Malaysian Mahjong Rules and Fan Scoring
How Malaysian Mahjong is played, from the four animal tiles and seven pairs to fan scoring, the 10-fan limit and how payments work.
What makes Malaysian Mahjong different
Malaysian Mahjong is four-player Mahjong with 13-tile hands, like the Hong Kong and Singapore games. Drawing, discarding and claiming work the same way. If you are new to Mahjong, start with how to play Mahjong and come back here for the Malaysian details.
Malaysian tables use the same 148 tiles as Singapore Mahjong, animals included, but they play out the whole wall with no dead wall and they accept seven pairs. Hands are scored in fan (番). Under Malaysian fan scoring a hand needs at least 1 fan to win, a self-drawn win is worth 1 fan on its own, and a hand is capped at 10 fan. When someone wins off a discard, only the player who threw the tile pays, and they pay double.
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| Rule | Malaysia | Singapore | Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiles in the set | 148, with animals | 148, with animals | 144 |
| Dead wall | None | 15 tiles | None |
| Seven pairs | Allowed | Not allowed | Allowed |
| Minimum to win | 1 fan | 1 tai | 3 faan |
| Limit | 10 fan | 5 tai | 13 faan |
| Self-drawn win | 1 fan | 0 tai | 1 faan |
| Win on a discard | The discarder pays double | The discarder pays double, the others pay single | Only the discarder pays |
The 148 tiles
A Malaysian set has 148 tiles. There are four copies of every tile in the three suits (characters, bamboo and dots) and of every honour tile (the four winds and three dragons). On top of those come eight flowers and seasons and four animals, one of each.
Animals, flowers and seasons are bonus tiles and never part of a set. When one is dealt to you or drawn, put it face up beside your hand and take a replacement tile.
How a hand is played
- Everyone takes 13 tiles. Bonus tiles in the deal are set aside face up and replaced. East is the dealer and plays first.
- Draw, then discard. On your turn you draw a tile and throw one away, so you always end your turn on 13 tiles.
- Claim a discard when it helps. Take it to win, or to make a kong, pung or chow. A chow can only use the discard of the player on your left.
- A kong draws a replacement from the wall. There is no dead wall held back, so the replacement comes from the same wall as every other draw.
- The hand ends with a win or an empty wall. Every tile in the wall can be drawn. If it runs out with no winner, the hand is a draw.
When more than one player calls the same discard, the claims rank win, then kong, then pung, then chow. If two or three players can all win on the tile, they all win.
Winning a hand
A winning hand is four sets and a pair: your 13 tiles plus the winning tile, which can be self-drawn (自摸) or taken from a discard. Malaysian rules also accept two special shapes, seven pairs and thirteen orphans.
Under Malaysian fan scoring the hand must also be worth at least 1 fan. Because a self-drawn win scores 1 fan by itself, any complete hand you draw yourself meets the minimum. A discard win needs a scoring pattern or bonus tile.
Fan scoring
Add up the fan for every pattern in the winning hand. These are the hand patterns:
| Pattern | Fan | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Self-drawn win | 1 | You drew the winning tile yourself |
| All sequences | 1 | Every set is a chow |
| Seven pairs | 1 | Seven different pairs, all concealed |
| Half flush | 1 | One suit plus honour tiles |
| Seat wind pung | 1 | A pung or kong of your own wind |
| Round wind pung | 1 | A pung or kong of the round's wind |
| Dragon pung | 1 | A pung or kong of any dragon, 1 fan each |
| All triplets | 2 | Every set is a pung or kong |
| Full flush | 3 | Every tile from one suit, no honours |
| Small three dragons | 4 | Pungs of two dragons and a pair of the third, counting the two dragon pungs |
A pung of East when you sit East in the East round counts twice, once as your seat wind and once as the round wind. Bonus tiles add more fan on top, covered in the next section.
A hand is capped at 10 fan, the limit. Some hands are limit hands (滿糊) and score the full 10 fan on their own, whatever else they contain:
| Limit hand | What it is |
|---|---|
| Thirteen orphans | One of each 1 and 9 in every suit, each wind and each dragon, plus a pair of any of them |
| Big four winds | Pungs or kongs of all four winds |
| Small four winds | Pungs of three winds and a pair of the fourth |
| Big three dragons | Pungs or kongs of all three dragons |
| Nine gates | 1112345678999 in one suit, plus any tile of that suit |
| All honours | Every tile is a wind or a dragon |
Animals and flowers
Every animal tile you collect is worth 1 fan, whatever your seat. Collect all four animals and you get 1 fan more.
Flowers and seasons only score when they match your seat. Each seat has one flower and one season, worth 1 fan each. Holding all four flowers, or all four seasons, adds 1 fan for that set.
| Seat | Flower | Season |
|---|---|---|
| East | Plum | Spring |
| South | Orchid | Summer |
| West | Chrysanthemum | Autumn |
| North | Bamboo | Winter |
Payments and the deal
The fan total sets a base payment. A 1-fan hand has a base of 2, and each extra fan doubles it, up to the 10-fan limit. On a self-drawn win, each of the three opponents pays the base. On a discard win, the player who threw the tile pays double the base and the other two pay nothing.
| Fan | Base | Self-drawn, each pays | Discarder pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 3 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| 4 | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| 5 | 32 | 32 | 64 |
| 10 or more | 1,024 | 1,024 | 2,048 |
The dealer pays and collects the same amounts as everyone else. If the dealer wins, they deal again. If anyone else wins, the deal passes to the next player. After a drawn hand, the dealer keeps the deal only if nobody declared a kong during it.
When all four players have dealt, the round wind moves on from East to South. A match lasts four wind rounds: East, South, West and North.
Malaysian rules at our tables
Our Malaysian tables use the Malaysian tiles and play rules described here, including the animals, the full wall and seven pairs. Scoring starts on casual scoring, where any complete hand wins and scores a point, so newer players can join without learning the fan table.
To play with fan, pick Malaysia Fan scoring when you set up a private table. The game then counts the fan for you, checks the 1-fan minimum and settles the payments. AI players fill any empty seats.
Questions about Malaysian Mahjong
How many tiles are in a Malaysian Mahjong set?
148. That is the 144 tiles of a Hong Kong set plus four animals: cat, rat, rooster and centipede.
Is seven pairs allowed in Malaysian Mahjong?
Yes. Seven different pairs, all from your own hand, win and score 1 fan. Singapore rules do not allow it.
What is the minimum fan to win?
1 fan. A self-drawn win, animals and your seat's flower or season all count toward it.
Does a self-drawn win add fan?
Yes, 1 fan. Each of the three opponents then pays the base amount.
What is the most a hand can score?
10 fan. Anything above is capped at 10, and limit hands such as thirteen orphans or big three dragons score 10 straight away.
Who pays when I win off a discard?
Only the player who threw the winning tile. They pay double the base amount, and the other two pay nothing.
How is Malaysian Mahjong different from Singapore Mahjong?
Both use 148 tiles with animals. Malaysian tables play the whole wall with no dead wall, allow seven pairs, score in fan up to 10, give 1 fan for a self-drawn win and make only the discarder pay on a discard win.
Play Malaysian Mahjong with friends
Animals, seven pairs and optional fan scoring. Invite friends with one link, and AI fills any empty seat. No download, no sign-up.
