Shandong Mahjong (山东麻将) is a general Mahjong variant played in the Jinan, Yantai, Weihai, and Rizhao regions of Shandong, China. Each of the region do have their own variants too! It uses the full set of Chinese Mahjong tiles and incorporates unique regional rules like 258 Pairs (Jiang Dui (将对)), Open Ready Declarations (Ming Lou (明楼)), and Tie-Break Multiplier. These elements provide players with an authentic and enjoyable gaming experience.
Tiles to Play Shandong Mahjong With
Shandong Mahjong can be played with a 144 tiles mahjong set. The standard 144-tile set includes all number tiles (1-9 of Wan (万), Tiao (条), and Bing (饼), with 36 tiles per suit), honor tiles (East, South, West, North, Red Dragon, Green Dragon, and White Dragon), and flower tiles (Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter).
Basic Rules of Shandong 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 Shandong Mahjong
Like most variants of mahjong, Shandong 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 dealer is determined at the beginning of the game and may change based on the outcomes of each round. For the first game, the dealer is randomly selected, or in some variations, the first player to take a seat or raise their hand becomes the dealer. In subsequent games, the dealer position is assigned to the winner of the previous round, a rule known as Lian Zhuang (连庄). If no player wins the round, resulting in a draw (Huang Zhuang - 荒庄), the dealer rotates to the next player in a counterclockwise direction. Additionally, if multiple players win from a single discarded tile (Yi Pao Duo Xiang - 一炮多响), the player who discarded the tile becomes the new dealer.
Setting Up The Wall
To set up the wall in Shandong Mahjong, the tiles are thoroughly shuffled, ensuring a random distribution. Each player then stacks the tiles in front of them into two layers, with each layer consisting of 18 tiles for a total of 36 tiles per player. When completed, these stacks form a continuous square wall surrounding the center of the table. The wall serves as the source of tiles for drawing throughout the game. The dealer determines the starting point for drawing tiles by rolling the dice, selecting a specific section of the wall, and counting to the starting stack based on the sum of the dice.
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 12 tiles opposite of the draw wall is reserved as the dead wall.
Dealing The Hand
After breaking the wall, the dealer starts drawing tiles for each player in a clockwise direction. The tiles are distributed in sets of four, with each player receiving three rounds of four tiles for a total of 12 tiles per player. Afterward, each player receives one additional tile, bringing the total to 13 tiles for non-dealers. The dealer receives one extra tile, making their total 14 tiles.
If a player draws a flower tile during their turn, they must immediately declare it and place it face-up in their play area. The player then draws a replacement tile from the back of the wall.
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 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. This is necessary for you to have enough tiles to complete a winning hand. Every time a kong is declared, you add one additional stack (2 tiles) to the 12 reserved tiles originally reserved in the beginning and a maximum of 6 additional tiles.
Note: If a fourth kong is declared, the round ends in a draw unless a kong bloom (杠开) or robbed kong win (抢杠胡) occurs.
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.
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 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 wall.
Discarding a Tile
Typically, players discard tiles that are less useful for forming a winning hand or pose a lower risk of aiding opponents. Isolated tiles that do not connect with others in your hand, such as a lone 1 of Wan (万) or 9 of Bing (饼), are prime candidates for discarding since they are harder to incorporate into a sequence or set. Honor tiles like East, South, West, North, and the Dragon tiles can also be discarded if they cannot form a Pung or contribute to a winning hand. Additionally, if your hand includes tiles from all three suits (Wan, Tiao, Bing), focus on one or two suits and discard tiles from the third suit to simplify your hand. Avoid discarding tiles in the middle of a sequence, such as a 5 of Wan, as these are more likely to help opponents complete Chow. Lastly, flower tiles should be discarded immediately, as they are replaced with a new draw from the wall and are not part of regular sets.
Arranging your Called and Discard Tiles
Arranging your called tiles and discard pile in an orderly manner is crucial for clarity and strategy. Called tiles Chow, Pung, and Kong, should be placed face-up in front of you, grouped neatly by type. For a Chow, the three sequential tiles are aligned in order, while a Pung consists of three identical tiles placed together. For a Kong, all four identical tiles are displayed together, with a concealed Kong (暗杠) partially hidden to indicate it was self-drawn. Discarded tiles are placed face-up in the center of the table in a structured grid, typically arranged in rows of six or seven tiles, making it easy for all players to see which tiles are no longer in play.
258 Pairs Rule
The 258 Pairs Rule (将对, Jiang Dui) requires that most winning hands include a pair (known as "eyes") formed from tiles numbered 2, 5, or 8 in any suit (Characters, Bamboos, and Dots). This rule applies to standard winning hands but excludes special hands like All Triplets, Seven Pairs, Full Flush, and Half Flushes. If the hand is listed on the payout chart, then the 258 Pairs rule does not apply.
Declaring a Ready Hand
Declaring Ready can occur a player is one tile away from winning with a valid hand, a Ready Hand (Ting Pai (听牌)). Unlike other variants of Mahjong like Riichi Mahjong, you do not have to have a fully concealed hand. To Declare Ready, a player will simply announce "Ready" on their turn and discard a tile. From this point onward the player is essentially playing on autopilot, and they cannot change their hand in any way.
The player picks up a tile on his turn, and if it is not his winning tile, he must discard it. The only exception to this is that the player can turn any closed triplet into a closed quad (kong), providing it does not change the validity of their hand.
Also unlike Riichi Mahjong, a player who has Declared Ready can call Hu or Mahjong whenever they please instead of on their first possible opportunity. The player can wait for their winning tiles to be discarded by specific players even if they have already been discarded by somebody else.
When you declare a Ready Hand, you can optionally declare it Open (lit. Bright House, Ming Lou 明楼) or keep it concealed (lit. Dark House, An Lou 暗楼).
Open Ready Declaration (Ming Lou (明楼))
Open Ready Declaration (Ming Lou 明楼) is an optional strategy for players who have declared ready. A player can declare Open Ready by "opening your had" and revealing all their tiles to the table, signaling that they are one tile away from winning and what tiles they are waiting on. By choosing an Open Ready, the player restricts themselves to winning only by self-draw (Zi Mo - 自摸), meaning they cannot win with a discarded tile even if a player discards it openly. The advantage is that an Open Ready doubles the score for that hand if they win. However, if the Open Ready player loses by discarding a winning tile (Dian Pao - 点炮), they must pay double the points if they lose.
Close Ready Declaration (An Lou (暗楼))
Closed Ready Declaration (An Lou (暗楼)) is another option for players in a ready hand state, allowing them to remain concealed. Unlike Open Ready, players choosing to keep their Ready concealed do not reveal their tiles, maintaining the flexibility to win by self-draw (Zi Mo) or claiming a discarded tile (Dian Pao). A Close Ready Declaration does not offer the score-doubling benefit of an Open Ready, it provides greater strategic versatility and adds 1 fan (point) to your hand.
End of the Game
Shandong Mahjong specifies that if no player wins when only twelve tiles remain in the wall, the round is declared a draw. For each additional kong declared, the game will end 2 tiles sooner up to 6 additional tiles. If the round ends in a draw, the dealer will retain their dealership.
However if four kongs have been declared, the round ends in a draw unless a kong bloom (杠开) or robbed kong win (抢杠胡) occurs during the fourth kong.
Winning in Shandong Mahjong
Winning in Shandong Mahjong, known as Hu (胡牌), occurs when a player's hand meets the requirements of a valid winning hand. A standard winning hand consists of 14 tiles arranged into four sets and one pair. It must also abide by the The 258 Pairs Rule (将对, Jiang Dui) that requiresmost winning hands to include a pair formed from tiles numbered 2, 5, or 8 in any suit (Characters, Bamboos, and Dots) unless it is a special hand listed in the payout chart such as All Triplets, Seven Pairs, Full Flush, and Half Flushes.
Temporary Locked Discard Rule (Lòu Hú (漏胡))
The temporary locked discard rule (lit. Missed Win, Lòu Hú (漏胡)) occurs if player does not declare a win when they are able to. The player cannot win on a similar tile in the same round unless they complete another action (draw a tile, chow, pong, or kong) after missing the win.
After the player has completed an action (drawing a tile, chow, pong, or kong), they are allow to win on the tile again.
Dealer Rules
After the initial Dealer turn, the winner of the previous round becomes the dealer. If the round ends in a draw, the dealer will retain their dealership.
Unlike other variants of mahjong, there are two exception to these rules:
- If multiple players win from a single discard (一炮多响, Yī Pào Duō Xiǎng), the player who discarded (loses that round) becomes the dealer.
- If a robbed kong win (抢杠胡, Qiǎng Gàng Hú) occurs, the winning player (the one who robbed the kong) becomes the dealer.
Special Note: After three consecutive draws, the dealer pays each player 1 point prior to the start of the round.
Tie-Break Multipliers
If multiple consecutive draws occur, the total payout is doubled per draw:
- 1st draw: 2x Total Payout
- 2nd draw: 4x Total Payout
- 3rd draw: 8x Total Payout
- 4th draw: 16x Total Payout
- 5th draw: 32x Total Payout
The total payout is already capped at 32x, so any additional consecutive draw would not increase the draw multiplier.
Full Responsibility (承包)
In particular scenarios in Shandong Mahjong can a player becomes fully responsible for all losses in certain situations:
- If Player A feeds Player B three melds, Player A is solely responsible for paying Player B if they win.
- If a player discards a tile used for a Kong and the Kong results in a win, the discarding player pays all points even though the winner wins on a kong replacement draw.
Points and Payout in Shandong Mahjong
The scoring and payout system in Shandong Mahjong is designed to reward players based on their hand structure, winning method, and special combinations. Points, referred to as fan (番), determine the payout, which is calculated using a base score and multipliers.
- Discard Win (点炮): The cost of the win is borne solely by the player who discarded the winning tile.
- Self-Draw Win (自摸): All three opponents pay the winner the same amount.
Base Score
The Base Score for Shandong Mahjong is 5.
Winning Hand Payout Formula
The payout in Shandong Mahjong is relatively simplified. Be sure to check if your hand provides both Points and Multipliers! Some hand patterns like a Flush adds 2 points to your base score as well as multiplies your hand by 5! The formula to calculate points is as following:
Total Payout = ((Base Points From Win) + (Sum of Flower Points) + (Sum of Points from Hand Patterns)) x (Special Multiplier)
For Example if you won a hand with 2 flowers and all Triplets via self-draw, you would receive the following:
(Base Point (5)) + (Sum of Flowers (3)) + (Sum of Points from Hand Patterns (2)) x (Self-Draw (2)) x (All Triplets (2)) = 10 x 2 x 2 = 40 Points Payout from Each Player
Point Capping (封顶)
The maximum multiplier is capped at 32x
Points and Payout Table for Shandong Mahjong
Standard points for Shandong Mahjong. These points will also stack with multipliers of the same type unless otherwise stated.
| Type/Condition | Points | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Exposed Kong | 1 | Declared with three identical tiles and a matching discard. |
| Supplemental Kong | 2 | Declared when upgrading a Pong to a Kong with a drawn tile. |
| Concealed Kong | 3 | Declared when all four identical tiles are drawn by the player without exposure. |
| Each Flower Tile | 1 | Each flower tile in the player’s hand adds 1 point. |
| Closed Ready Hand (暗楼, An Lou) | 1 | Winning with a Closed Ready hand |
| Winning on Kong Draw (杠上开花, Gang Shang Kai Hua) | 1 | Winning on a tile drawn as a result of declaring a Kong. |
| Flush (清一色, Qīng Yī Sè), | 2 | All One Suit |
| All Generals ((将将胡, Jiāng Jiāng Hú) | 2 | All tiles are only 2s, 5s, or 8s. |
| All Triplets (碰碰胡, Pèng Pèng Hú) | 2 | Winning with All Triplets and a Pair |
| Seven Pairs (七小对, Qī Xiǎo Duì) | 2 | Winning with Seven Pairs |
| Luxury Seven Pairs (豪华七小对, Háo Huá Qī Xiǎo Duì) | 4 | Seven Pairs with one pair being four identical tiles. |
| Double Luxury (双豪华, Shuāng Háo Huá) | 6 | Seven Pairs with two pairs being four identical tiles. |
| Triple Luxury (三豪华, Sān Háo Huá) | 8 | Seven Pairs with three pairs being four identical tiles. Does not stack with Seven Pairs or Double Luxury Seven pairs |
Multipliers for Shandong Mahjong that stack with points.
| Type/Condition | Multiplier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Win (平胡, Ping Hu) | ×1 | Default multiplier for winning on a standard hand. |
| Self-Draw (自摸, Zì Mō) | ×2 | Winning by drawing the winning tile yourself. |
| Open Ready Win (明楼, Míng Lóu) | ×2 | Doubles the total score when winning after declaring an Open Ready and revealing all tiles |
| All Triplets (碰碰胡, Pèng Pèng Hú) | ×2 | Winning with four melds (three identical tiles each) and a pair. |
| Seven Pairs (七小对, Qī Xiǎo Duì) | ×2 | A hand composed of seven pairs of identical tiles. (Stackable with addition in Points) |
| Mixed One Suit (混一色, Hùn Yī Sè) | ×2 | A hand consisting of one suit and honor tiles. |
| Pure One Suit (清一色, Qīng Yī Sè) | ×5 | A hand composed entirely of one suit without honor tiles. |
| Pure Terminals (清幺九, Qīng Yāo Jiǔ) | ×6 | A hand composed of 1s and 9s only. |
| Blessing of Earth (地和, Di Hé) | ×6 | A player's winning achieved on their first draw before any calls (chow, pung, kongs, or Ready) are made |
| Heavenly Hand (天和, Tiān Hú) | ×6 | A dealer’s winning hand achieved on their first draw. |
