Glossary

The three numbered suits: Characters, Dots, and Bamboos. Each has numbers 1–9.

The suit with red Chinese numerals. Represents 10,000 (万).

The suit with circular patterns. Also called Balls or Circles.

The suit with bamboo stick patterns. Also called Sou (索). 1 Bamboo is a bird.

Non-suited tiles: Winds and Dragons. Only form Pairs/Triplets/Kongs.

Four directional tiles: 东, 南, 西, 北. Four copies each = 16 tiles.

Three dragon tiles: 中 (Red), 发 (Green), 白 (White). Four copies each = 12 tiles.

Two identical tiles. Every winning hand needs exactly one Pair.

Three consecutive numbers in the same suit. Cannot be formed by calling a discard in this ruleset.

Three identical tiles. Concealed (drawn) or Exposed (called from a discard).

Four identical tiles. Three types: Concealed, Direct, Added. Requires a replacement draw.

A general term for Sequences, Triplets, and Kongs. 4 Melds + 1 Pair = winning hand.

The player who rolls dice and starts each hand. Has 14 tiles initially.

The 2-tile-high, 18-stack-long wall each player builds in front of them.

The last few stacks of the wall. Used to draw replacement tiles after a Kong.

Taking a tile from the wall at the start of your turn.

Placing a tile face-up in the center after drawing.

Claiming a discard to complete a Triplet. You must have the other two in hand. Priority over Chow.

Four identical tiles all drawn from the wall. Kept face-down. Worth 1×.

Calling a discarded tile with three already in hand. Everything exposed. Worth 0.5×.

Adding a 4th tile to an existing exposed Pung. The only Kong that can be robbed. Worth 0.5×.

Winning by taking the 4th tile of an opponent's Added Kong. The robbed player pays all.

Declaring you have a winning hand. Ends the current hand and triggers scoring.

Winning by calling another player's discard. Only the discarder pays.

Drawing the winning tile from the wall. All three opponents pay.

One tile away from a winning hand. Just need the right tile to complete it.

Incorrectly declaring Mahjong. Penalty: pay each opponent a fixed amount.

Dealer wins with initial 14 tiles. 50× multiplier.

Non-dealer wins on first turn. 50×.

Winning with the last tile from the wall. Hand multiplier ×2.

Drawing the winning tile from the Kong replacement stack. Hand multiplier ×2.

Both conditions apply: multiplier ×4.

The base scoring unit. Hand multipliers are multiplied together for combined hands.

The predetermined value of 1 unit. Typically agreed before play (e.g., 10 or 20 points).

When one player covers all three opponents' losses. Triggered by: Robbing Kong, 12 exposed tiles (6×+), etc.