Learn
The Sets
Four building blocks. That's the entire game. Learn these and the rest is decoration.
| Set | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Pair | Two identical tiles | 5 Circles × 2 |
| Chow | Three consecutive tiles, same suit | 3-4-5 Bamboo |
| Pung | Three identical tiles | Red Dragon × 3 |
| Kong | Four identical tiles | East Wind × 4 |
🀝🀝
Pair
5 Circles × 2
5 Circles × 2
🀒🀓🀔
Chow
3-4-5 Bamboo
3-4-5 Bamboo
🀄🀄🀄
Pung
Red Dragon × 3
Red Dragon × 3
🀀🀀🀀🀀
Kong
East Wind × 4
East Wind × 4
4 SETS + 1 PAIR = 14 TILES
A winning hand is any four sets — chows, pungs or kongs in any combination — plus one pair.
🀇🀈🀉
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🀝🀝🀝
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🀐🀑🀒
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🀅🀅🀅
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🀃🀃
A note on Kong
A Kong is four tiles, so a hand with one appears to hold 15. It doesn't break the rule: when you declare a Kong you draw a replacement tile, and the count works out.
Worth knowing before you chase one: a Kong counts as exactly one set, same as a Pung — so it gets you no closer to winning. It's a bet that you'll be the one to finish the hand. What a Kong is actually worth →
Two things worth remembering
- Honour tiles can never form a chow — no sequence exists for them
- Every winning hand has exactly one pair. Not two.