The complete guide

TAIWANESE MAHJONG (16-TILE)

16-tile game · classic Taiwanese scoring

Every combination, condition, payment and penalty — the exact values our scoring engine uses. Play a hand →

How Scoring Works — Everything Counts

Taiwanese 16-tile scoring is gloriously additive: every combination your hand contains adds its points, and every winning hand starts with a Base Point of 5. Tables may set a minimum score to win (a common ladder: East round 20, South 22, West 24, North 26 — pre-game claims don't count toward it). Some payments happen immediately at the table (dice, bouquets, gongs, penalties) — those are listed in their sections and settle on the spot, not at hand scoring.

Breaking the Wall — Triple Dice

If the dealer rolls three of a kind while breaking the wall, everyone pays on the spot: Triple Dice 1-1-1 through 5-5-5 collects 5 points from each player; Triple Dice 6-6-6 collects 10.

Flowers — Petals and Payouts

Each Flower tile: 1 point.

Flower of player's seat (matching your seat number): 1 more.

No Flower Tiles at all: also 1 point — the game pays you either way.

Mixed Set of Flowers (1-4 in mixed colours): collects 5 from each player immediately.

Pure Set of Flowers (all one colour): collects 10 from each player.

Pure Bouquet of 7 flowers: collects 10 from each player.

7-Flower Win (instant): 20 points.

8-Flower Win (instant): 40 points.

Draw your Flower-Wall replacement to complete 17 tiles BEFORE declaring — forgetting is a False Mahjong.

Winds — From Breeze to Hurricane

Pong of Winds: 1 point each — plus 1 more for Pong of Winds (player's seat) and 1 more again for Pong of Winds (round wind). A seat-and-round wind pong totals 3.

Little 3 Winds (two wind pongs + a wind pair): 15 points.

Big 3 Winds (three wind pongs): 30 points.

Little 4 Winds (three pongs + the fourth as the pair): 50 points.

Big 4 Winds (all four wind pongs): 60 points.

Little 3 Winds — 15 pts
E E E S S S W W
Big 4 Winds — 60 pts
E E E S S S W W W N N N

Dragons — and the Pure Honor Throne

Pong of Dragons: 2 points each.

Little Dragons (two dragon pongs + the third as the pair): 20 points.

Big Dragons (all three dragon pongs): 40 points.

Pure Honor Hand (every tile a wind or dragon): 140 points — and the Big/Little wind and dragon patterns inside it still score on top.

Little Dragons — 20 pts
RD RD RD GD GD GD WD WD
Pure Honor Hand — 140 pts
E E E S S S W W W RD RD RD GD GD GD WD WD

Absence Makes the Hand Grow Stronger

No Flower Tiles: 1 point.

No Wind and Dragon tiles: 1 point.

No Flower, Wind and Dragon tiles at all: 5 points.

No Terminal Tiles (and no honors — every tile a 2 through 8): 5 points.

No Flower, Wind and Dragon tiles — 5 pts
1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m 9m 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 5s 5s

Gongs (Quads)

Open Gong: 1 point (and it counts as one concealed pong toward the pong tiers).

Concealed Gong: collects 5 from each player immediately when declared, plus 2 points at hand scoring.

Concealed Gong not shown by game end: pay 10 to each player.

Robbing a Gong: 10 points — claim the tile someone is promoting to a gong to complete your win; the promoter pays.

Win by Self-Drawing after a Gong: 30 points — gong, draw the replacement, win on it.

Concealed Gong — 2 pts
5p 5p 5p 5p

Sequential Pongs — Stairways of Triplets

Consecutive-number pongs in one suit:

2 Sequential Pongs: 5 points.

3 Sequential Pongs: 15 points.

4 Sequential Pongs: 30 points.

5 Sequential Pongs: 60 points.

Sequential Pong Hand (5 sequential pongs plus a sequential pair — 111 222 333 444 555 + 66): 80 points.

3 Sequential Pongs — 15 pts
2p 2p 2p 3p 3p 3p 4p 4p 4p
Sequential Pong Hand — 80 pts
1m 1m 1m 2m 2m 2m 3m 3m 3m 4m 4m 4m 5m 5m 5m 6m 6m

Brother & Sister Sheungs, Sister Pongs

Brother Sheungs — the SAME run repeated in the SAME suit:

2 Sets of Brother Sheungs: 5 points.

3 Sets of Brother Sheungs: 15 points.

4 Sets of Brother Sheungs: 30 points.

Sister Sheungs — the same run ACROSS suits (repeats allowed at the top tiers):

2 Sets of Sister Sheungs: 3 points.

3 Sets of Sister Sheungs (all three suits): 10 points.

4 Sets of Sister Sheungs: 25 points.

5 Sets of Sister Sheungs: 40 points.

A SECOND independent group scores its own row on top — 1-2-3 in two suits AND 4-5-6 in two suits pays 3 + 3. The same goes for second sets of Sister Pongs, Brother Sheungs, Sequential Pongs, and a second Four-in-N-Ways rank.

Sister Pongs — the same number punged across suits:

2 Sets of Sister Pongs: 5 points.

3 Sets of Sister Pongs: 15 points.

3 Sets of Brother Sheungs — 15 pts
1s 2s 3s 1s 2s 3s 1s 2s 3s
3 Sets of Sister Sheungs — 10 pts
1m 2m 3m 1p 2p 3p 1s 2s 3s
3 Sets of Sister Pongs — 15 pts
4m 4m 4m 4p 4p 4p 4s 4s 4s
2 Sets of Sister Sheungs — 3 pts
3m 4m 5m 3p 4p 5p
2 Sets of Sister Pongs — 5 pts
7m 7m 7m 7p 7p 7p

Concealed Pongs — Quiet Power

Pongs formed without claiming a discard. An Open Gong counts toward the tier (the pong was concealed before you gonged it).

2 Concealed Pongs: 5 points.

3 Concealed Pongs: 15 points.

4 Concealed Pongs: 30 points.

5 Concealed Pongs: 80 points.

5 Concealed Pongs with no open gong and a fully concealed hand: 100 points — purity's price, purity's prize.

Dragon Runs — 1 Through 9

The full ladder 1-2-3, 4-5-6, 7-8-9:

Mixed Dragon (1-9 across suits): 5 points.

Mixed Dragon, concealed: 10 points.

Pure Dragon (1-9 same suit): 15 points.

Pure Dragon, concealed: 20 points.

Mixed Dragon — 5 pts
1m 2m 3m 4p 5p 6p 7s 8s 9s
Pure Dragon — 15 pts
1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s 7s 8s 9s

Terminals — Living on the Edge

Terminal Pong Set (a 111 pong AND a 999 pong in the same suit): 5 points.

2 Terminal Pong Sets (both suits complete): 20 points.

Terminal Run Set (1-2-3 and 7-8-9 in the same suit): 5 points.

2 Terminal Run Sets (mixed suits): 15 points.

2 Terminal Run Sets (pure suit): 20 points.

Terminals-only hand (with honors): 20 points — every set and the pair holds a 1, a 9 or an honor. Pongs AND sheungs count: 1-2-3 and 7-8-9 runs, 111/999 pongs, honor pongs, with an eye of 1s, 9s or honors.

Terminals-only hand (no honors): 40 points — the same edge-hugging build with the honors stripped out. Every set is a 1-2-3 or 7-8-9 run or a 111/999 pong, and the eyes are 1s or 9s. The runs do not need to be the same suit.

Terminal Pong Set — 5 pts
1p 1p 1p 9p 9p 9p
Terminal Run Set — 5 pts
1m 2m 3m 7m 8m 9m
2 Terminal Run Sets (pure suit) — 20 pts
1s 2s 3s 1s 2s 3s 7s 8s 9s 7s 8s 9s
Terminals-only hand (with honors) — 20 pts
1m 2m 3m 7s 8s 9s 1p 1p 1p 9m 9m 9m S S S RD RD
Terminals-only hand (no honors) — 40 pts
1m 2m 3m 7s 8s 9s 1p 2p 3p 1s 1s 1s 9p 9p 9p 9p 9p

Suits — From Two-Tone to Pure Silk

2-Suit Hand (two suits, no honors): 5 points.

2-Suit Hand (no flowers/honors): 15 points.

Semi-Pure Hand (one suit + winds/dragons): 30 points.

Pure Suit Hand (one suit, no honors): 90 points.

All 5-Suit Hand (Characters, Bamboos, Circles, Winds and Dragons all present): 10 points.

The Jewel Hands (20 points each) — one suit dressed in its matching dragon:

Jade Hand (Green Dragons + Bamboo). Ruby Hand (Red Dragons + Characters).

Diamond Hand (White Dragons + Circles). Sapphire Hand (White Dragons + Characters).

Semi-Pure Hand — 30 pts
2p 3p 4p 6p 6p 6p 8p 8p 8p N N N WD WD
Pure Suit Hand — 90 pts
1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s 6s 7s 8s 9s 9s 9s 2s 2s
Jade Hand — 20 pts
2s 3s 4s 6s 6s 6s 8s 8s 8s GD GD GD 1s 1s

Hand Shapes — Runs, Pongs and Step Ups

All Sheung Hand (every set a run): 5 points.

All Sheung Hand (no flowers/winds/dragons): 15 points.

All Pong Hand (five pongs and a pair): 25 points.

Step Up (3 stepping sheungs, each one number higher, any suits): 5 points.

All Step Up (5 stepping sheungs): 20 points.

All Step Up + sequential pair: 30 points.

All Step Up — same suit + sequential pair: 90 points.

Four in 2 ways: 5. Four in 3 ways: 15. Four in 4 ways: 20 — all four copies of one rank spread across that many different sets, no gong declared.

Step Up — 5 pts
1s 2s 3s 2p 3p 4p 3s 4s 5s
All Step Up — same suit + sequential pair — 90 pts
1m 2m 3m 2m 3m 4m 3m 4m 5m 4m 5m 6m 5m 6m 7m 6m 6m
Four in 2 ways — 5 pts
3m 3m 3m 2m 3m 4m
All Pong Hand — 25 pts
1m 1m 1m 3p 3p 3p 5s 5s 5s 7m 7m 7m 9p 9p 9p 2s 2s

Eyes, Waits and Ding Ding

Elephant Eyes (a pair of 2s, 5s or 8s): 2 points.

Calling by Pairs (waiting on either of two pairs — not scored in an All Pong hand): 2 points.

True Single Wait (exactly one tile could win): 2 points.

False Single Wait (a single-tile slot with other outs elsewhere): 2 points.

Ding Ding / Calling (declared): 5 points — turn your hand face down when one tile from winning and declare. Your hand locks: draw-and-discard only, win-only claims.

Elephant Eyes (pair of 2/5/8) — 2 pts
5p 5p

The Winning Moment

Base Point: every winning hand starts at 5.

Dealer wins or gives the winning tile: 1 point.

Win by Self Draw: 1 point.

Fully concealed hand: 5 points.

Self-draw, fully concealed hand: 15 points.

Fully Exposed Hand, win from the sea (all sets exposed, won on a discard): 15 points.

Fully Exposed Hand, win from the wall (self-drawn): 10 points.

Self-Draw from the Flower Wall: 5 points.

Seabed Tile (the wall's very last tile): 20 points.

Human Hand (win within 4 discards): 80 points.

Win within 7 Discards: 50 points.

Win within 10 Discards: 10 points.

Heavenly Hand (dealer wins on the dealt hand): 100 points.

Earthly Hand (win on the dealer's first discard): 90 points.

Dealer Streaks — Dice on the Wall

A winning dealer marks the streak with a die on the wall; win again and the streak pays:

Dealer Streak — 1 on the dice: 3 points.

Dealer Streak — 2 on the dice: 5 points.

Dealer Streak — 3 on the dice: 7 points.

Dealer Streak — 4 on the dice: 9 points.

Dealer Streak — 5 on the dice: 11 points.

Dealer Streak — 6 on the dice: 13 points.

If the dealer instead discards the winning tile, the dealer pays the winner those same streak points.

Special Hands — Nico Nico

Nico Nico (seven pairs plus one pong, fully concealed): 40 points.

Nico Nico with a Gong (all four copies of a rank held as two pairs, never declared): 50 points; two such gongs: 75.

Nico Nico + 3 Sequential Pairs (22, 33, 44 in one suit): +5 points. Elephant Eyes still adds its +2.

Nico Nico hands don't stack the standard concealed-hand points, and can't declare Ding Ding or Calling by Pairs.

Nico Nico — 40 pts
1m 1m 3m 3m 5m 5m 7m 7m 9m 9m 1p 1p 3p 3p 5p 5p 5p

Special Hands — The Orphans

13 Orphans (90 points): one of every terminal and honor — all 13 kinds — with a pair from among them, fully concealed.

16 Orphans (50 points): nine unrelated suit singles — three per suit, every two of them at least two numbers apart so none can ever join a run (1-4-7 is the classic teaching spread; 1-4-9, 1-5-9, 2-6-9 and the like all count, and the same numbers may repeat across suits) — plus one of every wind and dragon, fully concealed; the seventeenth tile pairs any of the sixteen. 16 Orphans — 1's and 9's in all suits (10 points): the spread that holds both the 1 and the 9 of every suit (say 1-4-9, 1-5-9, 1-6-9) collects 10 on top. Sheet bonuses (+5 sister sheungs, +2 good eyes) apply per the table.

Orphan hands don't stack the standard concealed-hand points and can't declare Ding Ding.

13 Orphans — 90 pts
1m 9m 1p 9p 1s 9s E S W N RD GD WD 1m
16 Orphans base
1m 4m 7m 2p 5p 8p 3s 6s 9s E S W N RD GD WD

Chicken Hand — A Consolation with Style

Chicken Hand (20 points): if your winning hand scores next to nothing on its own merits, the table awards 20 before the base — even a chicken crosses the line sometimes.

Penalties — Play It Straight

False Mahjong (declaring a win that isn't one, or racking your winning tile before showing it): pay 25 points to each player; the hand ends.

Chasing (honor tile): all four copies of the same honor discarded in one round — the first discarder pays 5 to each player. Chasing (suit tile): same with a suit tile, 10 to each.

Incorrect tile count: play on, but you cannot win, collect flowers, or declare gongs. The table-payment switches (dice, bouquets, gong collections) live in the ruleset settings and travel with your table.

Compare another ruleset
Chinese Official (MCR) →Hong Kong Mahjong (New Style) →Japanese Riichi →

Generated from the same rule engine that scores every hand in the app. All rulesets