Malaysian 4-Player Mahjong: Tiles, Set-Up and Tai

Malaysian 4 player mahjong is the classic table game with 148 tiles and four animal tiles. It plays much like the standard Chinese game, but it adds instant payouts for animals, flowers and kongs. Players score in tai (台), and each tai doubles the payment. Most written rules for this game come from Singapore. So below, we say "Malaysian and Singapore tables commonly…" when a rule comes from those sources.

This page covers the 4-player game in detail. For an overview of both games, read our hub on Malaysian mahjong rules. If your table has only three players, see Malaysian 3-player mahjong instead.

The 148-tile set

Malaysian 4 player mahjong uses the standard 144-tile set plus four animals. Wikipedia's archived Singaporean mahjong scoring rules page says the set "consists of 148 tiles due to the additional Animal tile set". The arithmetic works like this:

• Suited tiles: dots, bamboo and characters, 9 ranks × 4 copies × 3 suits = 108.
• Winds: 4 × 4 = 16. Dragons: 3 × 4 = 12.
• So the playing tiles total 108 + 16 + 12 = 136.
• Flowers and seasons: 8, one of each. Animals: 4, one of each.
• In total, 136 + 8 + 4 = 148.

• Cat貓
• Rat鼠
• Rooster雞
• Centipede蜈蚣

The animals are the cat, rat, rooster and centipede. Some players say "mouse" for rat, "chicken" for rooster or "worm" for centipede. For pictures of every tile, see our guide to mahjong tiles.

How to set up Malaysian 4 player mahjong

The set-up below follows TheSmartLocal and Wikipedia's Singapore rules. Malaysian and Singapore tables commonly set up this way, though small details vary.

1. Choose the dealer. Roll the dice to decide who deals. The dealer gets first choice of seat and plays as East.
2. Build the walls. Shuffle the tiles face down. The dealer (East) and the player opposite (West) each build two rows of 19 tiles. South and North each build two rows of 18.
3. Break the wall. The dealer rolls the dice again to decide where to break the wall.
4. Deal the tiles. Players take tiles four at a time, in turn, until each holds 13. The dealer takes one more, for 14.
5. Replace bonus tiles. Each player lays any flowers and animals face up in front of them. Then they draw a replacement from the end of the wall for each one.
6. Start play. The dealer opens by discarding a tile. Play then goes anti-clockwise.

The walls check out. Two walls of 19 stacks and two of 18 make 74 stacks, and 74 × 2 = 148 tiles. Wikipedia also sets aside a dead wall (王牌, wáng-pái) of 15 tiles. That is why a win "on the last tile" means the 16th tile from the end.

Seat winds and flowers by seat

In Malaysian 4 player mahjong, each seat has a wind. The dealer is East. In standard seating, South sits to the dealer's right, West sits opposite, and North sits to the dealer's left. There is also a prevailing wind for the round. A pong of your seat wind or the prevailing wind earns 1 tai, and a wind that is both earns 2.

Each seat also owns two flowers. A flower that matches your seat scores 1 tai. Wikipedia calls it 正花 (zhèng-huā). A flower for another seat scores nothing.

A full group of four same-colour flowers earns 2 tai in total. All eight flowers is an instant win at the limit. Also, if you hold seven flowers and someone else draws the eighth, you can rob it for a limit win.

Animal tiles and bitten payouts

Animals are the signature of Malaysian 4 player mahjong. They pair up as cat with rat, and rooster with centipede. When you hold both tiles of a pair, the predator "bites" its prey. Singapore sources call this 咬到 (yǎo-dào), meaning "bitten".

BittenBitten

A bitten event earns a one-time payout from every other player. All four animals usually earn double the agreed payout. These payouts add up, so a full set pays both pairs as well. For example, with a 1-point base, each pair pays 2 points and all four pay 2 + 2 + 4.

• Bites in your starting tiles. Wikipedia says a concealed bite (暗咬) "usually" pays 4, against 2 after replacement draws.
• Both your seat flowers. Many tables treat this as a bitten event too.
• A full flower group. This pays like all four animals.
• At the end. Each animal still adds 1 tai if you win, and all four add 5.

Kong payouts

Many tables also pay at once for a kong. Wikipedia says an exposed kong pays like a bitten event, and a concealed kong usually pays double. However, if someone robs your kong to win, you get no kong payout. Instead, you count as the discarder. A Singapore game guide uses a simpler rule of "two points from each player".

Claims and discard rules

Malaysian and Singapore tables commonly follow these claim rules in the 4-player game. You may chow only from the player before you. However, you may pong or kong a discard from anyone. When two players want the same tile, a win beats a pong or kong, and a pong or kong beats a chow.

• Thirteen Wonders. This hand beats other claims on a discard. It is also the only hand that can rob a concealed kong.
• Sacred discard (回头牌). You cannot claim a tile for a win or pong if you discarded the same tile in that go-around.
• Missed discard (过水牌). If you pass on a tile, you cannot claim the same tile from another player in that go-around. You may still win by self-draw.

Penalties keep the game honest. A short hand loses the right to win. A long hand loses the right to win and to collect kong payouts. A false win claim usually costs 5 points or the limit.

Minimum tai and the limit

Most Malaysian 4 player mahjong tables need 1 tai to win. Wikipedia says this one-point minimum (起胡, qǐ-hú) made the zero-point chicken hand "invalid in most playing circles". A Malaysian forum and a Singapore game guide both give 1 as the default too. TheSmartLocal, by contrast, leaves it to house rules.

The limit is the top score. Wikipedia calls 5 tai "a typical maximum", though players must agree it. Some big hands score "10 points, or the limit, whichever is the smaller". We found no source for a 2- or 3-tai minimum. So if your table uses one, treat it as a house rule.

How payment works

Malaysian 4 player mahjong pays in doubling steps. Players agree a value for a 1-tai win. Then each extra tai doubles it, so 1 to 5 tai pay 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 units. Malaysian home games often settle in money, but this guide uses points. There are two common payment models:

• Everyone pays. On a discard win, the discarder pays double and the others pay once. At 1 tai, the others pay 1 point each, the discarder pays 2, and the winner gains 4. On a self-draw, all three pay double.
• Shooter pays. Only the discarder pays, covering everyone. Wikipedia says this is "common … among younger Singaporeans".

Some tables also make the dealer pay and receive double. For full charts, pay-for-all cases and worked sums, read our Malaysian mahjong scoring guide.

Example hands

These Malaysian 4 player mahjong examples use Wikipedia's Singapore tai values. Your table may count some hands differently, so check first.

Example 1: a 3-tai hand

ChowChowPongPongPairFlower

The player sits South, and South is not the prevailing wind. So the South pong earns 1 tai. The Orchid matches the South seat, which adds 1 more.

Example 2: a limit hand from pongs

PongPongPongPongPair

This hand uses one suit plus honours, so it is a half flush. Every set is a pong, which adds 2 more. The green dragon pong brings it to 5 tai, the usual limit.

Example 3: animals do the work

ChowChowChowPongPairAnimals

The sets themselves score little. But all four animals add 5 tai, which reaches the usual limit. On top of that, the two bitten pairs paid out during play.

Frequently asked questions