot be used across levels.
Axis four: scoring
Fan-based systems count patterns. Fu-and-fan systems count structure as well and multiply. Tai is fan with a different threshold. British points are flat and additive. The American card is a fixed value per pattern with no arithmetic at all.
The practical question for a new player is not which system is better but which one your table uses, because scoring is the one part of mahjong where a wrong answer cannot be fixed after the tiles are cleared.
Axis five: shared tiles
When two players can win on the same discard, most styles give the win to the nearest player anticlockwise from the discarder. Sichuan play is the notable exception: in blood-battle mode, every player who can win on that tile is paid, and the hand continues afterwards.
Some clubs also use an all-pay rule in four-player games. Agree on it before the first hand — the difference in cost to the discarder is large.
Choosing a style
| If you want... | Play | Because |
|---|---|---|
| The easiest first game | Hong Kong | Chow allowed, low minimum, forgiving scoring |
| A competitive standard | MCR | Objective scoring, fixed pattern values, tournament rules |
| Short, aggressive hands | Sichuan | No honours, void suit, play continues after a win |
| Online play | Riichi | Largest player base and the most developed software |
| Family play with cards | American | A new card each year keeps the game fresh |
| Manual scoring on paper | British | Flat points, no doubling structure |
Quick answers
Which mahjong style allows chow?
Chinese Official, Hong Kong, Sichuan, Taiwanese and riichi all allow it. American play does not, and British play allows one chow per hand.
Which style has no minimum hand at all?
British mahjong. Every complete hand scores its base of 20 points plus any pattern points, with no threshold to clear.
Which style uses the fewest tiles?
Sichuan, at 108. It removes all winds and dragons, which is why it needs no honour-related patterns.
Do all styles use flowers?
No. They are optional in Chinese and Hong Kong play, scored in Taiwanese, used as wild tiles in some Southeast Asian games, and absent from riichi.