Singaporean Mahjong scoring rules
The Singaporean Mahjong scoring rules are similar to that of the Chinese Old Style / Hong Kong system, but accounts for the different set of tiles used.
Tile system
The Singaporean Mahjong tile system consists of 148 tiles, and is slightly different from that of other regional Mahjong tile-sets. It therefore follows that the rules of the game somewhat vary from other scoring systems in the region. The tile set is described as follows:
Suited Tiles
These tiles run from One to Nine. There are 4 of each tile in every set.
The dots suit (筒子, pinyin tǒng zi)
The bamboo suit (索子, pinyin suò zi)
The character suit (萬子/万子, pinyin wàn zi)
Honour Tiles
Wind tiles (四風牌/四风牌, pinyin sì fēng pái)
From left to right: East, South, West, North
Dragon tiles (三元牌, pinyin sān yuán pái)
From left to right: Red Dragon, Green Dragon, White Dragon
Bonus (flower/animal) Tiles
Flower set (花牌 huā pái) and Season set (季牌 jì pái)
From left to right: Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
Animal Tiles
From left to right: Cat, Rat, Rooster, Centipede
Scoring points
Points (台) are scored from the difficulty of gathering the winning hand. If monetary rewards (and losses) are involved, it is common that playing parties will agree upon a monetary value awarded to a one-point winning hand. Subsequently, for each additional point scored, this value is accordingly doubled.
There is a typical maximum scoring limit of five points, though this has to be agreed among players. This point limit (simply known as the limit), and will be used to describe the points awarded by certain tile-combinations from now on. In other words, a certain tile combination that awards the limit means that it scores the maximum number of points, as agreed upon before the game.
For example, assume that players agree on a value of S$1 for a one-point winning hand. A two-point winning hand thus has a value of S$2, a three-point hand with a value of $4, up to a limit of $16 for a five-point winning hand.
Furthermore, the party who is guilty of discarding the tile with which another party takes to complete a winning hand has to pay double of the agreed payout. Another situation where the winning player receives double of the agreed payout is when he draws the winning tile by himself (zì-mō 自摸).
The following table summarizes the payouts, based on an assumed base payout of S$1 for a one-point winning hand.
| Points(台) scored | Losing players each pay | Guilty player pays | Winning player gains |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S$1 | S$2 | S$4 |
| 2 | S$2 | S$4 | S$8 |
| 3 | S$4 | S$8 | S$16 |
| 4 | S$8 | S$16 | S$32 |
| 5 | S$16 | S$32 | S$64 |
In the event that the winning player draws the winning tile by himself (zì-mō, or 自摸), the payout is as follows:
| Points(台) scored | All players each pay | Winning player gains |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | S$2 | S$6 |
| 2 | S$4 | S$12 |
| 3 | S$8 | S$24 |
| 4 | S$16 | S$48 |
| 5 | S$32 | S$96 |
Triplet of any Dragon Tile (元 yuán )
Having a triplet of any Dragon Tile (yuán (元)) scores 1 point. This triplet can be obtained by pèng (碰), gàng (杠), or simply having these 3 tiles in your hidden hand.
or or
Winds (風 fēng)
Having a triplet of the seat wind or the prevailing wind scores 1 point. This triplet can be obtained by pèng (碰), gàng (杠), or simply having these three tiles in your hidden hand.
or or or
If the prevailing wind happens to coincide with your seat wind, and you manage to obtain a triplet of that wind, you score 2 points. For example, if the prevailing wind is East and a player whose seat wind is East, a triplet of East by the player will score 2 points upon Mahjong.
If there is a triplet of both the seat wind and the prevailing wind, you score 2 points. For example, if the prevailing wind is East and a player whose seat wind is South, a triplet of East and a triplet of South by the player will score 2 points (1 point for each triplet) upon Mahjong.
Animal Tiles
Each animal tile obtained scores 1 point. 1 more point (for a total of 5) is awarded if all 4 animals are collected.
Instant payment
It is commonly accepted that there will be a one-time payout by all playing parties to the party who collects either
a) Both the cat tile and the mouse tile.
b) Both the chicken tile and the centipede tile.
The above two events are known as yǎo-dào (咬到).
c) All the four animal tiles. This generally also earns double of the agreed one-time payout.
Note 1.1.1: One-time refers to each instance whenever any player collects any of the above. In other words, if player A collects set(c) in the current game, he will receive the payout from all other parties immediately. In the event that player A collects the same set in the next game, he will again have to be compensated as well. This compensation will take place each time any set described above is collected.
Note 1.1.2: This payout is also one-time because the player who obtains the set combination(s) will not be re-compensated for these combinations at the end of the game, regardless of the result.
Note 1.1.2.1: However, pertaining to the above, the points scored by obtaining animal tiles will still be in effect. In other words, if player A collects set(c), he will be rewarded with an instant payout. In the event that he wins that same instance of the game as well, he will have scored 5 points by virtue of having 4 animal tiles, on top of any other points that he scores with his winning hand.
Note 1.2: The payout above is cumulative. This means that if a player collects set(c), he will have to be compensated for set(a), set(b) and set(c).
Note 1.3: A commonly agreed payout is, assuming a base payout of S$1 for a one-point winning hand, S$2 (which means collecting set(c) will earn a payout of $2+$2+$4). In other words, the payout can be pegged to that of a one-point zì-mō (自摸). This must however be separately agreed-upon before the start of the game.
Note 1.4: In the special event that set (a) or set (b) is collected immediately at the start of the game (even before the bǔ-huā (補花) event), the payout is again doubled. With reference to Note 1.3, if a player collects set (c) in this special case, he will receive a payout of $2*2 + $2*2 + $4.
Flower Tiles
Flower tile matching seat wind
Each flower tile that matches a player's seat wind scores one point.
- East player:
- South player:
- West player:
- North player:
Instant payment
It is commonly accepted that there will be a one-time payout by all playing parties to the party who collects both flowers (red and blue) that match the player's seat wind. This is a yǎo-dào (咬到) event. This payout is equivalent to obtaining a set of cat-and-mouse tile, or chicken-and-centipede tile. Refer to the discussion above. This will earn the payout agreed for a yǎo-dào (咬到) event. The double payout scheme applies when the collection of both flowers occurs before the bǔ-huā (補花) event. Refer to the discussion above. This will earn the payout agreed for an àn-gàng (暗杠) event.
Complete flower group (rare)
A complete group of 4 flower tiles of the same colour scores a total of 2 points, 1 for the flower tile that matches the player's seat wind, and 1 for collecting all four.
or
Instant payment
It is commonly accepted that there will be a one-time payout by all playing parties to the party who collects the complete set of flowers of the same colour. This is an àn-gàng (暗杠) event.
This payout is equivalent to obtaining a set of cat-mouse-chicken-centipede tile. In other words, this will earn the payout agreed for an àn-gàng (暗杠) event. Refer to the discussion above.
Two complete flower groups (extremely rare)
Any player who collects 2 complete groups of 4 flower tiles (8 in total) scores the limit. Because of its rarity, there is a lack of agreement as to the number of points actually scored by this hand. However, in practice, this combination simply scores the maximum number of points. The game is ended as a zì-mō (自摸) win for the player who collected the flower tile-set.
This is called 八仙过海, a type of huā-hù (花胡). The combination of hidden cards held by the player does not matter at all, and the game is considered to have been won.
However, some players are notably particular regarding the above point. If any player collects the complete flower tile-set, he wins the game, but he should never reveal his hidden cards to anyone. This follows from the fact that the player has not won the game by virtue of his hidden cards, which should be the case. If the player with the complete set of flowers display his hidden hand to the rest, and it is not a hand that fulfills any winning combination, he is considered to have cheated, or zhà-hú (詐胡) and must instead compensate the rest of the parties. The point to note is that the player who collects the complete flower tile-set should immediately close his hidden cards and declare himself to have won the game.
Instant payment
The player who completes the flower set has triggered 3 events, on top of winning the game. He has gathered
- Both flowers (red and blue) which corresponds to his seat wind. This is a yǎo-dào (咬到) event.
- A complete set of red flowers
- A complete set of blue flowers.
All 3 events above are liable for one-time compensation by the rest of the playing parties, if the event themselves are not compensated already. This is on top of the payout given to the winning party by winning the game.
Note 2: If a player has already drawn 7 flower tiles, and any of the other three players draws the last flower tile, the player with the 7 tiles to have won the game (七抢一) by a discard of the player that draws the flower tile (The player who draws the last flower, strictly speaking, does not discard the tile. However, due to the immense probabilistic difficulty of achieving a complete 8 flower-tile huā-hù (花胡), such a situation described above is considered a sufficient condition for a huā-hù (花胡) event.)
Note 2.1: The player who drew the last flower tile, and thus causing the player with 7 flower tiles to win the game, will thus be the 'guilty' party, and is subjected to the same payout scheme described in Table 1.1.
Note 2.1.1: It is extremely important that, in the event that
a player amasses 7 flower tiles, but the eighth flower did not appear in the course of the game, and the game ends in a stalemate (with 15 un-drawn tiles remaining),
the player who amasses the 7 flower tiles must, just before the last tile (which is the 16th tile from the back) is drawn, declare that he demands an inspection of everyone's hidden hand. After this declaration and upon the ending of the game, the rest of the playing parties should reveal their hidden hand to the declaring player. If he discovers that one of the parties has been keeping the eighth flower within his hidden hand, he is considered to have won the game with a huā-hù (花胡), even if the game has already ended. The 'guilty' party can either be made to pay for everyone's losses (known as bāo (包)), or pay as if the game was won mid-way, as it should be. This will depend on the agreement between all playing parties. Any party who does not heed the declaration of card inspection and proceeds to dismantle the tiles upon stalemate (so that it will be impossible for the declaring player to inspect his cards) will also be deemed to be guilty of holding on the eight in secret, and the declaring player is considered to have won the game as again with a huā-hù (花胡).
Note 2.2: As described above, the winning party should not disclose his hidden hand, in the event of a huā-hù (花胡), if it does not fulfill the criteria of any winning combinations. If he does, some players may consider this to be cheating, or zhà-hú (詐胡), and the winning-turned-losing party must compensate the rest of the playing parties.
Triplets hand
- A triplets hand (對對胡 or 碰碰胡) scores two points.
The above is an example of a hand that satisfies a 碰碰胡 combination, that is, any 4 triplets and any pair of tiles (eye) to fulfill this combination. It does not matter if your hand of tiles is a mixture of exposed pèng (碰) tiles and triplets held within your hidden hand.
However a special condition arises when this combination is held entirely within the winning party's hidden hand. That is, the winning party fulfills this combination with a zì-mō (自摸), and has no pèng (碰) tiles or mìng-gàng (明杠) tiles exposed. In other words, the winning party drew and obtained every card in this combination himself. This event (also known as sì-àn-kè (四暗刻)) is extremely rare and it is generally awarded the limit.
Note 1: To achieve a winning combination of sì-àn-kè (四暗刻), the winning party can only perform àn-gàng (暗杠) if he has 4-of-a-kind of a particular tile. He cannot perform a mìng-gàng (明杠) on any discarded tile from the rest of the players. If he does, the winning hand can only be considered a 碰碰胡.
Note 2: To achieve a winning combination of sì-àn-kè (四暗刻), the winning party must complete the game with a zì-mō (自摸). It is immaterial whether he has already 4 hidden triplets, and is awaiting one single tile to complete the eye, or otherwise.
Note 3: In some playing circles, it is sufficient to have 4 hidden triplets and go mahjong with a single tile, and still be able to qualify for this hand as all the 4 triplets are still in the hand.
Suits
Mixed suit (混一色 or 半色) hand
A mixed one suit hand (混一色 or 半色) scores 2 points.
The above are examples of combinations which fulfill the 混一色 criteria. This combination simply requires
1) a pure set of tiles from one single suit either from the 'Character'(萬子), 'Circle'(筒子) or 'Bamboo'(箾子) tile sets, plus
2) any set of tiles from the fēng (風) or yuán (元) suit.
Special conditions arise from variants of this event.
Pure Suit (清一色) Hand
If the set of tiles are entirely from one single suit and is not mixed with any set of tiles from the fēng (風) or yuán (元) suit, then this combination is known as 清一色. This combination is awarded 4 points.
Again, special conditions can arise from this.
If the set of tiles are entirely from one single suit, and they fulfill 平胡 (sequence), then this special combination is known as 平胡清一色. Due to its extreme difficulty, in addition to the probabilistic difficulty of not drawing any animal or flower tiles, it is generally awarded 10 points, or the limit.
小平胡清一色, in which the winning party has drawn flowers or animals, wins a total of 5 points, 1 for the 小平胡 combination and 4 for 清一色 combination.
Another special condition can arise from amassing the 13 tiles as shown below, either from the wàn-zǐ (萬子), tòng-zǐ (筒子) or shùo-zǐ (箾子) tile sets.
Notice that these 13 tiles do not constitute a winning hand. However, any player, by virtue of having these 13 cards, can simply win the game with any discarded tile from that same suit. The player can chow to obtain the sequences, or pong to obtain the ones and nines triplets. As long as a player amasses these 13 cards, and wins the game with any tile of the same suit, he will have completed the 九连宝灯, which awards the limit.
Another special condition can arise from having a hand of all triplets and a pair of eyes, either from the wàn-zǐ (萬子), tòng-zǐ (筒子) or shùo-zǐ (箾子) tile sets. This hand will score 8 points (2 for the hand itself, 2 for a 碰碰胡 combination, and 4 for a 清一色 combination).
Mixed Terminals (混么九/混老头)
A mixed terminals hand (混么九/混老头), or commonly known as dà-pái-yī-jǐu (大牌一九) scores 4 points (2 for the combination itself, and 2 for the triplets hand (對對胡 or 碰碰胡)).
This is a mixture of
1. ones or nines (thus, terminals) from either of the wàn-zǐ (萬子), tòng-zǐ (筒子) or shùo-zǐ (箾子)
or
2. either of the fēng (風) or yuán (元) tiles.
It must also fulfill the pèng-pèng-hù (碰碰胡) criteria. However, special situations, as described below, can arise from this.
Pure Terminals (清么九/清老头)
The combination is made up entirely of ones or nines from either of the wàn-zǐ (萬子), tòng-zǐ (筒子) or shùo-zǐ (箾子) tilesets. This condition is known as qīng-lǎo-tòu (清老头), or yī-jǐu (一九). Due to its extreme rarity, this is awarded the limit.
The combination is made up entirely of tiles from either the fēng (風) or yuán (元) tiles. This condition is known as zì-yī-sè (字一色) or dà-zì (大字). Due to its extreme rarity, this is awarded the limit.
Sequence hand (平和)
A sequence hand (平和) scores 4 points. In addition, the winning player has to be waiting for at least 2 different tiles in order to win.
A 平和 hand is one where a player obtains a winning hand of 4 sets of sequences (順子) and 1 pair of tiles, all from either the wàn-zǐ (萬子), tòng-zǐ (筒子) or sùo-zǐ (箾子) tile sets. However, special allowance is given to the nature of the pair of tiles. These pair of tiles can be from the wàn-zǐ (萬子), tòng-zǐ (筒子) or sùo-zǐ (箾子), or any fēng (風) which is neither the prevailing nor the seat wind of the winning player.
A 平和 hand is considered difficult to amass because winning with this hand requires that the player does not draw any animal or flower tiles. The requirements are also stringent because the player cannot win on a discarded tile by another player, if that discarded tile is an in-between tile, edge tile, or a tile required to complete the pair.
Example: A player has the seven of tòng-zǐ (筒子) and the nine of tòng-zǐ (筒子), and he requires the eight of tòng-zǐ (筒子) to complete the winning hand. He cannot declare his combination of tiles to be a 平和 hand if another player discards the eight of tòng-zǐ (筒子). That is, the four point awarded to the 平和 hand does not count. He can, however, still win the game by virtue of other points he has already scored, by drawing animals for example. But, if he manages to draws the eight of tòng-zǐ (筒子) by himself (zì-mō (自摸)), his winning combination is considered to be a 平和 hand.
The point here to note is that, a player waiting for either an in-between tile, edge tile (an eight and a nine, waiting for a seven) or a single tile to complete the required pair can only claim a 平和 hand if he zì-mō (自摸) that particular tile. If he is waiting for any two tiles (a two and a three, waiting for either a one or a four) to complete the winning hand, he can claim these tiles from any party who discards it.
A special situation exists where a player cannot claim a 平和 hand even if he zì-mō (自摸) the last required tile. This situation happens when a player performs a 吃 to obtain all 4 sequences required, and is left with a single tile. In this event it is clear that he is awaiting that single tile to complete his hand, therefore it cannot be considered a 平和 hand.
If a player manages to amass a combination of cards that adheres to the requirements set above, but has drawn flowers and/or animal tiles, then he can claim a 臭平和 hand, which awards 1 point, on top of any points awarded to him by the flower and/or animal tiles.
huā-shàng (花上) and gàng-shàng (杠上)
A special event known as huā-shàng (花上) scores one point.
This event happens when a party, who is waiting for a tile to complete his winning hand (also known as the state of tīng-pái (聼牌)), draws a flower and/or animal. This will require him to replace the drawn flower and/or animal by performing a bǔ-huā (補花). In the event that the tile drawn to replace the flower and/or animal is the tile needed to complete his winning hand, he is considered to score a huā-shàng-zì-mō (花上自摸). This will event itself is worth one point, as mentioned above, in addition to any points scored by the combination of his winning hand.
There exists a special event in which a player draws two flower and/or animal tiles in a row, and upon the second consecutive bǔ-huā (補花), he draws the tile which he requires to complete his winning hand. This event is known as huā-shàng-huā (花上花). Some players may choose to consider this as a special event which awards 5 points, but not others. There are also some players who consider each consecutive bǔ-huā (補花), leading up to a final huā-shàng (花上), to contribute one additional point each. For example, Player A draws 3 consecutive flower and/or animal tiles before finally obtaining the tile required for a winning hand on the third bǔ-huā (補花), he will have gotten 3 additional points for 3 consecutive bǔ-huā (補花) followed by a huā-shàng (花上). The point scored for the above special events will have to be agreed upon before the game.
In any of the above huā-shàng (花上) event, it is immaterial whether the drawn flower matches the seat number of the player's.
A special event known as gàng-shàng (杠上) scores one point.
This event happens when a party, who is waiting for a tile to complete his winning hand (also known as the state of tīng-pái (聼牌)), either
1) draws a tile which complete a 4-of-a-kind in his hidden hand, in which he can perform an àn-gàng (暗杠), or
2) has a 3-of-a-kind in his hidden hand, and any other player discards the last tile of that kind, in which he can perform a mìng-gàng (明杠), or
3) has a pèng (碰) triplet exposed, and draws the last tile of that kind himself, in which he can perform a mìng-gàng (明杠)
Any of the above 3 events will require him to replace the gàng (杠) by performing a bǔ-gàng (補杠). In the event that the tile drawn to replace the gàng (杠) is the tile needed to complete his winning hand, he is considered to score a gàng-shàng-zì-mō (杠上自摸). This will event itself is worth one point, as mentioned above, in addition to any points scored by the combination of his winning hand.
Instant payment
Note 1: It is common that an instant payout is given to the party who performs a mìng-gàng (明杠), and the payout follows that of a yǎo-dào (咬到) event. For the performance of an àn-gàng (暗杠), it will generally earn double that of the mìng-gàng (明杠), just like the event of drawing a cat-mouse-chicken-worm set of tiles.
Note 1.1: However, in the event of a qiǎng-gàng (搶杠), the player who performs the gàng (杠) need not be compensated, and instead will be the 'guilty' party who is considered to have discarded that tile for the player performing a qiǎng-gàng (搶杠). This event is described in the next section.
A special event can also be triggered from a gàng-shàng (杠上). The sequence of events is as follows
1) Player A has 3-of-a-kind of tile in his hidden hand, and any other player discard the last of that tile, or
2) Player A has 3-of-a-kind of tile in his hidden hand, and he draws the last of that tile himself, or
3) Player A has a triplet of pèng (碰) exposed, and he draws the last of that tile himself
In all 3 scenarios above, he is able to perform a gàng (杠) and must perform a bǔ-gàng (補杠). In the event that he draws a tile from this bǔ-gàng (補杠), in which he is already holding on to either
4) a 3-of-a-kind of that tile in his hidden hand, or
5) an exposed triplet of pèng (碰) of that tile,
he is then naturally able to perform another gàng (杠) and then another bǔ-gàng (補杠). If and only if Player A draws a replacement tile (from this particular second-in-a-row bǔ-gàng (補杠)) which he requires to complete a winning hand, he is considered to have performed a gàng-gàng-hú (杠杠胡). Due to the immense probabilistic difficulty of such a feat, it is generally awarded 10 points, or the limit, whichever is the smaller number.
Robbing the Kong (搶杠)
Robbing the Kong, or qiǎng-gàng (搶杠) scores one point.
This event occurs when
1) a playing party has a pèng (碰) triplet exposed,
2) and draws the last tile of that kind himself, and in which he
3) perform a mìng-gàng (明杠), and
4) another player, who is waiting for that very last tile of that kind to complete his own winning hand,
5) 'robs' the gàng (杠) to complete his winning hand.
This exact sequence of events must occur for a qiǎng-gàng (搶杠) event to trigger.
Note that the other variant of mìng-gàng (明杠) in which a player calls a 杠 from a discarded tile with a triplet in his hidden hand, does not count as qiǎng-gàng (搶杠). The player who requires that last tile can still declare a hù (胡), but will not have deemed to have performed a qiǎng-gàng (搶杠).
There is a special condition where qiǎng-gàng (搶杠) can be used to rob an an-gang (暗杠). The condition is that a particular player is waiting for his last tile to complete Thirteen Terminals (十三么). This is the only condition where qiǎng-gàng (搶杠) can be used to rob an an-gang (暗杠).
Winning on the last available tile (海底撈月)
Winning on the last available tile scores 1 point. This event is also known as hái-dǐ-lāo-yuè (海底撈月). The last available tile is the last 16th un-drawn tile from un-drawn stack.
Note 1: There is a special condition in which winning on the last available tile does not trigger the hái-dǐ-lāo-yuè (海底撈月) event. This condition is fulfilled when the last 16th tile is drawn as a result of a bǔ-huā (補花) or bǔ-gàng (補杠) event.
Example 1. Player A draws the last 17th tile, which turns out to be a flower. He turn proceeds to perform a bǔ-huā (補花) by drawing the last 16th tile. In the event that he wins with that last tile, it will not be considered hái-dǐ-lāo-yuè (海底撈月).
Example 2. Player A draws the last 17th tile, which he does not want, and discards it. Player D performs a gàng (杠), and bǔ-gàng (補杠) by drawing the last 16th tile. If Player D wins on the last tile, it will not be considered hái-dǐ-lāo-yuè (海底撈月).
Example 3. Player A draws the last 18th tile, which turns out to be a flower. He draws a replacement tile, the last 17th tile, and it turns out to be an animal. Finally, he draws the last 16th tile and completes his winning hand. This will not be considered hái-dǐ-lāo-yuè (海底撈月). However a special event may have been triggered, depending on the agreement of playing parties. Refer to the above discussions on huā-shàng (花上).
Note 2: In some playing circles, the game is considered a draw if the last 16th tile is a Bonus Tile. No one-time payout will be required, unless the player has gotten 8 flower tiles for the special hand.
Pure Green Suit (绿一色)
A pure green suit hand (绿一色) scores four points instead of just two points for Mixed One Suit, due to the increased difficulty. However, this is generally not a recognised hand in Singapore. It will be wise to confirm with all playing parties regarding the points scored when this hand arises.
Three Lesser Scholars
The three lesser scholars (小三元) hand scores three points (one for the eye pair, and two for the pong/kong of the other two Dragon tiles).
Example 1:
Example 2:
Example 3:
Four Lesser Blessings
A four lesser blessings (小四喜) score three or four points (two for the hand itself, plus the bonus points for a pong/kong of the prevailing wind and/or player wind).
Example 1:
Three Great Scholars
A three great scholars (大三元) scores 10 points, or the limit, whichever is the smaller number.
Note 1 : A common rule in Singapore dictates that any player who collects all 3 triplets of the 3 元 tiles, either by having them in your hidden hand, or by performing pèng (碰) to obtain exposed triplets, can declare himself to have fulfilled the 大三元 combination. The combination of the hidden hands, under this rule, does not matter. Invoking this rule when a player collects all 3 triplets earns that player 5 points, instead of 10.
Note 1.1 : Care must be taken by any player, who invokes the above rule, to conceal their hidden hand while declaring the game to be won. Otherwise, if the hidden hand is revealed, certain players consider this to be cheating, because the said party has not won the game by virtue of his entire hand of tiles, as it should be. If such a situation arise, the winning-turned-losing party must compensate the rest of the playing parties.
Four Great Blessings (大四喜)
A four great blessings (大四喜) score the limit (Generally, there appears to be a lack of agreement as to the number of points actually scored by these hands. However, in practice, this combination simply scores the maximum number of points).
Note 1 : For four great blessings (大四喜), a common rule in Singapore dictates that any player who collects all 4 triplets of the 4 individual fēng (風) tiles, either by having them in your hidden hand, or by performing pèng (碰) to obtain exposed triplets, can declare himself to have fulfilled the 大四喜 combination. The combination of the hidden hand (more specifically, the last required pair of any tile) under this rule, does not matter. Invoking this rule when a player collects all 4 triplets earns that player 10 points, instead of the limit.
Note 1.1 : Care must be taken by any player, who invokes the above rule, to conceal their hidden hand while declaring the game to be won. Otherwise, if the hidden hand is revealed, certain players consider this to be cheating, because the said party has not won the game by virtue of his entire hand of tiles, as it should be. If such a situation arise, the winning-turned-losing party must compensate the rest of the playing parties.
Thirteen Wonders(十三么)
- The "thirteen terminals (十三么)" hand score thirteen points, or the limit, whichever is the smaller number.
+ any tile in the same set
This winning hand is considered to be one of the hardest to accomplish and therefore has priority to win from a tile from any player's discard, superseding players in front of you who could have gamed from that tile. Thirteen terminals is the only hand that can snatch an "an gang" and supersede any players in front of you who could have gamed from that.
Other special scenarios
18 Arahats (十八罗汉 (shi ba luo han))
This refers to the scenario where the player manages to kang (杠) four times. It results in the player having 18 tiles excluding flower and animal tiles, hence its name. The player does not need to complete the remaining 2 tiles as the eyes and will be declared winner of the round immediately. It also scores maximum points due to its rarity.
Heavenly Hand (天胡 (tiān hú))
This refers to the scenario where the first player, as the dealer, wins the round on the first turn (i.e. with the tiles given after dealing and flower/animal/kong any and all etc... replacement needed without draw card). Because of its extreme rarity, this criterion is often awarded the limit.
Earthly Hand (地胡 (dì hú))
This refers to the scenario where a non-dealer wins from the dealer's first discard. Because of its rarity, this criterion is often awarded the limit.
Humanly Hand (人胡 (rén hú))
This refers to the scenario where a non-dealer wins by discard within the first go around of the game before his/her first draw & no exposed meld(except Concealed Kong) formed by anyone. Because of its rarity, this criterion is often awarded the limit. Note: Not everybody plays with this rule so it is best to confirm with everybody before commencing your mahjong game.
Fully Concealed (门清自摸 (mén qīng zì mō))
This refers to the scenario where you do not eat or pong and draw all the tiles yourself, including the winning tile. This adds one point to your hand. Note: Not everybody plays with this rule so it is best to confirm with everybody before commencing your mahjong game.
Paying for all players
High-risk discards are also an element of Singapore-style scoring, with the player making such a discard paying for the other two losing players, in addition to their own (the other two losing players are vindicated - they do not pay anyone anything). High-risk scenarios only occur when a player is visibly near victory, with that player winning because of a high-risk discard.
The following is a typical list of high-risk scenarios:
Dragon Tile Set Scenario (包三元)
Player A has two Dragon Pongs or Kongs exposed. Player B discards a third Dragon and the Player A is able to Pong/Kong it or complete an eye with it (and thereby winning), forming a third set of Dragons. If Player A wins the game with Player B's discard or his own tile, Player B pays all winnings.
Example:
Player A's exposed melds:
High-risk discard would be:
Wind Tile Set Scenario (包四喜)
Same as Dragon Tile Set Scenario, but requires three exposed Wind sets and completing a fourth with a discard.
Example:
Player A's exposed melds:
High-risk discard would be:
NOTE: Dragon tiles are also considered high-risk discard:
due to the possibility of a 字一色.
Point Limit Scenario (包滿貫)
Player A has one less than the maximum number of points (typically 4) exposed. Player B discards a Dragon tile, a Prevailing Wind or a Player Seat Wind that is taken by A, thereby making a total of the maximum number of points (typically 5). If Player A wins the game with Player B's discard or his own tile, Player B pays all winnings. Another unique scenario is where Player A has two less than the maximum number of points (typically 3) exposed. Player B discards the Wind tile that is both the Prevailing Wind and the Player Seat Wind, that is taken by A, thereby making a total of the maximum number of points (typically 5). If Player A wins the game with Player B's discard or his own tile, Player B pays all winnings.
Example:
The limit is 5 points. Player A already has 4 points on his exposed tiles. His seat wind is South and the prevailing Wind is East.
Player A's exposed tiles:
High-risk discards:
Pure One Suit Scenario (包清一色/包字一色)
Player A has 3 or 4 sets of the same suit (bamboo, number, character) exposed. If Player B discards a tile of the same suit and Player A uses it to win, Player B pays all winnings.
Example:
Player A's exposed melds:
High-risk discards: Any tile from the same suit as player A's exposed melds.
Pure Green Suit Scenario (包绿一色)
Player A has 3 or 4 sets of the green suit (namely the 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 of bamboo, and the Green Dragon) exposed. If Player B discards a tile of in this suit and Player A uses it to win, Player B pays all winnings.
Example:
Player A's exposed melds:
High-risk discards:
Note: Most Singaporean players do not recognise this hand as a higher-valued hand, and just treat it like a Mixed One Suit (混一色). In this case, 包绿一色 does not come into effect.
Pure Terminals Scenario (包清老头)
Player A has 3 or 4 triplets exposed, all of which are of the terminal number one or nine of any suit. If Player B discards a tile of the terminal number one or nine, and Player A uses it to win, Player B pays all winnings.
Example:
Player A's exposed melds:
High-risk discards:
Of course, realistically, the high-risk discards are just since the rest have already appeared in Player A's exposed melds and can't form either the triplet or pair when he goes Mahjong.
Live Tile Discard Scenarios
Live Tile Discard Kong Scenario (包杠)
There are fewer than 7 tiles remaining in the wall (excluding the last 15 tiles that are meant to be untouched). If Player B discards a live, or shen (生) tile (one not previously discarded) and Player A performs any gàng (杠) with that discarded tile, Player B pays all the associated compensation that Player A should receive. This has no effect on the payout when the game is won. However, if Player A wins by a "gang shang", Player B will be responsible to pay for all players.(Exposed tiles from chī (吃) or pèng (碰) sets are not considered as 'discarded' tiles. Therefore, for example, if Player C has a chī (吃) set of one-two-three wàn-zǐ (萬子) exposed, and none other of these 3 wàn-zǐ (萬子) tiles has been discarded, then one wàn-zǐ (萬子), two wàn-zǐ (萬子) and three wàn-zǐ (萬子) tiles are considered to be shen (生) tiles).
Fresh Tile Mahjong Scenario (包生)
There are fewer than 5 tiles remaining in the wall (excluding the last 15 tiles that are meant to be untouched). If Player B discards a fresh tile and Player A wins the game with that tile, Player B pays all winnings payable to Player A for the points he has scored. That is, if Player A wins with a 5-point hand, Player B will compensate Player A with S$64. Players C and D will not be involved in any payment within this scenario. The description of sheng (生) tiles above applies here.
A simple phrase to help remember the number of the tiles remaining for the fresh discard scenarios is simply qī-zhang-bāo-gàng,wǔ-zhang-bāo-shen (七张包杠,五张包生).
There appears to be a variant of the above 2 rules where the number of tiles involved are switched. Thus, for some players, the 'Live Tile Discard Kong Scenario' comes into play when there are less than 5 tiles remaining, while the 'Fresh Discard Scenario' comes into play when there are less than 7 tiles remaining. Thus, the phrase in Note 1 becomes qī-zhang-bāo-sheng,wǔ-zhang-bāo-gàng(七张包生,五张包杠). It will be wise to agree upon the rules with all playing parties before the scenarios are triggered.
In an event of "thirteen terminals (十三么)" the two above-mentioned variants do not apply in the rules.
There appears to be variants of the definition of fresh tile among different players. Some players define "fresh" as any tile that is not already present in the discard pool, while other player define "fresh" to be any tile that is not already exposed somewhere on the table. Ie to say, if a certain tile is present in one of the melded sets of a player but absent from the discard pool, it will be considered "fresh" under the definition of the first variant but not under that of the second variant. As mentioned, it will be wise to agree upon the rules with all playing parties before the scenarios are triggered.