Hong Kong Scoring — Intro

How It Works

HK scoring has three layers that beginners often conflate:

Fan (番) — literally “turn/round,” represents a doubling. Count your fan from hand elements.
Points/Chips — fan converts to base points via a multiplier table. The multiplier scaling is configurable (this is what makes house rules so different).
Money — chips convert to dollars at a fixed rate (e.g., $2 per 100 chips).

Winning requires a valid hand plus whatever minimum fan your house sets — most groups play 0–3 fan minimum. The conversion from fan to points is exponential — each fan tier roughly doubles, but groups can flatten or steepen the curve.

Every house scores fan a little differently. The reference below gathers six real systems into one document — MJ Time, MJB, Dragon Society, LIU, Wikipedia, and L2 — so you can compare them or use one as the base for your own table. Click any row for details, variations, and the common mistakes around it.

Fan reference one row per condition · click a row for details and variations

Condition	Fan	Example
Honor melds · 1 fan
Pung of Dragons Triplet of any dragon.	1
Kong of Dragons Four of a kind of any dragon.	1
Pung of Own Wind Triplet of your seat wind.	1
Kong of Own Wind Four of a kind of your seat wind.	1
Pung of Round Wind Triplet of the prevailing round's wind.	1
Kong of Round Wind Four of a kind of the round's wind.	1
Flowers & bonus tiles
Own Flower正花 zing3 faa1 Flower matching your seat wind.	1
Own Season正花 zing3 faa1 Season matching your seat wind.	1
No Flowers or Seasons無花 mou4 faa1 Not a single bonus tile drawn all hand.	1
All Flowers (4)一台花 jat1 toi4 faa1 Hold the complete set of four flowers.	2
All Seasons (4)一台花 jat1 toi4 faa1 Hold the complete set of four seasons.	2
Seven Bonus Tiles Seven of the eight flowers and seasons.	House
All Eight Bonus Tiles花糊 faa1 wu4 All four flowers and all four seasons.	Win*
Winning conditions · 1 fan
Self-Drawn自摸 zi6 mo1 Won by drawing the tile from the wall.	1
Win from Wall (concealed)門前清 mun4 cin4 cing1 Win with no melds claimed from discards.	1
Out on Last Tile海底撈月 hoi2 dai2 lau4 jyut6 Won on the wall's last tile or the last discard.	1
Rob a Kong搶槓 coeng2 gong3 Won on the tile that upgrades their pung to a kong.	1
Win on Replacement Tile槓上開花 gong3 soeng5 hoi1 faa1 The replacement draw after a kong — or a flower — wins.	1
Win by Double Kong槓上槓 gong3 soeng5 gong3 Kong, replacement makes a second kong, its replacement wins.	8
Hand patterns
All Chows平糊 aka Common Hand · Chow Hand ping4 wu4 Four sequences and a pair.	1
All Pungs對對糊 deoi3 deoi3 wu4 Four triplets and a pair — no sequences.	3
Seven Pairs七對子 aka Seven Sisters cat1 deoi3 zi2 Seven distinct pairs, always concealed.	4
Half Flush混一色 wan6 jat1 sik1 One suit plus honors only.	3
Small Three Dragons小三元 siu2 saam1 jyun4 Two dragon pungs plus a pair of the third dragon.	4–5
Full Flush清一色 aka Pure Hand cing1 jat1 sik1 Every tile from a single suit.	6–7
Mixed Terminals混么九 aka Mixed Orphans wan6 jiu1 gau2 Pungs of terminals and honors only.	1
Limit hands
Hidden Treasure四暗刻 · 坎坎糊 sei3 am3 hak1 Four concealed pungs, won by self-draw.	Limit
Big Three Dragons大三元 aka Three Great Scholars daai6 saam1 jyun4 Pungs of all three dragons.	Limit
Little Four Winds小四喜 siu2 sei3 hei2 Three wind pungs plus a pair of the fourth wind.	Limit
Big Four Winds大四喜 daai6 sei3 hei2 Pungs of all four winds.	Limit
All Honors字一色 zi6 jat1 sik1 Winds and dragons only.	Limit
All Terminals么九 jiu1 gau2 Pungs of 1s and 9s only — no honors, no simples.	Limit
Nine Gates九子連環 gau2 zi2 lin4 waan4 Concealed 1112345678999; any tile of the suit wins.	Limit
Thirteen Orphans十三么 sap6 saam1 jiu1 One of each terminal and honor, plus a duplicate.	Limit
All Kongs Four kongs plus a pair — an 18-tile hand.	Limit
Jade Dragon綠一色 aka All Green luk6 jat1 sik1 Pungs or kongs of bamboo plus a pung of the green dragon.	Limit
Ruby Dragon紅一色 aka All Red hung4 jat1 sik1 Pungs or kongs of characters plus a pung of the red dragon.	Limit
Pearl Dragon白一色 aka All White baak6 jat1 sik1 Pungs or kongs of circles plus a pung of the white dragon.	Limit
Heavenly Hand天糊 tin1 wu4 Dealer's dealt hand is already complete.	Limit
Earthly Hand地糊 dei6 wu4 Non-dealer wins on the dealer's first discard.	Limit

System comparison every system's value side by side

Condition	Cantonese	MJ Time	MJB	Dragon Soc	LIU	Wikipedia	L2
Honor melds · 1 fan
Pung of Dragons	—	1	1	1	1	1	1
Kong of Dragons	—	1	1	1	1	1	1
Pung of Own Wind	—	1	1	1	1	1	1
Kong of Own Wind	—	1	1	1	1	1	1
Pung of Round Wind	—	1	1	1	1	1	1
Kong of Round Wind	—	1	1	1	1	1	1
Flowers & bonus tiles
Own Flower	正花zing3 faa1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Own Season	正花zing3 faa1	1	1	1	1	1	1
No Flowers or Seasons	無花mou4 faa1	1	1	1	1	1	1
All Flowers (4)	一台花jat1 toi4 faa1	2	2	2	2	2	2
All Seasons (4)	一台花jat1 toi4 faa1	2	2	2	2	2	2
Seven Bonus Tiles	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
All Eight Bonus Tiles	花糊faa1 wu4	—	—	—	—	—	—
Winning conditions · 1 fan
Self-Drawn	自摸zi6 mo1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Win from Wall (concealed)	門前清mun4 cin4 cing1	—	1	1	1	1	1
Out on Last Tile	海底撈月hoi2 dai2 lau4 jyut6	1	1	1	1	1	1
Rob a Kong	搶槓coeng2 gong3	1	1	1	1	1	1
Win on Replacement Tile	槓上開花gong3 soeng5 hoi1 faa1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Win by Double Kong	槓上槓gong3 soeng5 gong3	—	—	—	—	8	—
Hand patterns
All Chows	平糊ping4 wu4	1	1	1	1	1	1
All Pungs	對對糊deoi3 deoi3 wu4	3	3	3	3	3	3
Seven Pairs	七對子cat1 deoi3 zi2	4	4	4	4	4	4
Half Flush	混一色wan6 jat1 sik1	3	3	3	3	3	3
Small Three Dragons	小三元siu2 saam1 jyun4	—	—	4	4	5	4
Full Flush	清一色cing1 jat1 sik1	6	6	6	7	6	7
Mixed Terminals	混么九wan6 jiu1 gau2	—	—	1	1	1	1
Limit hands
Hidden Treasure	四暗刻 · 坎坎糊sei3 am3 hak1	10*	10*	—	13*	10	13*
Big Three Dragons	大三元daai6 saam1 jyun4	10*	10*	6	6	8	6
Little Four Winds	小四喜siu2 sei3 hei2	10*	10*	—	10*	6	10*
Big Four Winds	大四喜daai6 sei3 hei2	10*	10*	6	13*	10	13*
All Honors	字一色zi6 jat1 sik1	10*	10*	—	13*	10	13*
All Terminals	么九jiu1 gau2	10*	10*	—	13*	7	13*
Nine Gates	九子連環gau2 zi2 lin4 waan4	10*	10*	—	13*	4†	13*
Thirteen Orphans	十三么sap6 saam1 jiu1	10*	10*	—	13*	13	13*
All Kongs	—	10*	10*	7	7	10	13*
Jade Dragon	綠一色luk6 jat1 sik1	10*	10*	5**	—	—	—
Ruby Dragon	紅一色hung4 jat1 sik1	10*	10*	5**	—	—	—
Pearl Dragon	白一色baak6 jat1 sik1	10*	10*	5**	—	—	—
Heavenly Hand	天糊tin1 wu4	10*	10*	—	13*	13	13*
Earthly Hand	地糊dei6 wu4	10*	10*	—	13*	13	13*

* inclusive — the value already contains every other fan in the hand (dragon pungs, flowers, self-draw…); nothing stacks on top. · † Wikipedia scores Nine Gates 4 fan + 6 for Full Flush (10 effective). · ** Dragon Society's 5-fan version is the small form — it does not require all pungs.

Hong Kong Scoring — Payment

Payment: The Fan → Points → Chips → Money Pipeline

This is where house rules diverge most. The conversion uses configurable multipliers.

Step 1: Set parameters

Parameter	Sample (LIU)	Mahjong Time	MJB
Minimum fan to win	3	3	3
USD per 100 chips	$2	$1	$10
Bonus per hand (chips)	0	0	20
Scoring system	Defensive	Classical	Classical

Step 2: Fan → Base Points (via multiplier)

Fan	Multiplier	Base Points
0-2	—	0 (below minimum)
3	3	8
4	4	16
5-6	4	16 (capped)
7-8	5	32
9	6	64
10	7	128

Note: The multiplier flattens at higher fan to prevent runaway scaling. Different groups cap at different points.

Step 3: Classical vs. Defensive Payment

System	Losers pay	Discarder pays	Winner collects
Classical	Base x 1 each	Base x 2	(1 + 1 + 2) = 4x base
Defensive	0 each	Base x 4	4x base (all from discarder)
Self-draw (both)	Base x 2 each	—	6x base (from all 3)

Example (5 fan, Classical, no bonus):

Base = 16 points
Discard win: losers pay 16 + 16, discarder pays 32 → winner gets 64 chips
Self-draw: each pays 32 → winner gets 96 chips

Example (5 fan, Defensive):

Discard win: discarder pays 64 alone → winner gets 64 chips
Self-draw: each pays 32 → winner gets 96 chips (same as classical)

Penalties

Penalty	Cantonese	Description
False Win	詐糊 (zaa3 wu2) / 爆糊 (baau3 wu2)	Incomplete hand, no minimum fan, invalid meld. Pay each player as if they self-drew a minimum win. Forfeit hand.
Incorrect Tile Count	小相公 (siu2 soeng1 gung1)	“Small scholar” — no payment, but forfeit win for rest of hand
9 Pieces Penalty	九張包 (gau2 zoeng1 baau1)	Discarder pays all losses after enabling Pure Hand with 3 open sets of same suit
12 Pieces Penalty	十二張包自摸 (sap6 ji6 zoeng1 baau1 zi6 mo2)	Discarder pays all after enabling self-draw Pure Hand with 4 open sets
Fifth Tile Penalty	五子包生 (ng5 zi2 baau1 saang1)	Discard a fresh tile with ≤5 tiles left in wall, enabling a win — pay all losses
Double Loss	一炮雙響 (jat1 paau3 soeng1 hoeng2)	“One cannon, double sound” — discard wins for multiple players. Varies by house.