7 articles · read in order

Hong Kong Style

Cantonese and Hong Kong mahjong: faan scoring, minimum faan, common hands, payments, special wins and the parlour culture behind the world's most widely played Chinese style.

1Hong Kong Style

Hong Kong Mahjong Explained

Hong Kong (Cantonese) mahjong uses 144 tiles, four sets and a pair, calls of chow, pung and kong, and a simple faan scoring system where each faan roughly doubles the payout.

2 min read

2Hong Kong Style

Faan Scoring in Hong Kong Mahjong

Faan are the units of value in Hong Kong mahjong. Here are the most common faan sources — self-draw, dragon pungs, wind pungs, flowers, mixed and pure one-suit hands — and how they add up.

2 min read

3Hong Kong Style

Minimum Faan and Limits in Hong Kong Play

Most Hong Kong tables require a minimum number of faan to win and cap the payout at a limit. These two numbers shape the whole strategy of the game.

2 min read

4Hong Kong Style

How Payments Work in Hong Kong Mahjong

Hong Kong payments depend on faan, a base value and house rules about who pays when a discard gives away the win. Here is how doubling scales, "full shooter" and "half shooter" payments work.

2 min read

5Hong Kong Style

Common Winning Hands in Hong Kong Mahjong

From the humble common hand to mixed and pure one-suit hands, all pungs, little and big dragons and winds, here are the hands every Hong Kong player should recognise.

2 min read

6Hong Kong Style

Robbing the Kong and Other Special Wins

Some wins earn extra faan because of how they happen: robbing a kong, winning on a kong replacement tile, winning on the last tile, or the legendary heavenly hand dealt complete.

2 min read

7Hong Kong Style

Playing in a Hong Kong Mahjong Parlour

Hong Kong's licensed mahjong parlours — the famous neon-lit "mahjong schools" — have their own rules, payment tables and etiquette. Here is what to expect if you step inside.

2 min read