Filipino Mahjong Rules: How to Play Pinoy Mahjong

Updated October 20, 2026

Filipino mahjong is the 16-tile version of mahjong played at family tables across the Philippines and in Filipino communities abroad. You start with 16 tiles and win by completing five sets (báhay) and one pair (eye), 17 tiles in total. Winds, dragons, flowers and seasons all count as bonus flowers instead of playing tiles, and a win on a tile you drew yourself (búnot) pays double.

Rules change from one family to the next. The rules below are the ones most tables share. Settle the house rules near the end of this page with your table before the first deal.

What do you need to play Filipino mahjong?

You need a 144-tile Chinese mahjong set, four players, two dice and a way to keep score. An American set works if you take out its 8 jokers.

Chips, coins or a notepad all work for scoring. Racks are optional.

How many tiles are used in Filipino mahjong?

Filipino mahjong uses all 144 tiles, but only the 108 suit tiles stay in your hand. The other 36 are bonus flowers that you set aside when you draw them.

The three suits run from 1 to 9, with four copies of each tile:

• Balls, also called dots or circles
• Sticks, also called bamboo
• Characters, also called craks

The 36 flowers are the four winds, the three dragons (often called color tiles) and the eight flower and season tiles. When you draw one, set it face up in front of you and draw a replacement. Filipino mahjong is sometimes called "thirteen flowers" mahjong, after the bonus for collecting 13 of them.

Bisaya variation: Some tables in the Visayas keep winds and dragons in play as regular tiles and use only the 8 true flowers. If someone at your table learned in Cebu or Iloilo, ask which version they play.

How do you set up a Filipino mahjong game?

Roll dice to choose the dealer (máno), build four walls 18 tiles long and 2 high, then break the wall to separate the flower wall from the draw wall.

1. Pick the máno. Everyone rolls the dice, and the highest roll deals first.
2. Build the walls. Shuffle the tiles face down. Each player builds a wall 18 tiles long and 2 tiles high, and the four walls form a square.
3. Break the wall. The máno rolls the dice and counts walls counterclockwise, starting with their own as 1. Many tables won't deal from the máno's own wall and move to the next wall if the count lands there. Count the same number of tiles in from the end of the chosen wall and split it there.
4. Mark the flower wall. The short section on one side of the split is the flower wall, where replacement tiles come from. The long side is the draw wall.

How many tiles does each player get?

Each player gets 16 tiles and the máno gets 17. Everyone then swaps their flowers for replacement tiles from the flower wall.

1. Starting with the máno and going counterclockwise, each player takes 8 tiles, then 8 more.
2. The máno takes one extra tile, for 17.
3. Players set aside their flowers and draw replacements, going around the table until nobody holds a flower. A replacement that is also a flower gets replaced again.

How does a turn work in Filipino mahjong?

On each turn you draw a tile or claim the last discard, swap any flower for a replacement, then discard one tile face up.

The máno opens by discarding one tile, and play moves counterclockwise. Your goal on every turn is the same: shape your hand toward five báhay and one eye.

When can you call pong, chow or kang?

You can call pong or kang on any player's discard, even out of turn, but you can only chow the discard of the player right before you.

When you claim a discard, lay the finished set face up and discard to keep your hand the right size. Play continues from you, so anyone sitting between you and the discarder loses their turn.

Most tables also follow these rules:

• A winning claim beats every other call. Pong and kang beat chow. If two players want the same tile for the same reason, the player closest in turn after the discarder gets it.
• You can't claim a discard to make a pair unless that pair wins you the hand.
• Every kang earns a "gift": a replacement tile from the flower wall, since four tiles take the place of three.

Two kang moves only work with tiles you draw yourself. A secret is a concealed kang: show all four tiles, turn them face down and take your gift. A sagása adds a self-drawn fourth tile to a pong you already exposed. Both earn an immediate bonus, and neither works with a discard.

How do you win at Filipino mahjong?

You win by completing five sets and a pair, 17 tiles counting the winning tile. A win on another player's discard is tódas, and a win on your own draw is búnot, which pays double.

Call tódas as soon as the winning tile is discarded. A winning claim beats any pong, kang or chow on the same tile.

The main alternative winning hand is siete pares: seven pairs plus one báhay. When that báhay is a pong, some tables call the hand "international." Siete pares earns a bonus on top of the base win.

What are ambitions in Filipino mahjong?

Ambitions are special combinations that earn extra payment. Some pay the moment you declare them, and others pay only if you win the hand.

The other players pay you immediately for:

• An open kang, a secret or a sagása
• No flowers, when you were dealt none at all
• Thirteen flowers, when you've collected any 13

These pay only when you win:

• Escaléra: 1 through 9 of one suit (three chows in a row) in your winning hand
• Siete pares
• Bisaklát: the máno wins on the deal, before anyone draws or discards
• Before the 5th: winning before your fifth discard

How is Filipino mahjong scored?

A basic win (tódas) collects 1 unit from each player, búnot doubles the total, and the player who discarded your winning tile pays double.

Payouts vary more than any other rule. This scale, in units, is a common starting point:

Some tables pay flat amounts instead, or price siete pares and escaléra several times higher. Write your table's numbers down before the first deal so nobody argues mid-game. For worked payout examples and three common scales side by side, see Filipino mahjong scoring and payouts.

What house rules should you agree on first?

Agree on payout amounts, the joker tile and dealer rotation before you start. These change more between families than anything else in the game.

• Joker: at the start of each hand, a tile turned up from the flower wall sets a wild suit tile. Jokers can complete your hand but usually can't be used to claim a discard.
• Jai alai: a side pot. Each win earns a marker, and the first player to five markers takes the pot.
• Doubles: if the dice roll doubles when the wall is broken, every payout for that hand doubles.
• Dealer rotation: a winning máno stays máno. Otherwise the role passes counterclockwise.

If you're new, learn without the joker first. It speeds up the game but makes it harder to see why a hand works.

How is Filipino mahjong different from American mahjong?

Filipino mahjong uses 16-tile hands, chows and a free-form winning hand, while American mahjong uses 13-tile hands, jokers and a yearly card of allowed hands.

If you already play American mahjong, the main adjustments are the free-form winning hand and claiming discards for chows. There's no card to check your hand against.

Filipino mahjong terms

Styles: Filipino