How many faan do you need to win in Hong Kong Mahjong?

Most Hong Kong Mahjong games require a minimum of 3 faan to declare a winning hand. Some casual games use a 1-faan minimum, while competitive play may require 5 faan. The exact threshold is agreed upon before the game starts.

What is the highest scoring hand in Hong Kong Mahjong?

The highest scoring hands are limit hands (typically 13 faan or a fixed maximum payout). These include Thirteen Orphans (十三幺), Heavenly Hand (天胡), Earthly Hand (地胡), All Honors (字一色), Great Four Winds (大四喜), and All Kongs (十八羅漢).

What is the difference between Half Flush and Full Flush?

A Half Flush (混一色, 3 faan) uses tiles from one suit plus honor tiles (winds/dragons). A Full Flush (清一色, 7 faan) uses only one suit with no honors at all, making it harder to achieve and worth more than double the faan.

Hong Kong Mahjong Scoring — Complete Faan Table

Faan (番) is the scoring unit in Hong Kong Mahjong. Each winning hand earns faan based on its composition — the more difficult or rare the pattern, the higher the faan value. Most tables require a minimum of 3 faan to declare a win, with a limit of 10–13 faan (maximum payout) depending on house rules.

Hong Kong Mahjong tiles on a green felt surface

Complete HK Mahjong Faan Scoring Chart

Below is the standard faan table used in most Hong Kong Mahjong games. Faan values can be combined (e.g. Half Flush + All Pungs = 6 faan). "Limit" hands pay the maximum regardless of the computed total.

Hand Name	Chinese	Faan	Description
All Chows (Ping Wu)	平胡	1	All four melds are chows (sequences), no honor pungs/kongs. The most basic winning pattern.
Concealed Hand	門前清	1	Win without having called any chow, pung, or kong from discards (all melds formed in hand).
Self-Drawn Win	自摸	1	You complete your winning hand by drawing the final tile yourself from the wall.
Pung/Kong of Dragons	箭刻	1	A pung or kong of any dragon tile (Red 中, Green 發, or White 白).
Seat Wind Pung/Kong	門風	1	A pung or kong of your own seat wind (East/South/West/North depending on your position).
Prevailing Wind Pung/Kong	圈風	1	A pung or kong of the current round wind (often East in the first round).
No Flowers	無花	1	You hold no bonus flower or season tiles at all (when flower tiles are in play).
Voided Suit	缺一門	2	Only two of the three suits appear in your hand (one suit is entirely absent). Some tables award 2 faan.
Half Flush (Mixed One Suit)	混一色	3	All tiles from a single suit plus honor tiles (winds and/or dragons). No other suits.
All Pungs	對對胡	3	All four melds are pungs or kongs — no chows at all.
Small Three Dragons	小三元	5	Pungs/kongs of two dragon types plus a pair of the third dragon.
Full Flush (All One Suit)	清一色	7	Every tile in your hand belongs to a single suit — no honors at all. A classic high-scoring hand.
Great Three Dragons	大三元	8	Pungs or kongs of all three dragons (Red, Green, White). A powerful and rare hand.
Small Four Winds	小四喜	8	Pungs/kongs of three wind tiles plus a pair of the fourth wind.
All Honors	字一色	10	Every tile is an honor (winds and dragons only). No suited tiles at all.
Great Four Winds	大四喜	10	Pungs or kongs of all four winds (East, South, West, North). Extremely rare.
Thirteen Orphans	十三幺	Limit	One of each terminal (1 and 9 of each suit) and one of each honor, plus one duplicate. A special hand.
All Kongs	十八羅漢	Limit	Four kongs plus a pair (18 tiles). Incredibly rare — an automatic limit hand.
Heavenly Hand	天胡	Limit	The dealer (East) wins on the very first draw — a complete hand from the initial deal.
Earthly Hand	地胡	Limit	A non-dealer wins on their very first draw (before any claims have been made).

Visual Examples of Common Faan Hands

All Chows / Ping Wu (平胡) — 1 Faan

Four sequences plus a pair. The most basic winning hand.

Half Flush / Mixed One Suit (混一色) — 3 Faan

All tiles from one suit plus honor tiles.

Full Flush / All One Suit (清一色) — 7 Faan

Every tile from a single suit — no honor tiles.

Great Three Dragons (大三元) — 8 Faan

Pungs or kongs of all three dragons.

How Faan Scoring Works

When a player declares a winning hand, the total faan is calculated by adding up all applicable scoring elements. Multiple faan categories can stack — for example, a concealed All Pungs hand in a single suit would combine Concealed Hand (1) + All Pungs (3) + Full Flush (7) = 11 faan.

Minimum Faan to Win

Most Hong Kong Mahjong groups play with a 3-faan minimum. This means you cannot declare a win unless your hand totals at least 3 faan. A simple All Chows hand (1 faan) would need additional scoring elements like self-draw, concealed hand, or a dragon pung to qualify.

Maximum / Limit Hands

Hands that reach the agreed-upon maximum (commonly 10 or 13 faan) pay the limit — the highest possible payout. Some hands like Thirteen Orphans and Heavenly Hand are automatic limit hands regardless of faan calculation.

Faan-to-Points Conversion

The actual payment is typically calculated by doubling a base amount for each faan. Common base amounts vary by table, but the principle is the same: more faan = exponentially higher payout. For example, with a

base: 3 faan = $8, 5 faan = $32, 7 faan =

28.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many faan do you need to win?

Most Hong Kong Mahjong tables require a minimum of 3 faan to declare a winning hand. Some casual games lower this to 1 faan, while competitive settings may use 5. Always agree on the minimum before the game starts.

What is the highest scoring hand?

The highest scoring hands are "limit hands" that automatically pay the maximum. These include Thirteen Orphans (十三幺), Heavenly Hand (天胡), Earthly Hand (地胡), Great Four Winds (大四喜), All Honors (字一色), and All Kongs (十八羅漢). In a standard game capped at 13 faan, these all pay the same maximum amount.

Can faan values stack?

Yes — most faan categories are additive. A hand that qualifies for multiple scoring patterns has all applicable faan values summed together, up to the table's limit.

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