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American Mahjong (Douque) — 16 tiles — Rules

Overview

American Mahjong (Douque) is a four-player, 16-tile mahjong game: with 144 tiles (including 8 Flowers), you win by completing a 17-tile hand of five melds plus one pair. At heart it is Taiwanese 16-tile mahjong with three additions — a Three-Tile Exchange before play, a Dice Bonus set by the dice that break the wall, and a 3-tai minimum to win — which add variety to every opening and every score.

Players: Four per table.
Tiles: 144 tiles, including 8 Flowers.
Goal: Complete a hand of "five melds + one pair" (17 tiles) to win, scoring as many tai as you can, while avoiding dealing in. A win must be worth at least 3 tai (see "Minimum Tai to Win").
Hand: Everything from the deal until someone wins or the hand ends in an exhaustive draw and is settled is one "hand". An exhaustive draw also counts as a hand, scoring 0.
Match: The many hands played in a row at one table make up a "match" (it can carry across rounds and full cycles); the match result is the sum of the hand scores.

About the name: "American Mahjong" is what the Douque (鬥雀) platform calls this game; it is not the North American (NMJL) game with 13 tiles, Jokers and a yearly card of hands — it is Taiwanese 16-tile mahjong with three additions, starting with an exchange of tiles before play.

The Douque platform's American Mahjong rules are Douque's Taiwanese Mahjong rules plus three additions. Please note these on your first game:

Three-Tile Exchange (換三張): After the deal and Flower replacement, before play begins, every player passes 3 tiles to another player. The first exchange is mandatory; afterwards the dealer decides whether to start play or have everyone exchange once more.
Dice Bonus (骰規台): When the three dice that break the wall come up as a triple, all red, a straight or all black, the winner gets 1 to 5 extra tai.
Minimum 3 tai to win (起胡台數): A hand worth less than 3 tai in total cannot win; being blocked this way also counts as passing up a win and puts you under a Skipped win.

The following points are where the Douque rules differ from common house rules and association tournament rules; they are the same as in Douque's Taiwanese Mahjong:

When three players can win on the same tile, it is a "triple win on one discard (一砲三響)" and all three win. When two players can win at the same time, only one wins (intercepted win, 攔胡): counting in turn order from the discarder, the first of them to be reached wins.
When your hand is ready, you may Declare Ready (嗆聽) for 1 extra tai; declaring within the first eight discards of the hand is "MIGI", worth 8 tai. After declaring, you can no longer change your hand.
You cannot make an Exposed Kong on a tile discarded by the previous player.
A concealed hand that wins on another player's discard does not score All Chows (平胡).
No Last Tile Claim (河底撈魚), no Half Melded (半求) and no Eye Tiles (眼牌); the dealer streak is capped at 18.

Tiles and Dealing

Tile Set

Type	Contents	Tiles
Characters	1 to 9 Characters, 4 of each	36
Dots	1 to 9 Dots, 4 of each	36
Bamboo	1 to 9 Bamboo, 4 of each	36
Winds	East, South, West, North, 4 of each	16
Dragons	Red, Green, White, 4 of each	12
Flowers	Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo, 1 of each	8
Total	—	144

What a Winning Hand Looks Like

Five melds + one pair, 17 tiles in all. A meld is a Chow (three consecutive tiles of the same suit; only Characters, Dots and Bamboo can form one), a Pung (three identical tiles) or a Kong (four identical tiles, counted as one meld).
Flowers do not count toward the 17 tiles, and neither does the fourth tile of a Kong.
There are no special hands such as Seven Pairs or Thirteen Orphans. The only wins that do not require a 17-tile hand are the two Flower wins: Eight Immortals and Seven Robs One (see "Special Rules and Rulings").
Besides a complete hand, you need at least 3 tai to win (see "Minimum Tai to Win").

Dealing and Flower Replacement

Each player is dealt 16 tiles; the dealer gets one extra, 17 in total. After Flower replacement and the Three-Tile Exchange, the dealer acts first and makes the first discard.
Players who are dealt Flowers expose them in turn, starting with the dealer, and draw replacements from the back end of the wall. Only after everyone has finished the first pass is a second pass made for replacements that are themselves Flowers. Opening Flower replacement is finished before the Three-Tile Exchange, so no one holds a Flower during the exchange.
When you draw a Flower during play, you must expose it at once and draw a replacement; there is no choice. If the replacement is another Flower, it keeps replacing.
The last 16 tiles of the wall are never drawn. If a player needs to draw, or to draw a replacement for a Flower or Kong, and no drawable tiles remain, the hand ends in an exhaustive draw. Replacements come from the tail end of the wall, but each one still uses up one drawable tile (what is kept back is a count of tiles).

Seat Winds and Seat Flowers

Seat winds are determined by whose section of the wall is broken (開門) for each hand, not by who the dealer is: the player whose wall is broken is East, and the others follow in order. Each seat wind has two matching "Seat Flower (正花)":

Seat wind	Position	Seat Flowers
East	The player whose wall is broken	Spring, Plum
South	The next player (下家) after that player	Summer, Orchid
West	The player opposite (對家) that player	Autumn, Chrysanthemum
North	The previous player (上家) before that player	Winter, Bamboo

At the start of every hand the dealer rolls three dice. The same roll also decides that hand's Dice Bonus (see "Dice Bonus").
In the first hand of a match, the wall is broken from the dealer's own section, so the dealer is East.
From the second hand on (including hands where the dealer keeps the deal), the total of the dice decides whose wall section is broken; the dealer is not necessarily East.

The Three Additions: Three-Tile Exchange, Dice Bonus, Minimum Tai to Win

This section covers what American Mahjong adds to Taiwanese Mahjong. All other rules are the same as Taiwanese Mahjong.

How a Hand Begins

The dealer rolls three dice, which decide where the wall is broken and whether this hand has a Dice Bonus.
The deal: 16 tiles each, and the dealer takes 1 extra for 17.
Opening Flower replacement (everyone finishes the first pass before the second pass).
If, once Flowers are replaced, someone has Eight Immortals or Seven Robs One, or the dealer's 17 tiles are already a Heavenly Hand, the hand is settled and ends right away, with no Three-Tile Exchange (the win is declared directly).
First Three-Tile Exchange: mandatory.
Dealer's decision: "Start" or "Exchange again".
If the dealer chooses to exchange again: all four players make a second Three-Tile Exchange, after which play starts directly; there is never a third.
Play begins: the dealer acts as usual. If the dealer's 17 tiles are a winning hand after the exchange, the dealer may self-draw, scoring Heavenly Hand (this is only judged once all exchanges are over and play begins, so a dealer who already holds a winning hand and chooses "Exchange again" may trade the win away). The dealer then makes the first discard, and play proceeds under the normal rules.
The "first go-around" that Human Hand, Earthly Hand and MIGI look at only starts once all exchanges are over: the exchange is not a draw, not a discard, not a Chow, Pung or Kong, and the tiles passed away are not discards.

Three-Tile Exchange

Item	Rule
Number of tiles	Every player must pass 3 tiles and receives 3; you cannot pass fewer. The 3 tiles must be in your own hand, and they may be the same tile (for example, two 9 Bamboo)
Which tiles	Any 3 tiles from your hand, of any suit; honors can be passed too
The dealer	Chooses from all 17 tiles in each exchange (including the extra tile)
Who receives them	Each player's recipient is chosen at random, and no one ever passes to themselves; every player passes 3 and receives 3. It may be two pairs swapping with each other, or all four in a loop (for example A to B, B to C, C to D, D to A): 9 possible pairings, each equally likely. Each exchange is drawn afresh
Simultaneous	Tiles change hands only once all four players have chosen; while players are choosing, nobody's hand changes
What you know	Before choosing, you do not know who you are passing to; afterwards you still do not know who got your 3 tiles or who gave you the 3 you received. You cannot see what tiles other players passed either
Second exchange	Only if the dealer chooses "Exchange again". All four players must take part again, under the same rules as the first

Dice Bonus

Decided by the three dice that break the wall, regardless of the hand. The four patterns are mutually exclusive; take the first one from the top that matches:

Pattern	Definition	Examples	Tai
Triple (豹子)	All three dice show the same number	1-1-1 / 6-6-6	5
All red (全紅)	All three dice are 1 or 4, but not a triple	1-4-1 / 1-1-4	3
Straight (順子)	Three consecutive numbers (in any order)	1-2-3 / 4-5-6; 5-6-1 does not count	2
All black (全黑)	All three dice are 2, 3, 5 or 6, but neither a triple nor a straight	2-3-6 / 2-5-6	1

There are 216 possible rolls: 6 triples, 6 all red, 24 straights and 60 all black; the other 120 give no Dice Bonus.
It goes to the winner: on a deal-in the discarder pays it; on a self-drawn win all three pay it. It is part of the hand's tai and counts for every payer (unlike dealer tai, which only applies between the dealer and the other party).
Flower wins get it too: Eight Immortals and Seven Robs One also score the Dice Bonus.
Only once per hand: when a Flower win and a regular win are settled separately, the Dice Bonus goes on the regular win; when there is only the Flower win, it goes on the Flower win. In a triple win on one discard, each of the three winners is a separate win, and each one gets it.
The Dice Bonus counts toward the minimum tai. The settlement details list it as a separate item.
The dice are rolled and judged afresh every hand; the dealer streak does not affect the Dice Bonus.

Minimum Tai to Win

You can win only if your hand is complete and this win is worth at least 3 tai. If it is worth less than 3 tai, you cannot win.

Item	Rule
Threshold	3 tai
What counts	All the tai of this win: hand tai, Flower tai (Seat Flower, Flower Kong), Declare Ready, dealer tai, dealer streak, Dice Bonus. The "3 tai of base" that scoring converts to does not count
Winning on a discard	Judged on what the discarder would pay. The same hand may be enough when the dealer discards (dealer tai and streak are added) and not enough when a non-dealer discards
Self-drawn win	Judged on the dealer's share: when a non-dealer self-draws, the dealer's share includes the dealer tai; when the dealer self-draws, all three shares are the same. Each player pays their actual tai; non-dealers whose share is under 3 tai are not topped up to 3
Robbing the Kong	Each robbing player is judged on their own win
Not enough tai	You cannot win, and it counts as passing up a win, putting you under a Skipped win (see "Skipped Win"): for a tile another player discards or Added-Kongs, at once; for a tile you draw yourself, you are under the Skipped win once you discard
After Declaring Ready	If you draw a winning tile but do not have enough tai: you cannot self-draw; it is discarded under "discard whatever you draw" and you go under a Skipped win
Triple win on one discard	If even one of the three lacks enough tai, there is no triple win: with those players removed, if two remain, the intercepted-win rule applies (counting in turn order from the discarder, the first reached wins); if one remains, that player wins alone
Flower wins	Eight Immortals and Seven Robs One are worth 8 tai on their own, so they always qualify

The 3 tai above is for normal mode. The Douque platform also has a friend mode, where the player who opens the room chooses a minimum of 0 (no minimum), 2, 3 or 5 tai; every other rule is the same as normal mode (the Three-Tile Exchange and Dice Bonus are always on).

How to Play

Turn order: Counterclockwise. After you discard, the next player to act is your next player; only your next player can Chow your discard.
Before play: First the Three-Tile Exchange, then the dealer decides whether to start or exchange once more (see "The Three Additions"). After that, the dealer acts first.
On your turn: Draw one tile, then choose one of the following:
- Discard a tile;
- Self-drawn win (the tile you drew completes your hand, and you have enough tai);
- Concealed Kong (you hold four identical tiles) or Added Kong (you already have an exposed Pung and hold the fourth tile); after a Kong, draw a replacement from the back end of the wall and continue your turn;
- Declare Ready (declare that your hand is ready and discard a tile; see below).
When another player discards, you may:
- Win: the tile completes your hand, and you have enough tai;
- Pung: you hold two identical tiles; you can Pung a discard from any player;
- Exposed Kong: you hold three identical tiles; you can only Kong a discard from your next player or the player opposite, not from your previous player;
- Chow: you can only Chow a discard from your previous player, forming a Chow with two tiles from your hand;
- Pass: take nothing.
Priority when several players want the same tile: Win > Pung, Kong > Chow.
After a Chow or Pung you must discard; you cannot immediately make a Concealed or Added Kong. After an Exposed Kong, you first draw a replacement tile, then continue as a normal turn.
End of a hand: Someone wins (self-drawn, on a discard, by Robbing the Kong, or with a Flower win), or the hand ends in an exhaustive draw.
Dealer and prevailing wind:
- If the dealer wins or the hand is an exhaustive draw, the dealer keeps the deal and the dealer streak goes up by 1.
- Otherwise the deal passes to the next player and the dealer streak resets to zero.
- When several settlements happen at once (such as a triple win on one discard), the dealer keeps the deal as long as the dealer has a net gain for the hand.
- The dealer streak is capped at 18: the hand at streak 18 is played as usual (dealer bonus of 37 tai), but afterwards the deal passes even if the dealer would otherwise keep it.
- When each of the four players has dealt once, that is one "round"; the prevailing wind goes East, South, West, North in order. Four rounds make one full cycle (將).

Declare Ready and MIGI (Declaring a Ready Hand)

Item	Declare Ready	MIGI
Tai	1 tai	8 tai
When you can declare	On your turn to discard, if your hand is Ready after this discard	Same as left, and fewer than 8 tiles have been discarded at the whole table before this one (so the declaring discard can be at most the 8th, i.e. within each player's first two turns; tiles passed in the Three-Tile Exchange do not count), and no one has made any Chow, Pung or Kong so far (Concealed and Added Kongs count too)
After declaring	You can no longer change your hand: you discard whatever you draw, and you cannot Chow, Pung or Kong	Same as left
Another player discards your winning tile	You may win, or let it pass (letting it pass is a Skipped win); if you do not have enough tai you cannot win, and you likewise go under a Skipped win	You must win; you cannot let it pass
Tai restrictions	None	Concealed Hand and Fully Concealed are not scored, and the 1 tai for Declare Ready is not added; the 1 tai for Self-drawn still counts

If the MIGI conditions are met when you declare, it is MIGI; otherwise it is Declare Ready. The two are never scored together.
You may Declare Ready even with exposed Chows or Pungs.
After declaring, if you draw the fourth tile of a Pung you have already exposed, an Added Kong is always made (an Added Kong does not change your wait; if that tile is also your winning tile you first decide whether to win, and the Kong is made only if you don't; no Kong on the turn you draw the last drawable tile); if you draw a tile that would allow a Concealed Kong, it is not Konged but discarded directly.
Declaring Ready only adds tai when you win. When someone else wins, you do not pay extra for having declared. These rules have no Eye Tiles.

Tai Table

When you win, add up every item that applies; that total is the tai for the hand, and it must be at least 3 tai to win (see "Minimum Tai to Win"). All items can be combined, except combinations the "Notes" column says are not scored.

Tai	Name	Condition	Notes
1	Dealer (莊家)	The winner is the dealer, or the payer is the dealer	Only applies between the dealer and the other party; see "Scoring"
2N	Dealer Streak (連莊拉莊)	The dealer has kept the deal N times. Players call this "連 N 拉 N" ("N in a row, pull N"): N tai for the dealer's N consecutive deals, plus the same N tai "pulled" from whichever player is paying or being paid by the dealer	Combined with the Dealer tai, 2N + 1 tai; only applies between the dealer and the other party. E.g. streak 1 = 1 + 2 = 3 tai, streak 2 = 5 tai
1	Concealed Hand (門清)	No Chow, Pung, Exposed Kong or Added Kong	A Concealed Kong does not break it; not scored with Heavenly Hand, Earthly Hand, Human Hand or MIGI
1	Self-Drawn (自摸)	You drew the winning tile yourself	Not scored with Heavenly Hand or Earthly Hand
1	Fully Concealed Hand (不求)	Concealed Hand and Self-drawn (Concealed Kongs are allowed; any Chow, Pung, Exposed Kong or Added Kong rules it out)	Concealed Hand + Self-drawn + Fully Concealed total 3 tai; not scored with Heavenly Hand, Earthly Hand or MIGI
1	Prevalent Wind (圈風)	A Pung or Kong of the prevailing wind	Not added to Big Four Winds or All Honors
1	Seat Wind (門風)	A Pung or Kong of your own seat wind	When the prevailing and seat winds are the same tile, both tai count; not added to Big Four Winds or All Honors
1	Dragon Pung (三元牌)	A Pung or Kong of Red, Green or White Dragons, 1 tai each	Not added to Little Three Dragons, Big Three Dragons or All Honors
1	Seat Flower (正花)	Each Flower that matches your seat wind	2 tai at most; a Seat Flower inside a completed Flower Kong still counts
1	Flower Kong (花槓)	All of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, or all of Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo; 1 tai per set	Both sets complete is 2 tai
1	Single Wait (獨聽)	Waiting on only one tile, as an edge wait, closed wait or pair wait	Not combined with All Chows; not scored with Heavenly Hand
1	Melded Hand (全求)	All five melds are Chows, Pungs, Exposed Kongs or Added Kongs, leaving a single tile for a pair wait, and you win on another player's discard	Not scored on a self-drawn win (no Half Melded); the 1 tai for Single Wait on the pair wait is added separately
1	Robbing the Kong (搶槓)	Another player makes an Added Kong, and that tile is your winning tile	Paid by the Added Kong player alone
1	Out with Replacement Tile (槓上開花)	Self-drawn win on the replacement tile after a Flower replacement, Concealed Kong or Added Kong	You cannot self-draw on an Exposed Kong replacement; see "Special Rules and Rulings"; not scored with Heavenly Hand
1	Last Tile Draw (海底撈月)	Self-drawn win on the last drawable tile in the wall	Also counts if you reach the last tile through a Flower, Concealed Kong or Added Kong replacement, in which case it is combined with Out with Replacement Tile; combined with Self-drawn
1	Declare Ready (嗆聽)	Winning after Declaring Ready	Not added to MIGI
1 to 5	Dice Bonus (骰規)	The three dice that break the wall: triple 5, all red 3, straight 2, all black 1	American Mahjong only; see "Dice Bonus"; counts for every payer
2	All Chows (平胡)	All five melds are Chows, the pair is not an honor, the whole hand has no honors, no Flowers, you win on another player's discard, the hand is not concealed, and the winning tile completes a Chow from a two-sided wait	Not scored if the winning tile is the pair (pair wait); not scored on an edge or closed wait
2	Three Concealed Pungs (三暗刻)	Three concealed Pungs (a Concealed Kong counts as a concealed Pung)	A Pung completed with another player's discard is not concealed; one completed by self-draw is
4	All Pungs (碰碰胡)	All five melds are Pungs or Kongs	Not added to All Honors
4	Little Three Dragons (小三元)	Two Pungs of Red, Green or White Dragons + a pair of the third	Dragon Pung not added
4	Half Flush (混一色)	Number tiles of only one suit, plus honors	—
5	Four Concealed Pungs (四暗刻)	Four concealed Pungs	Same definition as Three Concealed Pungs
8	Five Concealed Pungs (五暗刻)	Five concealed Pungs	Same definition as Three Concealed Pungs; can combine with All Honors
8	Big Three Dragons (大三元)	Pungs of Red, Green and White Dragons	Dragon Pung not added
8	Little Four Winds (小四喜)	Three Pungs of East, South, West, North + a pair of the fourth	Prevalent Wind and Seat Wind not scored
8	Full Flush (清一色)	The whole hand is number tiles of one suit, no honors	—
8	Human Hand (人胡)	A non-dealer wins on another player's discard before having discarded any tile, with no Chow, Pung or Kong yet at the table	Concealed Hand not scored
8	MIGI	See "Declare Ready and MIGI" above	Concealed Hand, Fully Concealed Hand and Declare Ready not scored
8	Seven Robs One (七搶一)	See "Special Rules and Rulings"	Paid by the player whose Flower is robbed
8	Eight Immortals (八仙過海)	See "Special Rules and Rulings"	Paid by all three other players
16	Earthly Hand (地胡)	A non-dealer self-draws a win on their first draw, with no Chow, Pung or Kong yet at the table and before having discarded	Also counts when the first draw is a Flower and the replacement tile wins, in which case Out with Replacement Tile is added; Self-drawn, Concealed Hand and Fully Concealed not scored
16	Big Four Winds (大四喜)	Pungs of all four winds: East, South, West, North	Prevalent Wind and Seat Wind not added
16	All Honors (字一色)	The whole hand is honor tiles	All Pungs, Prevalent Wind, Seat Wind and Dragon Pung not added; for combinations, see the table below
24	Heavenly Hand (天胡)	The dealer's 17 tiles are already a winning hand: either right after Flower replacement (the hand ends at once, with no Three-Tile Exchange), or when play begins after all exchanges are over	Self-drawn, Concealed Hand, Fully Concealed, Single Wait and Out with Replacement Tile not scored

The "first go-around" for Heavenly Hand, Earthly Hand, Human Hand and MIGI only starts once all Three-Tile Exchanges are over.

All Honors Combinations

When All Honors occurs together with Little/Big Three Dragons or Little/Big Four Winds, the two are added together minus 4 tai and shown as a single item:

Displayed name	Calculation	Tai
All Honors	16	16
All Honors (Little Three Dragons)	16 + 4 − 4	16
All Honors (Little Four Winds)	16 + 8 − 4	20
All Honors (Big Three Dragons)	16 + 8 − 4	20
All Honors (Big Four Winds)	16 + 16 − 4	28

Five Concealed Pungs is not part of this merging; when it applies, add 8 tai separately.

When a Hand Can Be Split More Than One Way

If the same hand can be split into different meld combinations, it is scored using the split that gives the most tai.

Items Not Used

Last Tile Claim (河底撈魚; winning on the last discard is allowed but earns no extra tai), Half Melded (半求), Eye Tiles (眼牌), Heavenly Ready, Earthly Ready, Sixteen Unrelated (十六不搭), Ligu (哩咕), Four Winds Discarded in a Row (四風連打), Flower-and-Honor Bonus (見花見字), Liability Payment (包牌), Tai Cap (滿台封頂) and similar items are not used in these rules.

Legal Moves and Fouls

Actions covered by the restrictions below are illegal and may not be made:

Restriction	Details
Minimum tai (起胡台數)	A complete hand worth less than 3 tai cannot win; this counts as passing up a win and puts you under a Skipped win
No discarding a Chowed tile (吃入打出)	After a Chow, you cannot discard, on that turn, a tile identical to the one you Chowed, or, for a two-sided partial sequence only, the tile at its other end (a closed or edge Chow only bans the Chowed tile). Example: Chowing a 3 Dot with 4 and 5 Dots, you cannot discard a 3 Dot or a 6 Dot that turn
No discarding a Punged tile (碰入打出)	After a Pung, you cannot discard the same tile that turn
No claiming back a discard (打出吃入)	After you discard a tile, until your next discard, you cannot Pung (or Kong) the same tile back, and you cannot Chow using "two tiles that could form a Chow with the tile you just discarded". Example: after discarding a 3 Bamboo, you cannot Chow a 6 Bamboo with 4 and 5 Bamboo (the 4 and 5 Bamboo originally formed a set with the 3 Bamboo); but after discarding a 6 Bamboo, you can Chow a 3 Bamboo with 1 and 2 Bamboo
Skipped Pung (過水碰)	After passing on a Pung (including choosing to Chow instead), you cannot Pung the same kind of tile again until you have discarded a tile. Every kind you pass on is remembered: pass on 5 Characters and then on 7 Dots, and you can Pung neither until you discard
No claims near the end of the wall (牌牆將盡不得鳴牌)	When fewer than 4 drawable tiles remain (fewer than 20 tiles in the wall, counting the 16 undrawable ones), you cannot Chow, Pung or make an Exposed Kong; Concealed and Added Kongs are still allowed, except on the turn you draw the last drawable tile
No Exposed Kong from the previous player (明槓不對上家)	You can only make an Exposed Kong on a discard from your next player or the player opposite
No Kong right after a Chow or Pung (吃碰後不接槓)	After a Chow or Pung you must discard; you cannot immediately make a Concealed or Added Kong
The last discard (最後一張捨牌)	The tile discarded after the drawable tiles run out can only be won on; it cannot be Chowed, Punged or Konged
After Declaring Ready (宣告聽牌後)	You cannot Chow, Pung or Kong, and cannot change your hand (except that drawing the fourth tile of an exposed Pung always makes an Added Kong)
Robbing the Kong (搶槓)	Only an Added Kong can be robbed; Concealed and Exposed Kongs cannot

Skipped Win (過水)

Choosing not to win when you can is a Skipped win. This includes: not winning on a tile another player discards (or Added-Kongs); choosing to Chow, Pung or Kong instead of winning; not self-drawing a win on a tile you draw; and drawing a winning tile as the replacement after an Exposed Kong (you cannot self-draw on it, so you go straight into a Skipped win).
A complete hand worth less than the minimum 3 tai also counts as passing up a win and puts you under a Skipped win: for a tile another player discards or Added-Kongs, at once; for a tile you draw yourself, you are under the Skipped win once you discard (the tile you drew was a winning tile, so that discard does not lift it).
While under a Skipped win, you cannot win on any tile, not even by self-draw. However, you can still make an Exposed Kong when another player discards your winning tile.
When it is lifted depends on whether the tile is one of your winning tiles:

What happens during the Skipped win	Lifted?
You draw a tile that is not a winning tile, then discard (any tile, including a winning tile from your hand)	Lifted
The tile you draw is a winning tile	You cannot self-draw a win, and whatever you discard next, it is not lifted
A Concealed or Added Kong of a tile that is not a winning tile	Lifted
A Concealed, Added or Exposed Kong of a tile that is a winning tile	Not lifted
After an Exposed Kong, you draw a winning tile as the replacement	You cannot self-draw a win; still under the Skipped win
When your Chow or Pung is completed, your hand is already a complete winning shape, and you then discard	Not lifted
When your Chow or Pung is completed, your hand is not a winning shape, and you then discard	Lifted

Giving up a self-drawn win after Declaring Ready, or drawing a winning tile without enough tai after Declaring Ready, also puts you under a Skipped win; if you then draw the fourth tile of an exposed Pung, the Added Kong is still always made (the Added Kong tile is a winning tile, so it is not lifted).
A player who declared MIGI cannot skip a win; they always win on a winning tile.
Flower wins (Eight Immortals, Seven Robs One) are not affected by a Skipped win, and giving up a Flower win does not put you under one.

Scoring

How Each Payment Is Calculated

For each win, every paying player pays the winner separately:

Payment = base 300 + tai × 100

The tai include the Dice Bonus. When scoring in tai, divide amounts by 100: the base is 3 tai, and each tai is 1 tai, so

Tai paid by each payer = 3 + tai

Way of winning	Who pays
Self-drawn	Each of the other three players pays one share
Winning on another player's discard (deal-in)	The player who dealt in pays alone
Robbing the Kong	The Added Kong player pays alone
Seven Robs One	The player whose Flower is robbed pays alone
Eight Immortals	Each of the other three players pays one share

Dealer Tai Only Applies Between the Dealer and the Other Party

Dealer tai = 1 + 2 × dealer streak.

Situation	How dealer tai is added
The dealer wins	Every payer pays the dealer tai extra
A non-dealer self-draws	Only the dealer's share includes the dealer tai; the other two players pay no extra
A non-dealer wins on the dealer's discard	The dealer pays the dealer tai extra
A non-dealer wins on another non-dealer's discard	No dealer tai

The Dice Bonus is different: it is part of the winner's tai for the hand, and every payer pays it.

Your Score per Hand

Your score for a hand = the tai you received in all settlements of that hand − the tai you paid. The four players' scores always add up to 0. An exhaustive draw scores 0.

Scoring Examples

Examples 1 to 3 assume this hand's dice give no Dice Bonus.

Example 1: A non-dealer self-draws. You are a non-dealer and win by concealed self-draw: Concealed Hand 1 + Self-drawn 1 + Fully Concealed 1 = 3 tai, enough to win. The dealer has kept the deal twice (dealer tai = 1 + 2 × 2 = 5 tai).

Payer	Calculation	Pays
Dealer	3 (base) + 3 (hand) + 5 (dealer tai)	11 tai
Non-dealer A	3 (base) + 3 (hand)	6 tai
Non-dealer B	3 (base) + 3 (hand)	6 tai

You score +23 tai for this hand; the dealer −11 tai, and the other two players −6 tai each.

Example 2: Dealing in to the dealer. The dealer has kept the deal once, and your discard lets the dealer win with All Chows, 2 tai. Dealer tai = 1 + 2 × 1 = 3 tai, for 5 tai in total. You pay 3 (base) + 5 = 8 tai and score −8 tai for the hand; the other two players score 0.

Example 3: The dealer self-draws. The dealer (no streak) wins by concealed self-draw: Concealed Hand 1 + Self-drawn 1 + Fully Concealed 1 + Dealer 1 = 4 tai. Each of the other three pays 3 + 4 = 7 tai, and the dealer scores +21 tai.

Example 4: Who discards decides whether you have enough. No Dice Bonus this hand, and the dealer has no streak. You are a non-dealer holding an All Chows hand worth 2 tai and nothing else. If a non-dealer discards your winning tile: only 2 tai, less than 3, so you cannot win, and you go under a Skipped win. If the dealer discards it instead: All Chows 2 + Dealer 1 = 3 tai, so you can win, and the dealer pays 3 + 3 = 6 tai.

Example 5: The Dice Bonus makes up the minimum. The same 2-tai All Chows hand, and this hand's dice came up 2-3-6 (all black, 1 tai). A non-dealer discards your winning tile: All Chows 2 + Dice Bonus 1 = 3 tai, so you can win, and the non-dealer who dealt in pays 3 + 3 = 6 tai.

Example 6: A self-drawn win is judged on the dealer's share. No Dice Bonus this hand, and the dealer has no streak. You are a non-dealer with exposed melds and win by self-draw: Self-drawn 1 + Seat Flower 1 = 2 tai, nothing else. The dealer's share adds 1 dealer tai, making 3 tai, which is enough, so you can win. The dealer pays 3 + 3 = 6 tai; the other two non-dealers pay on the actual 2 tai, 3 + 2 = 5 tai each (they are not topped up to 3). You score +16 tai for the hand.

Special Rules and Rulings

Multiple Players Winning on the Same Tile

If two players can win on the same tile: only one of them wins (intercepted win). Counting counterclockwise from the discarder, the first of them to be reached wins.
If three players can win: it is a triple win on one discard, and all three win. The discarder pays three shares, each based on that winner's own tai, and each winner gets the Dice Bonus.
"Can win" requires enough tai: if even one of the three has less than 3 tai, there is no triple win, and it is handled as for two players or one player above (see "Minimum Tai to Win"). Players without enough tai go under a Skipped win.
The same rules apply to Robbing the Kong.

Kongs

Type	How it is made	Can you self-draw on the replacement?	Can it be robbed?
Concealed Kong	Four identical tiles in hand; the four tiles are placed face down in front of you, so other players only know you made a Kong, not what tile it is	Yes, scoring Out with Replacement Tile	No
Added Kong	An exposed Pung plus the fourth tile from your hand	Yes, scoring Out with Replacement Tile	Yes
Exposed Kong	Three identical tiles in hand, Konging the fourth discarded by your next player or the player opposite	No; not even with a tile drawn after replacing a Flower	No

The "no self-draw" restriction after an Exposed Kong is lifted if you then make a Concealed or Added Kong; that replacement can be a self-drawn win and scores Out with Replacement Tile. Otherwise it lasts until you discard a tile.
After drawing the last drawable tile, you cannot make a Concealed or Added Kong (a player who has Declared Ready does not Kong automatically either); you can only self-draw a win or discard a tile. If no one wins on that discard, the hand is an exhaustive draw.
Any player's Concealed, Added or Exposed Kong counts as "someone has made a Kong", which rules out a later Human Hand, Earthly Hand or MIGI.

Flowers and Flower Wins

Eight Immortals (8 tai): A player who collects all 8 Flowers may declare it on their own turn; each of the other three players pays one share. You may choose not to. After declining, you can still declare it on a later turn; if you later self-draw a win, the Eight Immortals settlement is added, but if you later win on another player's tile it is not. You can still declare it on the turn you draw the last drawable tile.
Seven Robs One (8 tai) has two cases, which differ in whether you draw the replacement or rob the Flower first:
1. You draw your 7th Flower, and the 8th is already in front of another player: You first draw your replacement as usual, then rob their Flower.
2. You already have 7 Flowers, and another player exposes the 8th: You rob it first, then draw a replacement.
When Seven Robs One is made, the robbed Flower moves in front of the robbing player (who now has 8 Flowers), and the robbed player alone pays 8 tai (plus any applicable dealer tai).
You may choose not to rob; play then continues as usual (giving up a Flower win does not put you under a Skipped win).
A Flower win is worth 8 tai on its own, so it always meets the minimum; Flower wins also get the Dice Bonus (see "Dice Bonus").
A Flower win and a regular win are scored as two separate settlements:
- If the replacement tile drawn by the robbing player completes their hand, a separate regular win is scored, with Out with Replacement Tile; if it does not, only the Seven Robs One settlement is scored. The second (regular) win must meet the 3-tai minimum on its own (Dice Bonus included); if it does not, only the Flower win is scored and the hand still ends (the same applies when the robbed player deals in, and to the dealer's opening 17 tiles in an opening Seven Robs One).
- Who pays the second settlement depends on the case above: in case 1 it is a self-drawn win, paid by all three; in case 2 the robbed player dealt in and pays alone (Self-drawn not scored).
- Seat Flower and Flower Kong for the second settlement depend on how many Flowers you held at the moment you drew the replacement: in case 1 the replacement comes before the rob, so 7 Flowers count; in case 2 it comes after the rob, so 8 Flowers count.
- If you already have all 8 Flowers and self-draw a win, there is one settlement for Eight Immortals and one for the self-drawn hand, both paid by all three (with 8 Flowers counted); if the replacement tile for the 8th Flower is what completes the hand, the second settlement also scores Out with Replacement Tile. The self-drawn second settlement must likewise meet the 3-tai minimum on its own (Dice Bonus included), otherwise only Eight Immortals is scored.
- A Flower win that occurs when a player who just made an Exposed Kong draws a Flower as their replacement, or that occurs during a Skipped win, is scored as the Flower win settlement only.
- Dealer tai is calculated separately for each settlement; the dealer streak still goes up by only 1. The Dice Bonus is counted only once, on the regular win.
When no drawable tiles remain in the wall (no replacement can be drawn), Seven Robs One is not available.
Flower wins on the deal: If a player completes Eight Immortals or Seven Robs One during Flower replacement at the start of the hand, the win is declared directly; it cannot be declined, and there is no Three-Tile Exchange that hand. When this coincides with a Heavenly Hand:

Situation	Result
A non-dealer completes Eight Immortals or Seven Robs One on the deal, but the dealer's 17 tiles after Flower replacement are already a Heavenly Hand	The Heavenly Hand takes precedence; the non-dealer's Flower win is not scored
The dealer has Eight Immortals on the deal and also a Heavenly Hand	Two settlements: Eight Immortals and Heavenly Hand (the Heavenly Hand is paid by all three)
The dealer draws their own 7th Flower on the deal for Seven Robs One (case 1) and also has a Heavenly Hand	Two settlements: Seven Robs One and Heavenly Hand (the replacement was already drawn during the opening Flower replacement, so no extra tile is drawn after the rob; the Heavenly Hand settlement counts 7 Flowers)
The dealer gets Seven Robs One on the deal because another player exposes the 8th Flower (case 2)	Heavenly Hand only (Seven Robs One is settled only after the replacement is drawn, which would leave the hand at 18 tiles)

Flower wins are not affected by a Skipped win, nor by the "no self-draw on an Exposed Kong replacement" restriction.
If you draw a Flower and the wall has no tiles left to replace it: the hand ends in an exhaustive draw.

Heavenly Hand, Earthly Hand, Human Hand

All three require that "no one at the table has made any Chow, Pung or Kong (including Concealed and Added Kongs) so far", and that the winner has not yet discarded or made a Kong. The Three-Tile Exchange is not a discard, nor a Chow, Pung or Kong.
Heavenly Hand is for the dealer only; Earthly Hand and Human Hand are for non-dealers only. Only one of the three can be scored; they are never combined.
Heavenly Hand can happen at two moments: if the 17 tiles are a winning hand right after Flower replacement, the win is declared directly and the hand ends, with no Three-Tile Exchange; if the hand only becomes a winning hand through the exchange, it counts as Heavenly Hand when the dealer self-draws it as play begins, once all exchanges are over.
The "first draw" for an Earthly Hand includes a tile drawn as a Flower replacement, and is counted from the end of the Three-Tile Exchange.
They can combine with a Flower win, counted on the second (regular) settlement: if a non-dealer completes Eight Immortals or Seven Robs One (case 1) with their first draw and the replacement wins, the second settlement scores Earthly Hand; if a non-dealer gets Seven Robs One passively (case 2) before having drawn, and the replacement wins, the second settlement scores Human Hand.

What Counts as All Chows

In the Douque rules, "a Chow wait with a pair, waiting on more than one tile" and "a two-sided wait" mean the same thing: the winning tile must complete a Chow, and that partial sequence must originally have been waiting on two tiles.
Example: with 2-2-2-3-4-5-6 Characters + 1 to 9 Dots in hand, winning on a 1, 4 or 7 Character counts as All Chows; winning on a 3 or 6 Character uses that tile as the pair and does not count.
All Chows is not scored with a concealed hand, with Flowers, or on a self-drawn win.

What Counts as a Concealed Pung

A Concealed Kong counts as a concealed Pung.
A Pung completed with another player's discard is not a concealed Pung; one completed by self-draw is.

Dealer Streak

After an exhaustive draw, the dealer keeps the deal.
The dealer streak is capped at 18: the hand at streak 18 is played as usual, and then the deal passes.

Rules basis: the Douque platform's American Mahjong rules (built on Douque's four-player mahjong, i.e. Douque's Taiwanese Mahjong rules).

The part below is how this site (PlayVsAI) does things: how the AI opponent plays and how the lobby and leaderboards count. It is not part of the game rules and may differ elsewhere.

Playing on PlayVsAI

Opponents: You sit with three computer opponents named "Shift Wind"; all three are this site's AI.
Normal mode only: minimum 3 tai to win. There are no friend rooms, and the minimum tai cannot be changed.
No move timer: the Three-Tile Exchange, the dealer's decision and discarding have no time limit (the Douque platform's 15-second exchange and 8-second dealer-decision limits do not apply).
Match: Everything from when you sit down at the table until you press "Settle & leave" is one "match". A match can include any number of hands (carrying across rounds and full cycles), and the score of every hand is recorded.
Dealing and rulings on the server: Shuffling, rolling the dice, pairing the exchanges, dealing, drawing, checking whether actions are legal, counting tai and settlement all happen on the server. The wall, the dice and the pairings for both exchanges are generated by the server using the operating system's random number source.
What you can see: You only see information you are entitled to see: your own hand, all four players' discards, the Chows, Pungs, Kongs and Flowers exposed in front of each player (other players' Concealed Kongs are face down; you can see that they made a Kong but not what tile it is), the number of tiles left in the wall, and the three dice. Other players' hands and the contents of the wall are not sent to your screen until the hand is over. In the Three-Tile Exchange you only see the tiles you passed and received: you cannot see what other players passed, nor who passed to whom.
"Shift Wind" sees the same: The three "Shift Wind" opponents see exactly as much information as you: they cannot see your hand or which tiles you passed, nor what tile another player's Concealed Kong is.
Only legal moves: The screen only lets you make legal moves, so a dead hand (相公), false win (詐胡) or mistaken win (錯胡) can never happen. A hand worth less than the 3-tai minimum shows no Win option, and the restrictions in "Legal Moves and Fouls" can also make some buttons disappear; this is not a bug.
Seat wind labels: The "East / South / ..." label next to each player's name at the table is that player's seat wind for the current hand.
Done for you: When you draw a Flower during play, the screen exposes it and draws the replacement automatically; Flower wins on the deal, and a Heavenly Hand right after Flower replacement, are declared by the system. After you Declare Ready or declare MIGI, drawing and discarding are done automatically by the system; when an automatic Added Kong tile is also your winning tile, you are asked first whether to win.
Flower wins: You may choose not to win with Eight Immortals and not to rob with Seven Robs One; "Shift Wind" always wins with Eight Immortals and always robs when it can.
Other Douque platform rules: Douque platform money rules, such as compensation for disconnections and service fees, do not apply on this site; leaving in the middle is handled as in "Leaving before the hand is over" below.
Leaving before the hand is over: Once the tiles are dealt, the hand must be finished: You cannot settle and leave between the deal and the end of scoring. If you close the page or leave mid-hand, the table is kept for 24 hours from your last move — come back to continue. If you do not return within 24 hours (or start another table first), the AI finishes the hand for you and scores it by the rules, recorded as "AI decided"; hands you already finished still count. Leaving within your first 3 moves does not count.
Settle & leave: only available between hands. When you press it, the scores of all completed hands in the match (including 0 for exhaustive draws) are submitted together.
Leaderboard: Ranked by "avg score per hand". Scores are in "tai" (each hand's net payments converted to tai as in "Scoring" above: base 300, 100 per tai, divided by 100). You get a rank once you have played 20 hands; records under 20 hands are still kept and shown in the Qualifying section below the leaderboard.

How the Settlement Screen Reads

Only one player pays (a discard win, robbing a kong, Seven Robs One, and similar): every item is listed as it is. When a non-dealer wins on the dealer's discard, "Dealer 1 tai" is listed too (plus "Dealer streak 2N tai" if the dealer has a streak), and "Total n tai" includes the dealer tai, so it is exactly what that player pays (before the base). Example: Ready Call 1 tai, Seat Flower 1 tai, Dealer 1 tai, total 3 tai; the dealer who discarded pays 3 + 3 = 6 tai.
Several players pay different amounts (a non-dealer self-draw, or Eight Immortals paid by all three, where the dealer pays the dealer tai extra): "Total n tai" shows the hand's own tai, and the next line reads "Dealer pays 3 tai (incl. dealer 1 tai), non-dealers pay 2 tai each".
Several players pay the same amount (the dealer self-draws): a single total, which is what each player pays.

Play American Mahjong against the AI →