Beginner's Guide to Chinese Mahjong (MCR)

There are countless of variants to Chinese Mahjong since, of course, China is the birthplace of Mahjong. However since there are so many variants of Chinese Mahjong, there has to be one at least ruleset to use for competitions. So this is the guide to Chinese Mahjong Competition Rules which is often referred to as MCR, Chinese MCR, or even Chinese MCR Rules. 

Chinese MCR Mahjong Tiles

Chinese MCR Mahjong uses the standard 144-tile standard mahjong set (Characters/Cracks, Bamboo/Bams, Dots, Dragons, Winds, and Flowers). An American set (152 tiles) can be used, but the eight joker tiles should be removed.

Rules of Chinese MCR Mahjong

Every turn goes the same way:

1. Draw a tile from the wall or by take the tile that somebody just discarded
2. Try to make a winning hand! The goal is to arrange your tiles into four sets of three (meld) and one pair. If you can't, go to step 3.
3. Discard a tile in the center of the table, officially ending your turn.
4. Immediately after a tile is discarded, someone else can take it to form a meld or to complete their winning hand. If nobody takes the discarded tile, that tile is out of play for the rest of the game and the next player draws from the wall.

By default, the next player is the player to the right (counterclockwise). Even if it is not your turn yet, this is not a time to sit idle. Although the next person is the player to the right by default, there are certain circumstances that allow somebody to jump ahead to call a discarded tile. Also, even if you are unable to call the tile, it is important for you to know what is thrown and what is out of play, so that you are not waiting for it in vain later on.

How to Setup Chinese Mahjong (MCR)

Like most variants of mahjong, MCR mahjong is intended for four players. Rules and customs for dealing the tiles out vary from version to version and table to table.

Determining The Dealer

The first step is to determine the dealer. At the start of the first game, shuffle one each of the wind tiles face-down, then have each player turn one up and take the respective seat. After each game, the next person to the right (counterclockwise) becomes the dealer. The round wind always starts at East. After each hand, the dealer changes. After 4 hands, one complete rotation of dealers, the round wind changes in order of East, South, West, and North.

Setting up the Wall

According to the official tournament rules, all the players should turn all the tiles face down and mix them with both hands so that the tiles are thoroughly and randomly mixed. The rules go as far to specify that each player should mix the tiles in front of himself, and then push them into the middle, then continue mixing.

Each players should take 36 tiles, piling 2 tiles into a stack, using 18 stacks to make a wall before himself; the four walls are used to make a square on the table.

Breaking the Wall

Going by competition rules the dice must be thrown twice and the two dice should be grasped in one palm and thrown by the dealer into the space between the walls, from 10-20 centimeters above the table.

The dealer is the first to throw the dice; the resulting number is used to determine who will roll the dice the second time. Count the number from the dealer counterclockwise (the sum of 5 or 9 means the dealer will throw the dice again; 2, 6, or 10 means the player to the dealer’s right, South, will roll; 3, 7, or 11 means the player opposite to the dealer, West, will roll; 4, 8, or 12 means the player to the dealer’s left, North, will roll).

The number resulting from the second throw of the dice will be added to the
number resulting from the first throw to determine where the wall will break. Counting from the right-hand end of the player’s (who throw the dice second
time) wall, the wall is broken after the stack indicated by the two rolls of the dice. 

Dealing the Hand

The dealer takes the first 4 tiles (2 stacks) clockwise from the break; the next player, South, takes the next 4 tiles to the left of the gap, and so on. After all 4 players have taken 4 tiles 3 times for a total of 12 tiles, the dealer continues to take tiles, but this time he takes the upper tile from the first stack on the end of the wall, and the upper tile from the third stack (“one and three”). The other three players take one tile each in turn, starting from the first stack the dealer took from, and ending with the bottom of the second stack. When the deal has been completed, the dealer has 14 tiles altogether, while each of the other players hold 13.

Optionally Calling Flower Replacements

Each player may arrange the taken tiles by type, suit, and number order. The players may then check for any Flower Tiles. If a player has any Flower Tiles, expose them between the wall and one’s standing tiles, and take replacement tiles from the back end of the wall. The dealer replaces flower tiles first until the replaced tile isn’t the flower tile, then followed by South, West, and North follow in turn, until no player has any more Flower tiles concealed in the hand. After Flower replacements, if the dealer cannot declare a win also known “hu”, he will discard one unwanted tile. The whole time from rearranging tiles to the dealer’s first discard should occur within 20 seconds in a competition setting 

Getting a Tile

The main way to get a tile is to draw it from the draw wall. 

You can also get a tile when somebody discards it if it completes a a valid combination of three or four tiles, also known as a meld, or a winning hand. The called tile must be displayed face up with the completed meld. This open meld cannot be altered for the rest of the game.  The discarded tile must be called immediately or else the tile becomes dead and will remain in the discarded tile area for the rest of the game. 

Calling Tiles

A pung is a three-of-a-kind.

If you need the discarded tile to complete a pung, you have to say “pung,” grab it, and display the completed pung face up next to your flowers. Pungs are powerful because you can seize it even if it isn’t your turn, and everyone before you will lose their turn.

A kong is a four-of-a-kind. 

Kong is like a special type of pung, and can also be grabbed even if it’s not your turn. However, you have to also grab an extra tile from the dead wall. This is necessary for you to have enough tiles to complete a winning hand.

A chow is a three-tile straight of the same suit. 

Unlike pung and kang, you can only chow when it’s your turn. This makes chows harder to get since you can only get it from the person right before you. The only exception to this is if the chow would result in you winning.

Generally you cannot claim a discarded tile to form a pair. The only exception is if you are waiting for one more tile to win. You might be waiting to complete a pung, a chow, or an eye in order to win. No matter what you’re waiting for, you can seize it if somebody discards it, anytime. Winning using a discarded tile is called mahjong or hu.

FAQ: What Happens If Two People Want to Call a Discarded Tile?

In general, priority is given based on what the tile is being called for: winning takes precedence over pungs/kongs. If more than one player needs the discarded tile for mahjong, it goes to whoever is closer in turn after the person who discarded the tile.

Arranging Your Tiles

Remember, the goal of mahjong is to have all of your tiles arranged into four melds and one pair.  After getting a tile, you should arrange your tiles and attempt to incorporate your new tile into your hand.

As discussed above, kong is a four-of-a-kind, which may be formed from a discarded tile. Related to kong is a concealed kong when you have four-of-a-kind that’s hidden in your own hand, which means that you drew it yourself and did not complete it using a discarded tile. In this case, because it’s concealed, the identity of the tile is valuable information and should not be displayed. But because it is a four-tile meld, you must declare it and get a tile from the dead wall. Turn the outside tiles facedown to mark it as a concealed kong. Just like with open meld, your secret tiles will be out of play the rest of the game with no changes permitted.

Another related concept is open melded kong. Open melded kongs are generally locked in and cannot be changed. If you created a pung from a discarded tile, and later on, somebody throws the fourth matching tile, you will not be able to kong the discarded tile, because your pung was already open. However, there is a special exception: if it’s your turn and the tile that you draw from the wall happens to be the fourth matching tile, then you can add it to your completed pung. Declare the open melded kong and set the matching tile on top of the middle tile of the pung. Since this is now a four-tile meld, you must draw a replacement tile from the dead wall.

Discarding a Tile

Generally you want to discard tiles that do not go with any of the other tiles in your hand to help you form appropriate melds. If you can figure out what other players need, you should try to avoid discarding those tiles.  

Arranging Your Discards and Called Tiles

Discards are arranged on the floor in front of their respective discarded in rows of six, placed from left to right.

Tiles claimed are rotated 90 degrees within the set to show which player had discarded it.

Winning in Chinese MCR Mahjong

A player can declare hu or mahjong when they have completed four melds and one pair. Otherwise you can with with an alternate winning configurations such as seven pairs, Thirteen Orphans, or Lesser/Greater Honors with Knitted Tiles.

However the hand must have an 8 point minimum excluding points from flowers

When the Game Ends

Four rounds where everybody has been dealer once, or in the case of a tournament, the allotted time to play four rounds has run out. In a tournament setting, a complete game (four rounds or the allotted time has run out) may also be called a “session.”

Points and Payouts in Chinese MCR Mahjong

Initial Points

There are no initial points in Chinese MCR Mahjong 

Scoring Payout Tables for Chinese MCR Mahjong

There 81 Possible ways to payout for Chinese MCR Mahjong

Point Value	Name	Description	Pattern
88	Four Big Winds	Pungs or Kongs of of all four Wind Tiles.  3 All Green  4 Nine Gates	Suit-based
88	Three Big Dragons	Pungs or Kongs of all three Dragon Tiles	Suit-Based
88	All Greens	A hand in which the chows, pungs and pair(s) are made up solely of "green" tiles: 2 Bam, 3 Bam, 4 Bam, 6 Bam, 8 Bam, and Green Dragon.	Color-Based
88	Nine Gates	Holding the 1,1,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,9,9 tiles in any one of the suits, creating the nine-sided wait of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. (Fully Concealed may be combined if Self-Drawn)	Suit-based
88	Golden Wait	Four Kongs Any hand that includes four kongs. They may be concealed or melded.	Pung-based
88	Seven Shifted Pairs	A hand formed by seven pairs of the same suit, each shifted one up from the last. (Can be combined with "Fully Concealed Hand" if Self-Drawn).	Special
88	Thirteen Orphans	A hand created by singles of any 12 of the 1, 9, and Honor tiles, along with a pair of the 13th. (Fully Concealed Hand may be combined if Self-Drawn).	Special
64	All Terminals	All Terminals The pair(s), Pungs or Kongs are all made up of 1 or 9 Number Tiles, without Honor Tiles.	Numbers-based
64	Four Little Winds	A hand that includes three Pungs or Kongs of Wind Tiles, and a pair of the fourth Wind.	Suit-Based
64	Three Little Dragons	A hand that includes two Pungs or Kongs of the Dragon Tiles, and a pair of the third Dragon	Suit-Based
64	Four Concealed Pungs	A hand that includes four Concealed Pungs or Kongs (achieved without melding). (Fully Concealed Hand may be combined if Self-Drawn).	Suit-based
64	Pure Terminal Chows	A hand consisting of two each of the lower and upper terminal Chows in one suit only, and a pair of fives in the same suit.	Number-based
48	Quadruple Chows	Four chows of the same continuous number sequence in the same suit	Chow-based
48	Four Pure Shifted Pungs	Four Pungs (or Kongs) in the same suit, each shifted one up from the last	Pung-based
32	Four Pure Shifted Chows	Four chows in one suit, each shifted up 1 or 2 numbers from the last, but not a combination of both.	Chow-based
32	Three Kongs	A hand containing three Concealed Kongs. (Points for concealment may be added)	Suit-Based
32	All Terminals and Honors The Pair(s)	Pungs or Kongs are all made up of 1 or 9 Number Tiles and Honor Tiles.	Number-Based
24	Seven Pairs	A Hand formed by seven Pairs. (Fully Concealed Hand may be combined if Self-Drawn).	Special
24	Greater Honors and Knitted Tiles	Formed by seven single honors and singles of suit tiles belonging to separate Knitted sequences (for example, 1-4-7 of Bamboos, 2-5-8 of Characters, and 3-6-9 of Dots). Fully Concealed Hand may be combined if Self-Drawn.	Special
24	All Even Pungs	A Hand formed with Pungs or Kongs of 2, 4, 6, and 8 tiles, with a pair of the same.	Pung-Based
24	Full Flush	A Hand formed entirely of a single suit.	Suit-Based
24	Pure Triple Chow	Three chows of the same numerical sequence and in the same suit.	Chow-based
24	Pure Shifted Pungs	Three Pungs or Kongs of the same suit, each shifted one up from the last.	Pung-Based
24	Upper Tiles	A Hand consisting entirely of 7, 8, and 9 tiles.	Number-Based
24	Middle Tiles	A Hand consisting entirely of 4, 5, and 6 tiles.	Number-based
24	Lower Tiles	A Hand consisting entirely of 1, 2, and 3 tiles	Number-based
16	Pure Straight	A Hand using one each of all the numbers 1 through 9 from any one suit, forming three consecutive chows.	Chow-based
16	Three-Suited Terminal Chows	A Hand consisting of 1-2-3 and 7-8-9 in one suit (Two Terminal Chows), 1-2-3 and 7-8-9 in another suit, and a pair of fives in the remaining suit.	Chow-based
16	Pure Shifted Chows	Three Chows in one suit, each shifted either one or two numbers up from the last, but not a combination of both	Chow-based
16	All Fives	A Hand in which every set (chow, pung, kong, pair) includes the number “5”	Number-Based
16	Triple Pungs	Three Pungs (or Kongs) of the same number in each suit.	Pung-Based
16	Three Concealed Pungs	Three Concealed Pungs or Kongs (achieved without melding)	Pung-Based
12	Less Honors and Knitted Tiles	Formed by single honors, and singles of suit tiles belonging to separate Knitted sequences (for example, 1-4-7 of Bamboo, 2-5-8 of Characters, and 3-6-9 of Dots - each of the 3 suits must belong to a different Knitted sequence, but not necessarily in this order). Fully Concealed Hand may be combined if Self-Drawn	Special
12	Knitted Straight	A special Straight which is formed not with standard chows but with 3 different Knitted sequences. For example, 1-4-7 of Dots, 2-5-8 of Characters, and 3-6-9 of Bamboos - but not necessarily in the order in this example.	Special
12	Upper Four	A Hand created with suit tiles 6 through 9. 37 Lower Four  38 Big Three Winds	Number-Based
12	Lower Four	A Hand created with suit tiles 1 through 4.	Number-based
12	Three Big Winds	A Hand that includes one pung (or kong) of each of the three winds.	Suit-Based
8	Mixed Straight	A Straight (tiles 1 through 9) formed by chows from all three suits.	Chow-Based
8	Reversible Tiles	A Hand created entirely with those tiles which are vertically symmetrical, which means the carved designs look the same if you turn them upside down. These tiles are the 1,2,3,4,5,8, and 9 Dots, the 2,4,5,6,8, and 9 Bams, and the White Dragon.	Suit-based
8	Mixed Triple Chow	Three Chows of the same numerical sequence, one in each suit	Chow-based
8	Mixed Shifted Pungs	Three Pungs (or kongs), one in each suit, each shifted up one number from the last.	Pung-Based
8	Chicken Hand	A Hand that would otherwise earn 0 points (excluding the Flower Tiles).	Special
8	Last Tile Draw	Going out (making Mahjong) on a pick of the very last tile of the wall. (Points for Self-Drawn may not be combined.)	Going Out
8	Last Tile Claim	Going out (making Mahjong) off the discard which is the last tile in the game.	Going Out
8	Out with Replacement Tile	Going out (making mahjong) on the replacement tile drawn after achieving a kong (not on a Flower replacement). When a Flower Tile is taken after Konging, and upon winning on the Flower replacement, points for Self-Drawn may be added (but Out With Replacement Tile does not apply in this case).	Going Out
8	Robbing The Kong	Winning off the tile that somebody adds to a melded pung (to create a Kong). (The points for Last Tile may not be combined.)	Going Out
8	Two Concealed Kongs	A Hand that includes two Concealed Kongs.	Kong-based
6	All Pungs	A Hand formed by four Pungs (or Kongs) and one pair.	Pung-based
6	Half Flush	A Hand formed by tiles from any one of the three suits, in combination with Honor tiles.	Suit-based
6	Mixed Shifted Chows	Three Chows, one in each suit, each shifted up one number from the last.	Chow-based
6	All Types	A Hand in which each of the five sets (pungs, kongs, chows, pairs) is composed of a different type of tile (Characters, Bamboos, Dots, Winds, and Dragons).	Suit-Based
6	Melded Hand	Every set in the hand (chow, pung, kong, and pair) must be completed with tiles discarded by other players. All sets must be exposed, and the player goes out on a single wait off another player.	Call-Based
6	Two Dragons Pung	Two Pungs (or kongs) of Dragon tiles.	Suit-Based
4	Outside Hand	A Hand that includes terminals and honors in each set, including the pair.	Number-Based
4	Fully Concealed Hand	A Hand that a player completes without any melds, and wins by Self-Draw.	Play-Based
4	Two Melded Kongs	A Hand that includes two Melded Kongs. (One Melded Kong and one Concealed Kong are 6 points).	Pung-Based
4	Last Tile	Winning on a tile that is the last of its kind. (It must be clear to all players based on the discards and exposures.)	Going Out
2	Dragon Pung	A Pung or Kong of Dragon Tiles.	Suit-Based
2	Prevalent Wind	A Pung or Kong of the Wind Tile corresponding to the current Prevalent Wind.	Suit-Based
2	Seat Wind	A Pung or Kong of the Wind Tile corresponding to the player's Seat position at the table. (Dealer is East; proceeding counter-clockwise from the Dealer, other players' seats are South, West, North.)	Suit-based
2	Concealed Hand	Having a concealed Hand (no melded sets) and winning by discard.	Going Out
2	All Chows	A hand consisting of all chows, with no Honors.	Chow-based
2	Tile Hog	Using all four of a single suit tile, without using them as a Kong.	Special
2	Double Pung	Two Pungs (or Kongs) of the same number in two different suits.	Pung-based
2	Two Concealed Pungs	Two Pungs achieved without melding.	Pung-Based
2	Concealed Kong	Created when four identical tiles, all self-drawn, are declared as a Kong.	Pung-Based
2	All Simples	A Hand formed without Terminal or Honor Tiles.	Number-Based
1	Pure Double Chow	Two identical chows in the same suit.	Chow-Based
1	Mixed Double Chow	Two chows of the same numbers but in different suits.	Chow-Based
1	Short Straight	Two chows in the same suit that run consecutively after one another to make a six-tile straight.	Chow-based
1	Two Terminal Chows	Chows of 1-2-3 and 7-8-9 in the same suit.	Chow-Based
1	Pungs of Terminals or Honors	A Pung or Kong of Ones, Nines, or Winds. (A dragon pung scores 2 points.)	Pung-Based
1	Melded Kong	A Kong that was claimed from another player or promoted from a melded pung.	Pung-based
1	One Voided Suit	A Hand that uses tiles from only two of the three suits (it lacks any tiles from one of the three suits).	Suit-based
1	No Honors	A Hand formed entirely of suit tiles, without Winds or Dragons	Suit-based
1	Edge Wait	EWaiting solely for a 3 to form a 1-2-3 chow, or solely for a 7 to form a 7-8-9 chow. Not valid if waiting for more than one tile. Not valid if the edge wait is combined with any other waits.	Going Out
1	Closed Wait	Waiting solely for a tile whose number is "inside" (in the middle) to form a chow. Not valid if waiting for more than one tile. Not valid if the closed wait is combined with other waits.	Going Out
1	Single Wait	Waiting solely for a tile to form a pair. Not valid if waiting for more than one tile (for example, holding 1-2-3-4 and waiting on the 1 and 4).	Going Out
1	Self-Drawn	Going out (making mahjong) with a fresh tile picked from the wall.	Going Out
1	Flower Tile	Each tile carved with Chinese word of Spring (or Summer, Autumn, Winder, Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum) will award you one point when you succeed in Hu. Flower replacement to be Hu, the point of Self-Drawn can add. It can’t add the points of Hu While Kong, it not Flower replacement can discard	Suit-based

 

Who Pays Out?

Payment Event	Point Value	Who Pays?	Who Receives?
Win is declared on a discard	8 Points (Extra Points) +Basic Points (Discarder pays winner Extra Points + Basic Points) and the other two non-winning players pay the winner 8 Points	The discarder and Each non-winning player	The player declaring a win on this discard. In the event of multiple players declaring a win, the nearest next player following the discarder is the winner.
Win is declared on a self-drawn tile	8 Points (Extra Points) + Basic Points + Then multiply x3	Each non-winning player	The player declaring a win on this self-drawn tile
Exhaustive Draw	None	No One	No One