In this lesson
- Declare Mahjong correctly
- Recognize a dead hand, and what happens next
- Work out who pays what
- Play with the table manners every group expects
Declaring Mahjong
When your 14 tiles match a line on the card, say “Mahjong” clearly and expose your whole hand, arranged in card order so the table can check it. If you used no Jokers at all, say “Jokerless” too. Nobody touches or mixes their tiles until the hand has been checked, because calling Mahjong by mistake makes your hand dead.
Dead hands
A hand that can no longer win is dead. The usual causes: a wrong tile count, exposures that fit no line on the card, exposing a concealed hand, a Joker in a pair or single, or a hand whose remaining tiles are all visible elsewhere.
- You may never declare your own hand dead. If you realize it, keep playing and discard safely.
- Another player may challenge it, based only on tiles everyone can see. If you accept, you stop playing for the rest of the hand, and you still pay the winner.
- If a challenge is disputed, the hand is checked at the end, and whoever was wrong pays the other 50.
More in dead hands.
Scoring
| How the hand was won | Who pays what |
|---|---|
| On another player’s discard | The discarder pays double the hand’s value; the other two pay the value |
| Drew the winning tile yourself | All three pay double |
| Jokerless, and announced | Double all of that again, except for Singles and Pairs hands and Quint hands |
| Nobody wins (wall game) | Nobody pays |
The value of each hand is printed on the card. There is no dealer bonus. Many groups play for small change or keep score on paper; see scoring and payouts.
Table manners
- Name every discard out loud.
- Never pick or look at a wall tile before your turn. That is a rule, not just manners.
- If someone names a discard wrongly, it cannot be claimed until it has been named correctly. This is a rule too.
- Keep your hand to yourself: do not announce what you need, or react to discards.
The etiquette guide covers the rest, including a house-rules sheet for your group.
What’s next
You now know the whole game. Play the Solo Practice Hand at real pace until a full hand feels natural, print the free table companion to keep beside your rack, then find a game near you.
Try it
Switch the Solo Practice Hand to Real pace: 24 draws, about what you get in a four-player game. Can you finish a hand in time?
Check yourself
Answer in your head, then open each one to check.
You win on another player’s discard. Who pays double?
The player who discarded it. The other two pay the hand’s value.
You draw your winning tile yourself. Who pays?
All three players pay double.
Can you declare your own hand dead?
No. Keep playing until another player notices.
Does a dead hand still pay the winner?
Yes.
Someone misnames a discard. Can you claim it?
Not until it has been named correctly.