If you have been following my blogs, you probably know I learned how to play Mahjong when I was 5 years old. The mahjong we played at the Katague Household used 16 tiles with and without jokers ( 4), instead of 13 tiles as used in the Hong Kong Style.
When we started playing as beginners, we play the simple version of completing 5 melds { 3 or 4 of the same tile (pong/kang) }or three consecutive tiles ( Chow) and A PAIR.
Again, may I emphasize that variations of the game are common depending where you resides in the Philippines. You can make it complicated by scoring and increasing level of difficulty.
As we advanced we got bored playing the simple and basic melds and modify the game that a winning hand should have at least one level of degree of difficulty (Fan) or Limits and then we used Jokers. Let me illustrate what I meant by increasing the difficulty of melds ( Scoring) as follows:
Hong Kong Mahjong scoring is based on fan or番. Fan means that certain winning hands can be worth more than others, adding a layer of strategy. I grow up calling it LIMITS.
Fan are awarded based on the completion of certain criteria, such as the assembly of difficult hands. The payout of each round is then done based on the acquired fan by the winning player. The full list of standard fan and the prerequisite conditions are provided below:
| SET | FAN |
|---|---|
| Pung of Dragon tiles | 1 |
| Kong of Dragon tiles | 1 |
| Pung or kong of player’s Wind | 1 |
| Pung or kong of the Wint of the round | 1 |
| Flower or Season of player’s Wind | 1 |
| All Flowers or Seasons | 2 |
| No Flowers or Seasons | 1 |
| Two Dragon pungs or kongs and a pair of another Dragon | 4 |
| Full chow hand | 1 |
| Full pung hand | 3 |
| Hand consisting of only a single suit and Honor tiles | 3 |
| Seven pairs | 4 |
| Hand consisting of only a single suit | 6 |
| Self-drawing the final tile | 1 |
| Win with the last tile from the Live Wall | 1 |
| Win with the last discard of the game | 1 |
| Win by stealing a kong | 1 |
| Win through replacement tile from Dead Wall | 1 |
Not in the above List is ESCALERA- Hands that have melds from 1 to 9 of the same suit.
There are also special hands that, when assembled, reward a large amount of fan, up to 64 points, though most require complex requirements to be achieved. Some are instantly forfeit once you reveal tiles through calling, making them extremely rare.
Depending on the amount of fan obtained by the winning player, the payout will be paid by the losing players. As a rule of thumb, if the winning tile was called from a discard, the discarding player will have to pay double the fan during the payout; if the winning tile was self-drawn, all other players will need to pay double the fan.
The value of a single fan depends on the setting of the Hong Kong Mahjong game, and can range from chips to a specified sum of money. As I previously mentioned Mahjong is a favorite gambling activity in the Philippines besides cockfighting and lotteries.
Hong Kong Mahjong hands consist of 14 tiles, and are usually 4 sets of three and a single pair. A winning hand worth 5 fan is shown below:
This hand consists entirely of pungs, awarding 3 fan, and also includes two pungof dragon tiles, awarding 1 fan each. In total, this winning hand is worth 5 fan.
Special Hands
There are hard-to-assemble special hands that award large sums of fan. These are listed below:
Seven Pairs – 16 fan
Consists of 7 pairs.
Four Winds – 64 points
Consists of 3 pungs of Wind tiles and a random tile, and a pair of the final Wind. Also applies to 4 pungs of Wind tiles and a pair of another tile.
Three Scholars – 64 points
Pung or kong with all 3 Dragon tiles, any set of chow, pung or kung and any pair.
Hidden Treasure – 64 points
Consists of 4 pungs and any pair, all concealed.
All Honors – 64 points
Consists of only Honor tiles.
All Terminals – 64 points
Consists of only terminal tiles (ones and nines) and any tile that forms a pair with 2-8.
Nine Gates – 64 points
Consists of 3 ones, 3 nines and the 2-8 tiles of any suit, followed by any tile of the same suit and any tile that forms a pair. This hand must be concealed.
Thirteen Orphans – 64 points
Consists of the terminal tiles of each suit, and every single Honor tile, followed by a tile that forms a pair. This hand must be concealed.
All Kongs – 64 points
A full hand consisting of 4 kongs and a pair.
Jade Dragon – 64 points
Consists of pungs or kongs of Bamboos only and a pung or kong of the Green Dragon tile.
Ruby Dragon – 64 points
Consists of pungs or kongs of Characters only and a pung or kong of the Red Dragon tile.
Pearl Dragon – 64 points
Consists of pungs or kongs of Dots only and a pung or kong of the White Dragon tile.
Heavenly Hands – 64 points
Achieved when the East Wind dealer wins with the starting hand and draw.
Earthly Hands – 64 points
Achieved when a player wins from the dealer’s first discard.
Strategy
- The key of Hong Kong Mahjong strategy is to think ahead before making any moves. Always check to see if a winning hand is available, and be alert to call out discards that can help.
- Do not focus on the special hands, and instead focus on achieving the base requirement of 1 fan in your winning hand. The first person to call a legal winning had wins regardless of the fan accumulated, and it is perfectly acceptable to win a hand worth 1 fan.
- For people just starting out, keeping hands concealed is recommended. This makes things hard to read by the opponent, and keeps more options open for discards.
- Take note of pungs and kongs, since there are only 4 duplicates of each tile, once a pung or kong is called, the chances of getting one of the called tile becomes significantly unlikely. Strategize around revealed tiles and reorganize your hand to enable other win conditions.
For Details visit:
https://www.coololdgames.com/tile-games/mahjong/hong-kong/
The Mahjong we play here at THD is the simple/basic Hong Kong Style ( 13 tiles and No Jokers). Once you learn the basic, the game is purely LUCK. Come Join US, every Thursday at 3:45 PM at Churchill's Pub. No money is involved and we play for FUN!!!
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