Taiwanese mahjong: the 16-tile game

Sixteen in hand. Seventeen to win.

Taiwanese mahjong normally uses 16 tiles between turns and 17 in a completed winning hand. An ordinary winning structure contains five sets and one pair. That is 17 structural tiles, one set more than the familiar four-set hand.

You will often hear it called “16-tile mahjong.” That describes the usual number held between turns. The draw or winning claim supplies the seventeenth tile. Both descriptions can be right; they refer to different moments in a hand.

A declared gong contains four physical tiles but occupies one set in the structure. Bonus flowers are set aside and replaced. That is why simply counting every physical tile on the table does not tell you whether a hand is legal.

This example shows the structure, not an automatic score. Follow the same tiles through three LRC scoring examples.

The table in Mahjong.

The Mahjong app uses the LRC Taiwanese Mahjong rules published in December 2024. This is a specific version, with its own scoring and procedures. Other Taiwanese tables may use different house rules; the name alone does not guarantee that every detail agrees.

In the app’s standard game, four players start with 500 points each. A 144-tile set includes the three numbered suits, the winds, the dragons, and eight flowers. Each side of the wall is 18 stacks wide and two tiles high; 16 tiles are reserved as the flower or dead wall.

Each player receives 16 tiles and East receives one extra. Flowers are revealed and replaced. East discards first, and the ordinary rhythm of drawing and discarding begins.

This guide is an introduction to the app’s fixed standard table, not a claim that every Taiwanese game uses these procedures. The app’s in-game rules reference is the practical authority for play.

Sets, claims, and the winning tile.

A sheung is a sequence in one suit, a pong is three identical tiles, a gong is four identical tiles, and the eyes are the pair. The extra set means more pieces to organise, but the basic vocabulary stays manageable.

In this ruleset, a winning claim takes priority over other calls. Pong and gong outrank a sheung. A sheung can only be claimed by the next player in turn; eligible players in other seats can claim a pong, a gong, or a win.

Multiple players may win on the same discard. The app resolves those winners clockwise from the discarder. An added gong can also be robbed when the added tile completes another player’s legal winning hand.

The hand and the settlement.

The score is assembled from the qualifying elements of the hand, then the five-point base is added. Scoring families have overlap rules: seeing two related patterns does not necessarily mean both can be counted.

On a discard win, the discarder pays the winner. On a self-draw, all three opponents pay. The rules also include immediate payments and dealer procedures, so the final table result is more than a list of winning-hand values.

East keeps the seat after winning. In the app’s standard contract, the consecutive dealer-win additions begin at 3, then 5, 7, 9, and 11, continuing by two without a cap. When the live wall runs out without a winner, each player contributes five points to a pot for the next self-draw winner.

See the actual arithmetic in LRC Taiwanese scoring, then use the worked scorekeeping ledger to follow payments across a session.

From this table to your progress.

At a rated table, everyone needs the same rules. The app records the rules version so that a result has a clear context. A house-rule adjustment should not silently change the meaning of a rating.

The table scores determine placement. MRS then estimates skill using that finish, the opponents, uncertainty, and match evidence. The app’s current engine requires at least four completed hands before an update, uses 16 hands as a full unit of evidence, and caps the weight at 1.5 units.

Manually entered in-person scores do not become rated engine-play results. Keeping those records distinct lets you enjoy scorekeeping with friends while giving rated play a consistent basis.

To learn at your own pace, start with offline practice and teaching hints. Hints-on games are unranked.