A Complete Game — How to Play
Hong Kong Style Mahjong
A Complete Game — How to Play
A step-by-step walkthrough of a real game — from the first discard to declaring Sic Wu!
Everything in this guide assumes the wall has been built, seats assigned, and tiles dealt. Each player holds 13 tiles; the dealer (East) holds 14 and discards first to begin.
Play moves counterclockwise around the table. On every turn a player either draws from the wall or claims a discard — then discards one tile face-up. The round continues until someone wins or the wall runs out.
East’s First Discard — The Game Begins
Ah Ling (East) looks at her 14 tiles. She is working towards a Bamboo flush hand. The 5 of Characters does not fit — she discards it face-up to the centre of the table.
The other three players now have a brief window to claim this tile before the next player draws. They each check their hands:
Emma Calls Pong
Emma (West) picks up the 5 Characters and places all three face-up on the table in front of her — this is her exposed Pong. All players can now see it. Claiming a Pong skips any players whose turn it would otherwise be.
Rule: After calling Pong, Emma must immediately discard one tile from her remaining hand. She discards the 9 of Bamboo — a tile that does not fit her strategy.
Normal Play — Drawing from the Wall
No one claims Emma’s 9 Bamboo discard. Play now passes to Michael (North) — the next player counterclockwise from Emma.
Michael draws the top tile from the wall. He gets the 2 of Dots.
It doesn’t fit his hand. He discards it face-up.
Ah Ling (East) checks: she holds the 1 and 3 of Dots. If she calls Chow she can form a run of 1–2–3 Dots. But wait —
⚠ Chow Direction Rule: A Chow can only be claimed from the player directly to your left. Michael is to Ah Ling’s right, not her left. She cannot call Chow on this discard.
No one else can use it either. The turn passes to Ah Ling (East) who draws from the wall.
David Calls Chow
After several more turns, Ah Ling (East) discards the 7 of Bamboo. David (South) is to Ah Ling’s left — the one player eligible to call Chow on her discard. David holds 5 Bam and 6 Bam. Adding 7 Bam gives him a perfect 5–6–7 sequence.
David calls “Chow!” and picks up the tile. He places the three tiles face-up as his exposed Chow:
Rule: Like Pong, David must now discard one tile from his remaining hand. He discards the North Wind — not useful in his mixed-suit strategy.
Drawing a Flower Tile
A few turns later, Michael (North) draws from the wall and gets the Plum Flower tile.
What happens: Flower and Season tiles cannot be used in sets. Michael immediately sets it aside face-up in front of him — it will count as a bonus if he wins. He then draws a replacement tile from the end of the wall (the supplement tiles).
Note: The replacement tile is drawn from the end of the wall (the far side from normal draws) to keep the wall count consistent. If the replacement is also a Flower or Season tile, another replacement is drawn.
Michael Declares Kong
Michael already has a Pong of Red Dragons exposed on the table from an earlier turn. On his current draw, he pulls the fourth Red Dragon from the wall.
He places the 4th tile on his exposed Pong and declares “Kong!” His Red Dragon set is now upgraded to a Kong:
Kong Rule: Declaring a Kong means Michael now has only 2 tiles forming the rest of his hand — not enough. He must draw one replacement tile from the end of the wall before discarding. This keeps his hand at the correct size.
Michael draws his replacement tile, then discards one tile. His Red Dragon Kong will add +1 bonus level when he wins.
Claim Priority — Who Gets the Tile?
A critical situation arises. Ah Ling (East) discards the 3 of Dots. Two players want it at the same time:
Pong and Kong always beat Chow. Emma wins the claim. If someone needed it to declare Sic Wu (win), that would beat even Pong/Kong. The priority order is:
Sic Wu > Pong / Kong > Chow
Calling — One Tile Away
Several more turns pass. Ah Ling (East) has quietly built her hand. She now holds three complete sets and a pair — she just needs one more tile to complete her fourth set. She is Calling.
Ah Ling’s current hand (conceptual layout):
Ah Ling is waiting for either a 1 Bam (to complete a 1–1–1 Pong), or she may already have another tile in mind. In either case, she is Calling — any other player’s discard of her needed tile lets her win immediately.
Sic Wu! — Ah Ling Wins
On the next turn, David (South) draws from the wall and discards the 1 of Bamboo. This is exactly what Ah Ling needs.
Ah Ling immediately declares: “Sic Wu!”
She picks up the 1 Bam and lays her complete hand face-up on the table for all to see:
Sic Wu! — Ah Ling Wins!
Hand assessment: All Bamboo (Pure Hand / Full Flush) — Level 7 base. Won from David’s discard — From Discard win.
Payout: David (the discarder) pays Ah Ling $192. East and South pay nothing — only the discarder pays in a discard win. If Ah Ling had drawn the tile herself from the wall, all three players would each pay $288.
After the Round — What Happens Next?
Once Sic Wu is declared and verified, the round is settled:
In this game, Ah Ling (East) won — so she remains the dealer and a new round begins immediately with the tiles shuffled and the wall rebuilt.
Turn Flow — Quick Reference
Now you know how a full round plays out. Study the Hands & Scoring section to understand what makes a hand valuable. — hksmahjong.net
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