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The object of play is to form a complete hand. The ultimate object of the game is to accumulate the most points from the winning hands. It doesn’t matter how many hands each player has won, the accumulated score determines the winner.

A player’s turn begins when a tile is acquired and ends when a tile is discarded. During a normal set of turns all players have their turn once. A normal set of turns is interrupted if a tile is claimed for kong, pung or chow, or a concealed kong is declared. A hand lasts until a player has completed a hand and won, or a drawn game occurs. During a round all players are East in turn. A complete game consist of two rounds: the east round and the south round.

A complete mahjong hand is composed of four sets and a pair. A set may be either a chow, a pung or a kong. In addition, a complete hand must have at least one yaku (double). A player who is furiten, is not allowed to win on a discard. A chow is three consecutive tiles of the same suit. Chows cannot be made with dragons or winds. 8-9-1 in the same suit is not a chow. A pung is composed of three identical tiles. A kong is composed of four identical tiles. A pair is composed of two identical tiles.
Chow Pung Kong
Two special hands exist in riichi which are not composed of four sets and a pair: Seven Pairs and Thirteen Orphans.

Players take their turns in order. East begins, and the turn order proceeds counterclockwise.
A player begins his turn by drawing a tile. However, since East begins with fourteen tiles, East doesn’t draw a tile on his first turn. If the player can’t or won’t declare a win or a kong, the player ends his turn by discarding one of his concealed tiles.
Discards are placed in an orderly fashion, six to a row, in front of each player and within the wall, so that it is clear who discarded which tiles and in which order.

The most recent discard can be claimed by any of the other players, provided they can complete a mahjong hand, a kong or a pung. A claimed kong or pung may result in players losing their turn, as play continues from the claiming player, not from the discarding player. If a player claims a tile for winning, any concurrent claim for kong, pung or chow is ignored. It is possible for several players to win on the same discard. The player about to begin his turn can claim the most recent discard for a chow. If the player doesn’t want to claim the discard, he begins his turn by picking a tile from the wall.



Claiming a tile for winning takes precedence over any other claim. Claiming a tile for kong or pung takes precedence over a claim for chow, but should occur within three seconds. A player who has claimed a tile for winning cannot change his claim.
If the most recent discard is claimed after the next player has picked a tile, but within three seconds after the discard, the picked tile is replaced in the wall.