Wuhan Mahjong (武汉麻将), also known as Wild Red Dragon Mahjong (Hóng Zhōng Làizǐ Gàng, 红中赖子杠) or Open Mouth Mahjong (Kāikǒu Fān, 开口翻), is known for its gameplay involving Open Melds (hence the Open Mouth), getting rid of Red Dragons, Wild Card tiles, and sky high score multipliers. The mechanics emphasize calling sets and forming specific hand patterns to maximize winnings and minimize losses. This beginner's guide will provide detailed instructions on how to play Wuhan Mahjong, including the tiles used, basic rules, setup procedures, special terms, winning hands, and the scoring system. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills, this guide will help you grasp the core concepts of Wuhan Mahjong.
Tiles to Play Wuhan Mahjong With
Wuhan Mahjong can use any standard mahjong of 136 tiles. The whole suit tiles (bamboo, characters, circles) numbered from 1 to 9, with 4 tiles of each, 4 of each of the 4 wind tiles, and 4 of each of the 3 dragon tiles. Seasons and Flowers will not be used.
Basic Rules of Wuhan Mahjong
The primary goal of all mahjong variants is to form a winning hand by creating specific tile combinations, which include sets and pairs, and to score points based on the type of hand achieved.
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 Wuhan Mahjong
Like most variants of mahjong, Wuhan 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. The dealer is determined randomly for the first game or agreed upon by players. One fair method is 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. In subsequent games, the dealer is either the previous winner or determined based on specific conditions. 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.
In subsequent games the dealer is determined in one of the following orders:
- The winner of the previous game becomes the new dealer.
- In the case of a draw, the player to the right becomes the dealer.
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 17 tiles long and 2 tiles high (34 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.
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.
Wild Card Selection
In Wuhan Mahjong, there is a tile known as a Laizi (癞子) which is a universal tile which acts as a wild card during the game. It can substitute for any tile to complete a winning hand, offering significant flexibility and strategic value. However, its use is restricted in specific contexts to maintain game balance. For localization and consistency purposes, Mahjong Pros will refer to the Laizi as a Wild Card or Wild Card Tile.
Determining the Wild Card
After the initial draw and the dealer grabbing the 14th tile, the next tile in the wall is flipped face-up to reveal the Wild Card indicator and set aside for everyone to see. For numbered tiles (1-9), the next sequential tile in the same suit is the Joker. For honor tiles, the sequence is East (东) → South (南) → West (西) → North (北) → White Dragon (白板) → Green Dragon (发财) → East (东)
Example: If the 6 of Characters is flipped, the 7 of Characters becomes the Wild Card. If a 9 is flipped, the Wild Card loops back to 1.
Restrictions and Rules on the Wild Card
- The Wild Card can substitute for any tile to complete a winning hand
- The Wild Card can act as any tile for a 1x Multiplier (Soft win) or as its natural value for a 2x Multiplier (Hard win). (More about this in the payout section)
- You can form a kong with all four Wild Card tiles for a 4x multiplier to your score
- The Wild Card cannot be used for chow, pong, or winning by discard from others.
- Players cannot have more than one Wild Card tile for valid small hands wins. (More about Small Hands vs Big Hands in the payout section)
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.
You cannot form a pung with Wild Cards or Red Dragons
A kong is a four-of-a-kind.
Kong is like a special type of pung for a four-of-a-kind, and can also be grabbed even if it’s not your turn. However, you have to also grab an extra tile replacement tile. This is necessary for you to have enough tiles to complete a winning hand.
You cannot form a kong with Wild Cards or Red Dragons.
A chow is a three-tile straight of the same suit.
You cannot form a chow with Wild Cards.
Unlike pung and kong, 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 and pungs/kong takes precedence over chows. 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.
The Cursed Red Dragon Tile
Red Dragons (红中) do not act as normal tiles in Wuhan mahjong and you cannot win while they are in your hand. They are effectively cursed tiles that are dead weight in your hand similar to an Old Maid card.
However, whenever you discard the Red Dragon (红中杠) your final hand receives a 2x Multiplier Bonus to your final score for each Red Dragon you discard. Just to summarize:
Cursed Red Dragon Tile Rules
- A Player cannot win if holding a Red Dragon (中) tile
- When a player discarded a Red Dragon Tile, it gives the hand a Red Dragon Bonus (2x multiplier (stackable)).
- Cannot be used for pongs or kongs
Arranging Your Tiles
Remember, the goal of mahjong is to have all of your tiles arranged into four melds and one pair, except in Wuhan Mahjong, which must be formed with tiles numbered 2, 5, or 8 for most hands. There are special hands in which the deviate from the 258 pair rule. 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 you need to reveal the kong to acquire a replacement tile to have complete hand. But because it is a four-tile set, you must declare it and get a tile from either the end of 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 kong are generally locked in and cannot be changed. If you created a pong 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 pong 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 pong. Declare the open melded kong and set the matching tile on top of the middle tile of the pong. Since this is now a four-tile meld, you must draw a replacement tile from end of the 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 sets. In Wuhan Mahjong, be careful and avoid discarding key tiles 2s, 5s, and 8s if you can help it. Since at least one set of a player's hand must be called, you can guess at what types of hands people are try to make and should try to avoid discarding those tiles.
Arranging Your Discards and Called Tiles
Discards can be in an unorganized pile. Your called tiles should be put to your right side.
The 258 Generals
A special element of Wuhan Mahjong are the "258 Generals" (258 Jiang 将) which refers to a rule in where the pair in a winning hand must be formed by tiles numbered 2, 5, or 8 from the suits of Characters, Dots, or Bamboo. The 2, 5 and 8 tiles are considered as “generals” hence "258 Generals". Unless the winning hand is consider a Big Winning Hand.
Winning in Wuhan Mahjong
A winning hand consists of 14 tiles, which will almost always be four sets plus one pair. A crucial condition for the player is that the winning hand must contain a pair of 2s, 5s, or 8s unless the hand is considered a Big winning Hand.
Typically you must call at least one set in order to win, however there is one alternate winning configuration that is the Wild Card Seven Pairs (Qipi Silai (七皮四赖)) in which the hand consist of seven pairs in which two of those pairs are the wild cards.
TL;DR Winning Hand Requirements for Wuhan Mahjong
- Must contain a pair of 2s, 5s, or 8s unless it is a Big Hand
- Can only can one wildcard unless it is a Big Hand
- Cannot contain Red Dragons in hand
- Must have at least one open meld
Only one player can win in Wuhan Mahjong. In the case of multiple winners off of one tile, starting from the discarding player, the claim goes to the first eligible player in counterclockwise order.
In Wuhan Mahjong, the dealer is determined in one of the following orders in subsequent games:
- If the dealer wins, the dealer retains their dealer turn.
- If a non-dealer player wins, the dealer passes to next player in counterclockwise order.
- In the case of a draw, the dealer passes to the next player in counterclockwise order.
Full Responsibility (承包)
In particular scenarios in Wuhan Mahjong can a player becomes fully responsible for all losses in certain situations:
- Discarding to allow a Full Demand Win (全求人).
- Being the target of a third chow or pong during a Pure Suit (清一色) win.
- Discarding the tile that gets robbed during a Robbing a Kong (抢杠) win.
Points and Payout for Wuhan Mahjong
Initial Points
Decide in advance how long you’ll play for and what “rate” you’ll use. If you plan to play for several hours, you might, for instance, reshuffle seating every hour or so. Also agree on how many “points” each player starts with—represented by chips or some other marker.
Common values are 100 points, 500 points, or 1000 points, however you can go as high as you like. These points serve as a baseline for calculating wins, losses, and any multipliers. Since Wuhan Mahjong's points can swing wildly, choose a higher initial point cap.
Winning Hand Payout Formula
The payout in Wuhan Mahjong is relatively simplified. The formula to calculate points is as following:
Total Payout = ((Sum of Base Points From Win) x (Each Multiplier))
Point Capping (封顶)
Maximum score per hand is capped at 500 points to prevent extremely large swings to end the game prematurely.
Payout Table for Winning Hands in Wuhan Mahjong
In Wuhan Mahjong, there are two types of hands: small hands and large hands. Most hands without patterns will be small hands.
Small Hands (小胡, Xiǎo Hú)
| Hand Type | Base Points | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Flat Hand (平胡, Píng Hú) | 1 | A basic hand with a 258 pair and chows/pongs; no special structures. |
Large Hands (大胡, Dà Hú)
| Hand Type | Base Points | Description |
|---|---|---|
| All Triplets (碰碰胡, Pèng Pèng Hú) | 10 | A hand composed entirely of pongs/kongs, with any pair. |
| Pure One Suit (清一色, Qīng Yī Sè) | 10 | All tiles are from a single suit (Dots, Bamboo, or Characters). |
| Mixed One Suit (混一色, Hùn Yī Sè) | 10 | A hand with tiles from one suit combined with honor tiles. |
| Terminals Only (清老头, Qīng Lǎo Tóu) | 10 | A hand composed only of terminal tiles (1s and 9s) from a single suit. |
| All Honors (字一色, Zì Yī Sè) | 10 | A hand made entirely of honor tiles (winds and dragons). |
| Full Demand (全求人, Quán Qiú Rén) | 10 | A hand with four declared melds and only one tile left in hand for winning. |
| Fishing the Bottom of the Sea (海底捞, Hǎi Dǐ Lāo) | 10 | Winning by self-draw with the last tile of the game. |
| Kong Bloom (杠上开花, Gàng Shàng Kāi Huā) | 10 | Winning immediately after declaring a kong. |
| Robbing a Kong (抢杠, Qiǎng Gàng) | 10 | Winning by stealing another player’s declared kong. |
| Wild Card Seven Pairs (Qipi Silai (七皮四赖)) | 10 | A hand with seven pairs where two of the pairs are wild card tiles |
| Big Three Dragons (大三元, Dà Sān Yuán)* | 10 | A hand with pongs/kongs of all three dragons (Red, Green, White). |
| Big Four Winds (大四喜, Dà Sì Xǐ) | 10 | A hand with pongs/kongs of all four winds (East, South, West, North). |
*Big Three Dragons is the only hand that allows you to win with the Red Dragon in hand.
Wuhan Mahjong Multipliers Table
| Multiplier Source | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Open Mouth Bonus (Kaikoufan (开口翻)) | 2x per meld | For each Chow, Pong, or Exposed Kong on Discard declared. |
| Winning as Dealer | 2x | For winning a hand as the dealer |
| Self-Draw (自摸, Zì Mō) | 1.5x | For winning by drawing the winning tile yourself. (Rounded Up) |
| Hard Win (硬胡, Yìng Hú) | 2x | For winning without wild cards or using the Wild Card as its given value |
| Soft Win (软胡, Ruǎn Hú) | 1x | For winning using a wild card to substitute any tile |
| Exposed Kong on Discard (Ming Kong (明杠)) | 2x | Declaring a kong from a pong using another player’s discard. |
| Add-On Kong | 2x | Declaring an exposed kong by adding on a self-drawn tile to an exposed pung. |
| Concealed Kong (暗杠) | 4x | Declaring a kong with four identical tiles from your hand. |
| Wild Card Kong* (癞子杠) | 2x | Declaring a kong with four Wild Cards tiles. |
| Red Dragon Bonus (红中杠) | 2x | Discarding one dragon (Stackable) |
