Taiwanese mahjong is the mahjong you'll find at almost every Taiwanese family table, especially over Lunar New Year. In one line: more tiles, bigger hands, more action. Everyone holds 16 tiles, flowers you lay out add tai, and a dealer on a streak gets more expensive every hand.
On this page
What makes it special
Compared with most 13-tile styles, Taiwanese mahjong has three trademarks:
- 16-tile hands: you build five sets and a pair, one set more than usual, so hands last longer and have more variety.
- Flowers score: the eight flower tiles are laid out as soon as you draw them and replaced from the back of the wall. A flower that matches your seat is worth 1 tai.
- Dealer streaks: when the dealer wins or the hand is a draw, the dealer stays, and every payment involving the dealer goes up by 2 tai per streak.
And one thing beginners love: there is no minimum. Any complete hand can win, even one worth 0 tai.
Tiles and hand size
A Taiwanese set has 144 tiles: characters, dots and bamboo from 1 to 9 (four of each), the four winds, the three dragons and eight flowers. See how many tiles are in a set for how styles differ, and flower tiles for the flowers.
Everyone gets 16 tiles and the dealer gets 17 and discards first. You can chow only from the player on your left; pung and kong from anyone. The last 16 tiles of the wall are never drawn, and if nobody has won by then the hand is a draw.
How a hand is won
A winning hand is five sets + one pair, 17 tiles in all. A set can be a chow, a pung or a kong, and sets you claimed and exposed count too.
Win on your own draw (self-draw) and all three opponents pay; win on a discard and only the discarder pays. If several players want the same discard, a win beats a pung or kong, which beats a chow.
How scoring works
Taiwanese mahjong scores in tai. Add up every pattern your hand matches; each payment is base + tai × the amount per tai. These are the values our site uses:
| Pattern | Tai |
|---|---|
| Self-draw, concealed hand | 1 each |
| Concealed self-draw (不求人) | 3 |
| All pungs, half flush | 4 each |
| Full flush, big three dragons | 8 each |
| Heavenly hand | 24 |
The dealer adds dealer tai on top: 1 tai as a new dealer, 3 after one streak, 5 after two. For how tai compare with fan and han, see scoring basics.
Who plays it and where
This is Taiwan's everyday mahjong: New Year gatherings, weekend family games, friends playing a few rounds, nearly always with 16 tiles. Taiwanese communities overseas play it too. House rules vary a little (a minimum tai, how flowers score), so ask before you sit down.
Where to learn more and play
To jump straight in, visit Taiwanese Mahjong: free, no sign-up, three computer opponents, with flowers and tai handled for you. The site has a full how-to-play guide from rolling the dice to counting tai, plus a complete tai table with tile examples for every pattern.
Want to compare? Taiwanese is furthest from Japanese Riichi mahjong (13 tiles, a yaku needed, no flowers) and closest to Hong Kong mahjong, which needs 3 fan to win.
FAQ
What is the minimum tai to win in Taiwanese mahjong?
Our site has no minimum, so a 0-tai hand can win, and there is no cap either. Some tables agree on a minimum, so settle it before you play.
What are flowers for?
Flowers are not used to build sets. Lay them out when you draw them and take a replacement from the back of the wall. Each flower matching your seat is 1 tai, and a full set of four (seasons or plants) is 2 tai.
Why 16 tiles?
With 16 tiles you need five sets and a pair, one more set than 13-tile mahjong, which means more combinations. If you're brand new, learn the basics of playing mahjong first, then move up to 16 tiles.