Hong Kong mahjong, also called Cantonese mahjong, is the mahjong of Hong Kong tea houses and family tables, where you hear "sik wu!" when someone wins. Its personality: simple and quick, but it has to be worth enough. Hands have 13 tiles and the rules are light, but a complete hand needs at least 3 fan before it can win.
On this page
What makes it special
- 3-fan minimum: a complete hand worth less than 3 fan is a "chicken hand" and cannot win, so you always think about where your fan will come from.
- 10-fan limit: fan are capped, at 10 by default on our site (8 or 13 are options). Limit hands such as Thirteen Orphans score the cap straight away.
- Flowers score: no flowers at all is worth 1 fan, each flower matching your seat is 1 fan, and a full set of four is 2 fan.
- No dealer bonus: the dealer stays on after a win or a draw, but unlike Taiwanese mahjong that doesn't add anything to the payment.
Tiles and hand size
The set has 144 tiles: characters, dots and bamboo from 1 to 9, the four winds, the three dragons and eight flowers. Flowers are laid out as soon as you draw them and replaced from the end of the wall. See how many tiles are in a set and flower tiles.
Everyone holds 13 tiles; the dealer takes a 14th and discards first. You can chow only from the player on your left, and pung or kong from anyone.
How a hand is won
A winning hand is four sets + a pair, and Thirteen Orphans also counts. Then comes the key rule: at least 3 fan.
Where do fan come from? A concealed hand, self-draw, a dragon pung, your seat or prevailing wind, and flowers are 1 fan each. Going for all pungs, a half flush or a full flush gets you there faster.
How scoring works
Hong Kong mahjong counts fan, and the fan are turned into payment units on the "half-spicy" table: each fan doubles up to 4, then the steps get smaller. The fan our site uses:
| Hand | Fan |
|---|---|
| Concealed, self-draw, all chows, dragon pung | 1 each |
| All pungs, half flush | 3 each |
| Small three dragons | 5 |
| Full flush | 7 |
| Great three dragons | 8 |
| Thirteen Orphans, Great Winds and other limit hands | Limit |
By default, on a discard win the discarder pays double; on a self-draw all three pay. For how fan compares with tai and han, see scoring basics.
Who plays it and where
It's the everyday game in Hong Kong and Guangdong and in Cantonese-speaking communities around the world. House rules (the minimum, the limit, how a discard is paid) vary, so agree on them before you start.
Where to learn more and play
Head to Hong Kong Mahjong to play free against three computer opponents. The wait hint shows how many fan each wait is worth and which ones aren't enough to win. The site has a beginner how-to-play guide, a fan table with tile examples for every hand, and a scoring page with the full half-spicy payment table.
To compare: like Taiwanese mahjong, Hong Kong uses flowers, but Taiwanese has 16 tiles and no minimum. Like Chinese Official mahjong, you need enough to win, but there the bar is 8 points.
FAQ
Why can't I win with a complete hand?
Hong Kong mahjong needs at least 3 fan to win; anything less is a chicken hand. Keep your hand concealed, aim for all pungs or a half flush, or hope for a self-draw.
What is the limit (爆棚)?
Fan are capped, at 10 by default on our site, so anything above still counts as 10. Limit hands such as Thirteen Orphans or Great Winds score the cap directly.
How is it different from Taiwanese mahjong?
Hong Kong uses 13 tiles, four sets and a pair, and a 3-fan minimum. Taiwanese uses 16 tiles, five sets and a pair, has no minimum, and adds tai for dealer streaks. Either way, start with the basics of playing mahjong.