Hefei mahjong is a fast paced variant from Hefei in the Anhui Province. It's a regional variant of the traditional Chinese Mahjong game that stands out due to its simplified tile set, omitting flowers, wind, dragon, and 1 and 9 numbered tiles, leaving only numbers 2 through 8 in the bamboo, circles, and characters suits. Sometimes it's also known as "Eight-Tile Mahjong" due to its requirement that at least one suit (bamboo, circles, or characters) must have at least 8 tiles in the player's hand to win.
Tiles to Play Hefei Mahjong With
Hefei Mahjong can use any standard mahjong set since the game uses only 84 tiles. The suit tiles (bamboo, characters, circles) range from 2 to 8, with 4 tiles of each. No other tiles (e.g., wind tiles, dragon tiles, or flowers) are used so make sure you remove all the 1s, 9s, winds, dragons, flower tiles, and Joker tiles till you only have 84 tiles. Two dice are also required.
Basic Rules of Hefei Mahjong
Every turn goes the same way:
- Draw a tile from the wall or by take the tile that somebody just discarded
- Try to make a winning hand! The goal is to arrange your tiles into four sets of three and one pair. If you can't, go to step 3.
- Discard a tile in the center of the table, officially ending your turn.
- 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 Hefei Mahjong
Like most variants of mahjong, Hefei 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 next 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. If you would like to roll dice instead to determine your seat positions, feel free to do so.
Setting up the Wall
The next step is shuffling the tiles and building the wall. Turn the tiles face side down and give them a good shuffle or “wash”.
Then, each player should build their segment of the wall, which should be 10 tiles long and 2 tiles high (20 tiles total) and the dealer should add an additional 10 tiles to their wall (24 tiles total). Maneuver the wall segments to form a closed square.
Breaking the Wall
Once the dealer has been selected, the dealer rolls the dice to determine the starting wall. Let’s say you are the dealer and you roll a seven.
Starting with your own wall, count the walls in front of each player, moving counterclockwise around the table: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. You should now be pointing at the wall of the player to your left.
The next step is to determine where to break the wall.
Use the same number from determining the starting wall. Starting on the end of the wall segment closest to you, count out seven tiles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Pick up that seventh tile (since you rolled a seven) because it counts from the indicated player's right to his left (not players but tiles this time) the total sum of the rolls. The tiles immediately after become the draw wall.
The wall is basically like a long deck of cards wrapping around the table in a square. The draw wall is like the top of the deck where the tiles will be dealt from and where the players will draw tiles from during gameplay.
The last 4 tiles of Hefei Mahjong forms the sea which is like the bottom of the deck. In Hefei Mahjong this is called 海捞区 which translate to Sea Fishing Zone or Sea Floor Fishing. If no one has won by the time this area is reached, each player will draw one tile, but not discard, as a last chance effort to win. Hence fishing at the bottom of the sea.
Dealing the Hand
The next step is dealing the tiles starting with the dealer. Starting from the draw wall, deal yourself four tiles (2 stacks). Whoever is sitting in front of the draw wall should help out with this. Continuing to the right (counterclockwise), deal each player four tiles in the same manner. Repeat this for one more round until all players have a total of 12 tiles. After grabbing 12 tiles, each player grabs 1 more tile for a total of 13 tiles. As the dealer, you should grab a 14th tile from the draw wall as your first draw, because you will be the first to discard.
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 for 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.
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 sets 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.
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 sets. 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.
The Last 4 Tiles of the Game - Sea Floor Fishing
In Hefei Mahjong, the Sea Floor Fishing refers to a specific phase of the game that occurs at the very end of a round, when only 4 tiles remain in the wall. This area is essentially a "last chance" opportunity for players to draw a final tile and potentially complete their hands. The Sea Fishing Area provides the players with a final set of four tiles that each player can draw from, but no further discards are made after this phase.
Key Points About the Sea Fishing Area:
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Timing: The Sea Fishing Area comes into play when only four tiles remain in the wall. Each player gets one final draw from these last four tiles.
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No Discards: After drawing a tile from the Sea Fishing Area, players do not discard any more tiles. This is unlike the regular turn structure where players draw and discard. The hand either ends with a win or moves to the next game.
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Winning Condition: If a player manages to complete their hand by drawing one of the tiles from the Sea Fishing Area, it is called a Sea Floor Win (海捞胡牌). This type of win is awarded +15 extra points.
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Significance: The Sea Fishing Area gives players one final chance to win the round, adding a layer of excitement and strategy, as every player is looking for that one tile to complete their hand. It also marks the very end of the round if no one wins.
In short, the Sea Fishing Area is a special phase at the end of the game that allows players to draw one last tile each for a chance to win before the game concludes.
Winning in Hefei Mahjong
A player can declare mahjong when they have completed four sets and one pair and one suit (bamboo, circles, or characters) must have at least 8 tiles.
Points and Payouts in Hefei Mahjong
In Hefei Mahjong, scoring is calculated in points (嘴, zuǐ), where various hand combinations and special conditions during the game add points to a player's total. The base score for winning a hand starts with 20 points, and additional points are awarded for achieving specific bonuses or hand types. Some special hands can significantly increase the number of points earned.
Initial Points
There are no initial points in Hefei Mahjong
How to Calculate Points
The final score is calculated by multiplying the base score (20) by the total number of points, including all bonuses from special hands.
Steps to Calculate:
- Start with the base score: The base score for winning a hand is typically 20 points.
- Add any additional points: These points come from bonuses like suit bonuses, concealed Pungs, special hand types, etc.
- Multiply the base score by the sum of the additional points.
Example Calculation:
If a player wins a hand with the following bonuses:
- Has a concealed Pung (+1 point)
- Wins by single wait (+1 point)
- One suit has 9 tiles (+1 point)
- Dealer with two consecutive wins: +8 points (4 points per consecutive win).
Additional Points from Hand = 1 (Concealed Pung) + 1 (Single Wait) + 1 (Suit Bonus) + 8 (Dealer with 2x Consecutive Wins) = 11 points.
Final Score = 20 (Base Points) x 11 (Additional Points from Hand) = 220 Points
Point Value Table for Hefei Mahjong
General Scoring Table
| Name | Condition | Points (嘴) |
|---|---|---|
| Winning a Hand | Winning the hand | +15 points |
| Suit Bonus (支) | Each additional tile in one suit (after 8 tiles) | +1 point per extra tile |
| Single Wait (卡) | Winning by waiting for one specific tile | +1 point |
| Same Number Bonus (同) | For 4 or more identical tiles across suits | +1 point per extra tile |
| Concealed Pung (坎) | Each concealed Pung in the hand | +1 point |
| Double Sequences (双铺子 - Visible) | Two identical sequences | +2 points |
| Two Suits Only (缺门) | Winning with only two suits | +2 points |
| Double Sequences (双铺子 - Concealed) | Two concealed identical sequences | +4 points |
| Concealed Kong (暗杠) | Each concealed Kong | +4 points |
| Four of a Kind Bonus (活) | Four identical tiles without forming a Kong | +4 points |
| Dealer Win/Loss (庄家的输赢) | Dealer’s score per consecutive win or loss | +4 points per round |
Special Hands Scoring Table
| Name | Condition | Points (嘴) |
|---|---|---|
| Seven Pairs (七对) | Winning with seven pairs | +10 points |
| Sea Floor Win (海捞胡牌) | Winning in the "Sea Fishing" phase | +15 points |
| Luxury Seven Pairs (豪华七对) | Winning with seven pairs where you have one set of four of the same tiles | +50 points |
| Double Luxury Seven Pairs (双豪华七对) | Winning with seven pairs where you have two sets of four of the same tiles | +100 points |
| Pure Suit (清一色) | Winning with only one suit | +100 points |
| Three Consecutive Pungs (三连坎) | Three consecutive concealed Pungs | +100 points |
| Four Concealed Pungs (四暗刻) | Four concealed Pungs and a pair | +100 points |
| Ten Identical Tiles (10同) | Having more than 10 tiles of the same number | +100 points |
| Double Concealed Double Sequences (双暗双铺子) | Two concealed double sequences | +100 points |
| Heavenly Win (天胡) | Dealer wins with their starting hand | +200 points |
| Earthly Win (地胡) | Non-dealer wins in the first round of draws | +150 points |
