How to Declare Mahjong and Win a Hand
A hand ends when someone's 14 tiles match a line on the card and they declare Mahjong. Win both ways at the real table, see who pays and how much, and find out what happens when nobody wins.
Step 1 of 6
Declare Mahjong
When your 14 tiles match a line on the card, you declare Mahjong and the hand is over. You just drew a 3 Dot, at the right end of your rack, and it finishes four 1-2-3 Dot runs and a Red Dragon pair: 14 of 14 on the hand card.
The Declare Mahjong button appears only when your tiles match a line.
Your move
Declare Mahjong.
Who pays
A win on your own draw is a self-drawn win, and every other player pays you the hand's full value. This hand is worth 35: 30 for the line and 5 for never exposing a meld.
Who pays you, and how much?
Win on a discard
You can also win on another player's discard, and a win beats every pung, kong or quint call for the tile. Here your four 1-2-3 Dot runs are finished and your Red Dragon has no partner. West has just thrown a Red Dragon.
Your move
Declare Mahjong on West's Red Dragon.
The concealed bonus
Most lines add 5 points if you never exposed a meld: the concealed bonus. Claiming your winning tile doesn't cost you that bonus, because the tile goes into your hand, not face up on the table.
You won on West's Red Dragon without ever calling a meld. Who pays you, and how much?
Tidy isn't enough
In many kinds of mahjong, any four groups and a pair win. Not here: the hand must be a line on the card. This rack is pungs of 2 Bam, 4 Crak, 7 Dot and East Wind, and a Red Dragon pair.
Can you declare Mahjong?
When the wall runs out
The number in the middle of the table is the wall: the tiles left to draw. Only 2 are left here, and it is North's turn.
If the wall runs out before anyone declares Mahjong, what happens?
What you learned
- Declare Mahjong when your 14 tiles match a line on the card. The button appears only then.
- On your own draw, every other player pays you the hand's value. On a discard, only the player who threw it pays.
- A win beats any call for the same tile.
- Winning on a discard keeps the 5-point concealed bonus if you never exposed a meld.
- A hand that matches no line can't be declared, however tidy it looks.
- If the wall runs out, nobody scores and the dealer deals again.
In this course
Unit 1Tiles, card and Charleston
Unit 2Playing a hand
- How to Draw, Discard and Call Tiles in Mahjong
- How Jokers Work in American Mahjong
- How to Declare Mahjong and Win a Hand
Take it to the table.
Put what you just read into practice. No sign-up needed.