8 articles · read in order

More Variants

Beyond the big three: Taiwanese sixteen-tile, Sichuan bloody battle, Singaporean animals, Filipino and Vietnamese mahjong, three-player sanma, Zung Jung and Western rule books.

1More Variants

Taiwanese Sixteen-Tile Mahjong

Taiwanese mahjong gives every player sixteen tiles and asks for five sets and a pair. Bigger hands, flowers and tai scoring make it fast and high-scoring, and it is hugely popular in Taiwan and its diaspora.

2 min read

2More Variants

Sichuan Mahjong: The Bloody Battle

Sichuan mahjong removes all honour and bonus tiles, forbids chows, forces each player to abandon one suit, and keeps playing after the first win until three players have won — a "bloody battle to the end".

2 min read

3More Variants

Singaporean and Malaysian Mahjong

Singaporean and Malaysian mahjong adds animal tiles — cat, mouse, rooster and centipede — to the flowers and seasons, with instant payments for bonus tiles and tai-based scoring.

2 min read

4More Variants

Filipino Mahjong

Filipino mahjong uses sixteen-tile hands, flowers and a range of local bonuses. It is a fixture of family gatherings in the Philippines and in Filipino communities abroad.

2 min read

5More Variants

Vietnamese Mahjong

Vietnamese mahjong is played with sets that include many jokers and special tiles, giving it a looser, faster feel than Chinese styles. Here is what makes it distinctive.

2 min read

6More Variants

Three-Player Mahjong (Sanma)

Three-player Japanese mahjong, sanma, removes the two-to-eight of characters and turns the North wind into a bonus tile. It is faster, swingier and very popular in Japan.

2 min read

7More Variants

Zung Jung: A Modern Chinese Rule Set

Zung Jung is a rule set designed in 2006 by Alan Kwan to combine the clarity of competition rules with the feel of classic Chinese mahjong. Its compact scoring list makes it easy to learn.

2 min read

8More Variants

Western Classical and British Rules

Western rule books from the 1920s onward created "classical" mahjong for English speakers, with doubles-based scoring. Variants such as British rules and the American Wright-Patterson rules preserve that tradition.

2 min read