Free Online Hong Kong Mahjong Tournaments

Built on the Framework of the HKMA Competition Regulations

The competition system is modeled on the structure of the Hong Kong Mahjong Association's General Competition Regulations (香港麻雀協會《通常賽事規則》) — the governing framework used for organized competitive mahjong in Hong Kong. The GCR defines what makes a competition legitimate: an explicit rule text fixed before play begins, a designated authority that enforces it, traceable results records, and a written appeal mechanism. Each of those four pillars has a direct counterpart here:

• Fixed rule text — the ruleset (3-faan minimum, full four-wind matches, timers) is frozen at event creation and cannot be changed once the event starts.
• Enforcing authority — the game server acts as the referee: it deals, validates every claim and win, applies the timers, and rules on disconnections identically for everyone.
• Traceable records — every hand of every tournament match is archived move by move for 180 days, alongside a permanent incident log.
• Appeal mechanism — results stay provisional for 48 hours, entrants can object, and organizer corrections require a written, logged reason.

This app is an independent product. It is not affiliated with, operated by, or endorsed by the Hong Kong Mahjong Association; the General Competition Regulations are referenced as the framework the competition system is aligned with.

How a Tournament Runs, Start to Finish

1. Schedule. The organizer picks a name, a start time, the number of rounds (one round = one full match at every table), and the player cap, and receives a 6-character invite code. Events are invite-only — there is no public directory.

2. Register & check in. Players register with the code using a free account with a verified email address. Check-in opens 60 minutes before the start; only checked-in players are seated, so tables are never built around absentees.

3. Seat draw. At the scheduled start the system draws seats randomly, four players per table. In multi-round events the draw actively avoids seating players with the same opponents twice. A leftover group is completed with clearly-marked AI seats; a single leftover player receives a bye worth average placement points.

4. Play. Every table plays a complete Hong Kong Mahjong match — all four wind rounds, at least 16 hands, advanced ruleset with a 3-faan minimum, with turn timers enforced server-side. Scoring is computed by the engine, so there are no arithmetic disputes, ever.

5. Standings. Tables award placement points — 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 from first to fourth, ties sharing the average — and the event standings sum placement points across all rounds, with cumulative score as the tie-breaker. Results go provisional, survive the 48-hour objection window, and become final.

What Counts as a “Round” Here

The word means two different things in mahjong, so tournaments here keep them strictly apart. A tournament round is a seating round: one full match at every table, roughly 1.5–3 hours. The wind rounds (East, South, West, North) live inside each match — every tournament match always plays all four. In a multi-round tournament, players are re-seated with new opponents after each round, the draw actively avoids repeat tablemates, and placement points add up across rounds. The next round begins once every table of the current round has finished — fast finishers see live standings meanwhile, and can spectate the tables still playing.

Rule Enforcement for Serious Clubs

A club considering moving its competition nights online needs more than a scheduling tool — it needs to know exactly how the edge cases every tournament director dreads are handled. This is how:

• Identity and eligibility. Organizing or entering requires a verified email address. Every entrant plays under their account identity; there are no anonymous seats at a tournament table.
• No-shows. A registered player who fails to check in is excluded from the draw. A checked-in player who never takes their seat within the 3-minute connect window is replaced by a substitute AI and recorded as a forfeit — the other three players still get their match.
• Disconnections. If a player drops mid-match, the game pauses on their turn for a ~4-minute grace window. If they return, play resumes exactly where it stopped. If not, a substitute AI finishes the hand, and the player is restored between hands on reconnection. Four consecutive substituted hands forfeit the match. Every pause, substitution, restoration and forfeit is written to the event's incident log.
• Fair play by construction. The server validates every draw, discard, claim and win against the rules — an illegal call is simply impossible, and no player can see another's concealed tiles. What a floor referee polices in a hall, the engine enforces on every single action.
• Information fairness. Spectators receive only public information (discards, melds, scores) in real time — concealed hands are never transmitted to observers, so a phone next to a player cannot become a second pair of eyes.
• Result certification. Provisional results → 48-hour objection window → final. Organizer corrections during the window require a written reason, are limited to placement points, and are permanently attached to the result — the corrected value and the original both remain visible.
• Auditability. Every hand of every tournament match is archived move by move and retained for 180 days, so any disputed situation can be replayed exactly as it happened.

Built to Survive Anything — Even a Server Restart

A tournament must never be lost to a technical hiccup, so the platform is engineered so that no failure can strand an event. On a routine server restart, every live table is snapshotted and resumed — hands, walls, scores and timers come back within seconds, deadlines re-armed at full length so nobody loses a turn, and the clients reconnect on their own. Match progress is also written to the database after every single hand, so even in a worst-case crash a match resumes from its last completed hand. And if a table is ever truly unrecoverable, it is scored as byes for its players rather than blocking the round — the tournament always reaches certified results. Every hand of every match is archived move by move for 180 days, so any disputed situation can be replayed exactly as it happened.

Free of Charge — and Strictly Not Gambling

Tournaments cost nothing to organize and nothing to enter. There are no entry fees, no paid tiers for competition features, and no cash or material prizes — winners earn placement points, standings, and achievement badges. Competitive mahjong here is a social sport, not a wager, and the platform is built to keep it that way.

Spectators Welcome

When the organizer enables observers, every live table gets a Watch button on the tournament standings page — up to 20 spectators per table can follow the action in read-only mode. There is one spectator link for the whole event — the standings page — and the organizer has it from the moment the tournament is created, so it can go out in the club chat days in advance. Spectators open it, pick any live table, and hop between tables freely; in multi-round events the same link keeps working round after round. Members who are not playing that night still follow every discard, every claim and the live scores, with concealed hands protected at all times.

Platform Availability

For the time being, tournaments are available on the web app only — organizing, playing, standings and spectating all run in the browser on desktop, tablet and mobile. Competition support will be added to the iOS app and the Android app with version 3.0.0.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to organize or join a tournament?

Nothing. Tournaments are completely free — no entry fees, no organizer fees, no cash prizes, no gambling. Competition is played for placement points and standings.

Who can organize a tournament?

Any player with a free account and a verified email address. Events are invite-only: share the 6-character code with your club or friends, and only people with the code can register.

What rules are tournaments played under?

Full Hong Kong Mahjong matches — all four wind rounds, at least 16 hands — under the advanced ruleset with a 3-faan minimum. The configuration is frozen at event creation, following the GCR's structural-stability principle. See the scoring guide for how faan are counted.

What happens if someone disconnects?

The game pauses on their turn for a grace window; a substitute AI takes over the hand only if they don't return, and they are restored between hands when they reconnect. Extended absence forfeits the match, and the table always plays to completion.

Can spectators watch?

Yes — live, read-only, public information only, when the organizer allows observers. Concealed tiles are never visible to spectators.

Is this available in the mobile apps?

Web only for now. iOS and Android support arrives with version 3.0.0.

What exactly is a “round”?

A tournament round is a seating round: one full match (all four wind rounds, 16+ hands) at every table. Multi-round tournaments re-seat everyone with new opponents after each round, and placement points add up across rounds.

Does my table open automatically at the start?

Yes — checked-in players are seated automatically, notified, and shown a “Your table is ready” panel on the tournament page. Each table has a 3-minute connect window before play begins.

Do players get reminders?

Email and push notifications go out 24 hours and 1 hour before the start — the 1-hour one is the check-in call, and the email link lets each player choose browser, iOS app or Android app.

What if nobody checks in — or someone never takes their seat?

Fewer than two check-ins at start time cancels the tournament automatically. A checked-in player who never sits down is replaced by a substitute AI after 3 minutes and recorded as a forfeit — the other three still play a full, valid match.

What happens with 5, 6 or 7 players?

Groups of four are seated first. Five players → one table plus a bye worth 2.5 points; six → a table of four and a table of two humans with two marked AI seats; seven → four plus three-with-one-AI. Byes rotate so the same player never sits out twice before everyone has.

What happens if a player drops out?

Completed hands and earlier rounds keep full value. The game pauses for a reconnection grace window; a substitute AI plays on if needed, restores the player between hands when they return, and prolonged absence forfeits the match (0 points, flagged) and later rounds. Everyone else's results stay fully valid.

What if one table finishes long before another?

Nothing happens to the slower table. The next round starts when all tables are done — fast finishers watch the live standings or spectate the remaining tables, like at any physical tournament.

What if the server restarts mid-match?

Tables are snapshotted and resume within seconds with timers re-armed; progress is saved after every hand. In the worst case a lost table is scored as byes — a tournament always reaches certified results.

How does email verification work?

A one-time 6-digit code is emailed on your first attempt to create or enter a tournament; entering it verifies the account permanently. Existing accounts verify the same way on first use.

Ready to run your club's first online tournament?

Create a free account, verify your email, and schedule a competition in under a minute.

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