Welcome to
the table.
Hong Kong mahjong, taught in order. You'll play your first game after chapter 4 — no scoring required.
All chapters →Hong Kong mahjong is a four-player tile game. Each player builds a hand of 14 tiles — drawing from a shared wall, discarding what they don't need, and occasionally claiming a tile someone else threw.
The first to complete their hand wins the round. It is fast to learn, slow to master, and genuinely more fun the more you understand it.
Mahjong has branched into many variants — Japanese Riichi, Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and more. Hong Kong mahjong is the version most diaspora communities play. If your family plays, or you've seen it at a club in North America, Australia, or Europe, this is almost certainly it.
Once you know HK rules, picking up other variants is easy — the tiles, the hand shape, and the draw/discard loop are identical. Only the scoring differs.
144 tiles are stacked face-down in a square wall. Each player draws 13 tiles; East (the dealer) takes 14.
On your turn, draw a tile from the wall and discard one you don't need. You're always holding 13 tiles between turns.
When someone discards a tile you need, you can claim it — but other players will see your exposed set.
Hold 14 tiles in the winning shape — four melds and a pair — declare and win. Everyone pays.
The Kitchen pairs with every chapter — read about tile efficiency, then drill it. Study a hand pattern, then see it play out in a full interactive round. Learning and applying, together.
When you're ready for a real table, find clubs and open games in NYC and beyond.
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