Basic rules
Drawing, pung, kong and blood battle
How a turn goes, the pung and kong rules, and the “keep playing after a win” of blood battle.
Turn order
The dealer discards first (starting with 14 tiles, no draw). Then play goes counter-clockwise: you → right → across → left.
On your turn: draw one, discard one. Tiles are drawn clockwise from where the wall was opened; kong replacements come from the far end of the wall.
Pung
If you hold a pair and someone discards the third, you can pung: show the three tiles, discard one, and play passes to the player on your right.
A pung skips the players in between. Sichuan mahjong has no chow (no taking the left player’s tile for a run), so pung and kong are the only ways to use other players’ tiles. You cannot pung your void suit.
Kong
A kong is four of a kind, in three flavors:
- Exposed kong: you hold three and someone discards the fourth.
- Concealed kong: on your turn you hold all four.
- Added kong: you draw the fourth tile of a pung you already made. Others may rob the kong with it.
After a kong you draw a replacement from the far end of the wall and then discard. Kongs are paid on the spot (wind and rain) — see Scoring.
Winning
If someone’s discard completes your hand, press “Win”; if your own draw does, press “Self-draw”. If several players can win on the same discard, all of them win.
If you pass up a winning discard, you cannot win on any discard until your next draw (passed win). Self-draw is still allowed.
Blood battle
A win does not end the hand:
- The winner reveals their tiles and leaves the hand — no more drawing or discarding.
- The others carry on from the player after the winner.
- The hand ends only when three players have won or the wall runs out.
Players who have won never pay again: if someone self-draws later, only those still playing pay. Winning early is safe — but big hands are tempting.
Who deals next
The first player to win this hand deals the next. If the first win was several players on one discard, the discarder deals. If nobody won, the dealer stays.
Up nextWinning hands →