Now that you know what you’re building, let’s learn how the game actually plays. Mahjong has a clear, rhythmic structure that becomes second nature after a few rounds.

Game Structure Overview

A full game consists of:

Hanchan (半荘): A full game, usually East and South rounds
Round (局, kyoku): One wind round (e.g., “East Round”)
Hand (局, kyoku): One deal from start to someone winning or the wall running out

Most online games are tonpuu-sen (East-only, 4 hands minimum) or hanchan-sen (East + South rounds, 8 hands minimum). We’ll focus on what happens during a single hand.

Setup: The Wall and Deal

At the start of each hand:

1. Build the Wall

All 136 tiles are shuffled face-down. Players push them together and build a wall 17 tiles long and 2 tiles high in front of themselves. The four walls are connected to form a square.

(Digital platforms handle this automatically, but understanding the physical setup helps you grasp why tiles run out.)

2. Break the Wall

Dice are rolled to determine where to “break” the wall and start drawing tiles. This is mostly ceremonial in digital play but ensures randomness.

3. Deal Starting Hands

Each player receives 13 tiles to start. The dealer (seat East) deals in a specific pattern:

4 tiles to each player
Repeat twice more (12 tiles each)
1 more tile to each player (13 tiles)

The dealer then draws the very first tile of the hand, giving them 14 tiles. This is important: the dealer starts with 14 tiles and discards first.

4. Reveal the Dora Indicator

One tile is flipped face-up on the wall. This is the dora indicator, which tells you what the dora (bonus) tiles are. If the indicator is 3m, then 4m is dora (the next tile in sequence). We’ll cover dora in detail later—for now, just know that dora tiles are worth extra points.

Turn Structure

Mahjong turns flow in a simple loop: Draw → Discard → Next Player.

The Dealer’s First Turn

The dealer (East) starts with 14 tiles. They:

Examine their hand
Discard one tile face-up to the center
Declare “riichi” or make a winning declaration if applicable (more on this later)

The discarded tile is placed in the middle area, forming a discard pile visible to all players. This is crucial: all discards are public information.

Other Players’ Turns

Play proceeds counter-clockwise (East → South → West → North → East…).

On your turn:

Draw one tile from the wall
Evaluate your 14-tile hand
Discard one tile face-up to the center

That’s it. Draw one, discard one. Your hand always has 13 tiles at the end of your turn (until you win with 14).

Tile Calls Interrupt Turn Order

Here’s where it gets interesting: when someone discards a tile, other players can call that tile to complete a meld (if they want to). This interrupts normal turn order.

We’ll cover calls in detail in the next chapter, but the basic idea:

Pon (triplet): If someone discards a tile and you have two of that tile, you can claim it to make a triplet
Chi (sequence): If the player to your left discards a tile, you can claim it to complete a sequence
Ron (win): If someone discards your winning tile, you can call “Ron!” and win the hand

When a call happens, the player who made the call reveals their meld, then discards a tile. Turn order resumes from them.

The Discard Pool

All discarded tiles form a public pool in front of each player. In physical mahjong, players arrange their discards in neat rows of six tiles.

Why this matters:

Yaku tracking: Some yaku require specific discards or lack thereof
Reading hands: Experienced players deduce what opponents are building from their discards
Furiten rule: If one of your winning tiles is in your discard pool, you cannot win by ron (we’ll cover this later)

In digital platforms, the discard pool is displayed clearly below each player’s name.

Dead Wall and Rinshan

Not all tiles are drawn during regular play. The dead wall consists of the last 14 tiles, which are reserved for:

Dora indicators (and ura-dora after riichi)
Replacement tiles after calling a kan (quad)

If the wall runs out before anyone wins, the hand ends in a draw (ryuukyoku). Points may be exchanged based on who was in tenpai (ready).

Example Turn Sequence

Let’s walk through the first few turns of a hand:

Start:

Dealer (East) has 14 tiles:

Dealer's hand

Turn 1 - Dealer (East):

Already has 14 tiles from the deal
Discards 1z (isolated honor, hard to use)
Discard pool:

Turn 2 - South:

Draws: 9m from the wall
Now has:
Discards 9m (keeping the pair of 9m, discarding the duplicate)
Discard pool:

Turn 3 - West:

Draws: 5z (Green Dragon)
Now has:
Discards 1z (isolated honor)
Discard pool:

Turn 4 - North:

Draws: 4s
Now has:
Calls “Tsumo!” (Drew their winning tile)
Reveals:

(4 melds + pair)
North wins!

The hand ends. Points are calculated based on North’s yaku and han value, then paid by all players (since it was a self-draw win).

Drawing vs. Calling

As a beginner, it’s tempting to call every tile you can use. Resist this urge. Here’s why:

Closed Hands Score More

Many yaku (scoring patterns) require a closed hand—a hand where you haven’t called any tiles. The moment you call a tile (except for a winning tile), your hand becomes “open” and loses access to these yaku.

Closed-only yaku include:

Riichi (the most common and valuable yaku for beginners)
Menzen tsumo (winning by self-draw with a closed hand)
Pinfu (all sequences, common wait pattern, no honor pair)

Open Hands Are Visible

When you call a tile, you must reveal the completed meld. This gives opponents information about what you’re building and what tiles you need.

When to Call

You should generally only call tiles when:

The tile completes a high-value meld (triplet of dragons, for example)
You’re far from tenpai and need to speed up
The hand is already open (you’ve already called once)
You’re calling to win (Ron!)

We’ll discuss strategy in the next chapter, but the default beginner strategy is: stay closed unless you have a good reason.

Dealer Rotation and Rounds

The dealer position rotates after each hand:

If the dealer wins or the hand draws with dealer in tenpai, dealer repeats (stays as dealer)
If the dealer doesn’t win, dealer rotates counter-clockwise: East → North → West → South

After all four players have been dealer once (and all dealer repeats are resolved), the round changes:

East Round → South Round (in a hanchan)
East Round → Game over (in a tonpuu game)

The dealer position matters because:

Dealer scores 1.5× points when they win
Dealer pays more when someone else wins

Round End Conditions

A hand ends when:

Someone wins (Ron or Tsumo)
Wall runs out (draw - ryuukyoku)
Four winds discard (all four players discard the same wind on the first turn - rare)
Four kan abort (four quads called by different players - very rare)
Nine terminals abort (one player deals 9+ different terminals/honors and chooses to abort - optional)

The most common endings are someone winning or a draw.

Your Mental Checklist Each Turn

When it’s your turn:

Draw a tile
Look at your hand: Do you have 4 melds + pair? (If yes, call Tsumo!)
Check for tenpai: Are you one tile away? (Might want to declare riichi)
Identify useful tiles: Which tiles complete sequences or triplets?
Discard a tile: Choose the least useful tile (isolated honors, terminals far from other tiles, tiles that don’t fit your hand direction)
Note opponent discards: What are they throwing away? What might they be keeping?

This becomes automatic after a few hands.

Next: Open Melds and Calling

You now understand the basic turn flow. In the next chapter, we’ll dive deep into calling tiles—when to pon, when to chi, and when to stay silent and keep your hand closed.

Ready to learn about calls? Click “Next”!