Mahjong Basics

• Mahjong Basics | Mahjong Styles

  The Words We Shout at the Table

  ByNaila Baig-Ansari September 6, 2026September 6, 2026

  Everyone learns the calls before anything else: Chow. Pung. Kong. Nobody ever asks where the words come from. Turns out it depends entirely on which Chinese language taught you to play. Pung and Kong are similar enough across the different versions and they don’t tell us much. Chow is where things get interesting. Meld English…
• Mahjong Basics | Practice & Tools

  Five Styles, One App: Introducing the Mahjong Mates Special Hands Guide

  ByNaila Baig-Ansari June 28, 2026June 28, 2026

  Never Forget a Special Hand Again There is a particular kind of mid-game panic every mahjong player knows. You are staring at your tiles thinking — wait, is this something? You have a pung of Red Dragons, a bamboo flush building nicely. Is that Imperial Jade? Ruby Jade? And does it matter which round you…
• Mahjong Basics

  What is a Faan in Hong Kong Mahjong?

  ByNaila Baig-Ansari May 11, 2026July 17, 2026

  Scoring Guide What is a Faan? Understanding the scoring unit that derives every decision at the Hong Kong New Style table What is Faan? | Mahjong Mates Faan Discarder pays vs. 3 faan 3 16 chips — 5 64 chips 3× 7 256 chips 16× 9 1,024 chips 64× 10 2,048 chips 128× 13 16,384…
• Mahjong Basics

  How to Build a Winning Mahjong Hand

  ByNaila Baig-Ansari March 19, 2026May 11, 2026

  How to Win at Mahjong — Mahjong Mates 📱 For the best experience, view this on a laptop or tablet Beginner’s Guide How to Win at Mahjong — the complete beginner’s breakdown 💻 Best viewed on a laptop or tablet for the full experience. You’ve seen the tiles, you’ve watched someone call “Mahjong!” — and…
• Mahjong Basics

  How to Claim Tiles in Mahjong: Chow, Pung, Kong & Winning Rules

  ByNaila Baig-Ansari March 19, 2026May 11, 2026

  When a player discards a tile, you may be able to claim it. This is one of the important parts of Mahjong. It determines how hands are built, how turns are interrupted, and who gets priority. Here is exactly what you can do and when. The Three Ways to Claim Priority Rules If more than…
• Mahjong Basics

  🖐️ Four Fingers and a Thumb

  ByNaila Baig-Ansari October 18, 2025March 18, 2026

  How to Visualize a Winning Hand Have you ever looked at your mahjong tiles and thought, How do these ever fit together into a winning hand? Here’s a simple way to picture it: your hand is like your own hand: four fingers and one thumb. ✋ The Four Fingers = Your Melds A meld is…