CLAIMING A TILE

Whenever a discard is made, any player can use the discard to make a set with tiles in his hand. Then they reveal the set they have made to the other players, giving away some data on his developing hand. There are rules governing when a tile may be claimed, which depend on the type of set being made:

CHOW

A Chow is a "run" or sequence of 3 tiles in the same suit.

    

To make a Chow the player declares out loud "Chow" and takes the discarded tile. A CHOW CAN ONLY BE MADE FROM THE DISCARDS OF THE PLAYER TO YOUR LEFT, NOT FROM OTHER PLAYERS.

PUNG

A Pung is a set of 3 identical tiles. The player says "Pung" out loud and takes a discard to make a Pung. They then show the created set and discards a tile. The next player then takes their turn.

    

KONG

A Kong is a set of 4 identical tiles. If formed from a discarded tile, the player declares "Kong" out loud and exposes the set. If drawn from the wall the player may retain it as concealed. The advantage in concealing a Kong is that the player can later split it and use one of the tiles to make a Chow if they wish.

    

If the player draws from the wall and makes a Kong, he still needs a replacement tile. So he places the 4 tiles on the table with the outside ones face up and the inside 2 face down, indicating it is a concealed Kong. Then he may draw a replacement.

The player then draws a replacement tile from the dead wall and discards as usual.

You are not permitted to use a discarded tile to make a declared Pung into a Kong, but you can draw a tile from the wall and use it to make a Kong from a declared Pung you have already placed on the table.

PAIR

An Eye or Pair is 2 identical tiles. You cannot make a Pair from a discard unless it is to go out and declare Mahjong. Only one pair is allowed in a hand.

  

TWO PLAYERS CLAIMING A DISCARD

If 2 players try to claim the same discard, the priority is as follows:

1. Going out (declaring Mahjong).
2. Kong or Pung
3. Chow
4. Where 2 players claim the same tile for Mahjong, the player to the right of the thrower wins.

FLOWER TILES

Whenever a Flower tile is drawn, it should immediately be exposed and a replacement drawn from the dead wall. Some game variations allow for the idea that if a player holds all Flower tiles he automatically wins the game.

WAITING TO WIN

When a player only needs one more tile to make Mahjong, he has a "ready hand". This is called "Waiting".

WINNING

When a player creates a hand of complete sets and a pair, this is Mahjong, and he declares this out loud. A winning hand is four sets of Pungs, Chows, or Kongs and a Pair.

ROTATION AND ROUNDS

After each hand, the Wind or seating position rotates counterclockwise. This also happens in the event of a dead hand (where nobody wins).

There are 4 rounds:

• East
• South
• West
• North

In each round, the seating position changes so a player plays each seat in each round. This means if a player starts as East in the east round, he will play as follows:

Round		Hand	Seating position
1	East	1	East
		2	South
		3	West
		4	North
2	South	5	East
		6	South
		7	West
		8	North
3	West	9	East
		10	South
		11	West
		12	North
4	North	13	East
		14	South
		15	West
		16	North

BASIC SCORING

Hand containing:	Score:
4 Chows	2 points
4 Pungs or Kongs	6 points
1 Dragon Pung or Kong	2 points
A pair of Dragon Pung	6 points
Pung/Kong of Winds that matches the round or seat	2 points
Flowers/Seasons tile	1 point each
Win by self-drawn	1 point