So you read the basics of how to play the Common Core of Mahjong (building the walls, making four sets and a pair, how to chi, pong, and kong, etc.) , and now you’re ready to add on the Zung Jung ruleset and take the game to the next level. Great!

Similarly to how I laid out how to play the Common Core of Mahjong, I’ll lay out how to start playing ZJ here. There are many ways to explain the rules and many have already done so, but this is my way of doing it.

If you are looking for another person’s way of explaining the rules of Zung Jung, why not from the creator himself! Go to the Zung Jung Mahjong Scoring System Official Website for more!

Note: whenever I use a phrase like “this is known as ____,” I mean “this is known as in Zung Jung mahjong as ____.” For the sake of limiting redundancy, I’ll do my best to use the terms most commonly used the English translation of the Zung Jung rules (whenever possible) or terms that are common in English mahjong parlance (whenever I forget to do the former).

How do I win?

By getting the most points at the end of the game.

How do I get points?

By being the first person to be able to declare a winning 14-tile mahjong hand (also known as going out) and by having made patterns of varying difficulty within your 14-tile mahjong hand.

What’s a winning mahjong hand in ZJ?

A winning mahjong hand in ZJ is almost always like the winning hand in the common core of mahjong, 4 sets (sequences, triplets, and kongs) and 1 pair (the eyes). This is known as a regular hand. However, in ZJ there are two hands that don’t follow the normal combination of 4 sets and 1 pair (gasp!). These are known as irregular hands. These are the Category 10 patterns, Seven Pairs and Thirteen Terminals.

What are the major differences between Zung Jung and the Common Core of Mahjong?

The major differences all have to do with scoring. The gameplay is just like the Common Core of Mahjong (CCM). Shuffle the tiles, build the wall, roll the dice, play the hands just like you would in CCM. But when it’s time to score your hand, that’s when the game goes from Go Fish to Texas Hold ‘Em.

In Zung Jung, there are 44 different patterns organized into 10 different categories that one can earn points for in their completed hand. In general, the more points a pattern in worth, the more difficult it is to obtain during the course of play. And with four different players all trying to put together different patterns of varying difficulty and point values, it changes the way the game is played. Do you go for difficult but high scoring patterns? Do you go for easy-to-make but low scoring patterns (after all, the only person who gets points is the first person who makes a winning hand). Do you make a smaller hand because you think an opponent is close to making a monster hand worth hundreds of points?

First we’ll list the official scoring patterns and then list the basic rules surrounding their use and implementation.

The Patterns of Zung Jung (Latest Version 3.3)

There are a total of 44 patterns in 10 categories.

1.0 Trivial patterns

1.1 All Sequences (平和) : 5
The hand contains 4 sequences; no triplets/kong.
(There are no other restrictions as to the eyes pair, single call, or concealed hand.)

1.2 Concealed Hand (門前清) : 5
A regular hand which is concealed, without melding any exposed sets before winning. Winning on discard is okay. Concealed kong are okay.

1.3 No Terminals (斷么九) : 5
The hand consists entirely of middle number tiles (2 to 8); no terminals or honors.

2.0 One-Suit patterns

2.1.1 Mixed One-Suit (混一色) : 40
The hand consists entirely of number tiles in one suit, plus honor tiles.

2.1.2 Pure One-Suit (清一色) : 80
The hand consists entirely of number tiles in one suit.

2.2 Nine Gates (九蓮寶燈) : 480
A 9-way call hand, with “1112345678999” in one suit in your hand, and winning on any one tile in the same suit.

3.0 Honor Tiles

3.1 Value Honor (番牌) : 10 per set
A triplet/kong of Seat Wind (your own Wind) or Dragons.
Note: in Zung Jung the Prevailing Wind is not recognized.

3.2.1 Small Three Dragons (小三元) : 40
Two triplet/kong of Dragons, plus a pair of Dragons as the eyes.
(This hand always includes two Dragon triplets, so it scores at least 40+10+10=60 points)
Example: 🀆 🀆 🀆 , 🀄🀄🀄, 🀅 🀅

3.2.2 Big Three Dragons (大三元) : 130
Three triplets/kong of Dragons.
(This hand always includes three Dragon triplets, so it scores at least 130+10+10+10=160 points)
Example: 🀆 🀆 🀆 , 🀅 🀅 🀅 , 🀄🀄🀄

3.3.1 Small Three Winds (小三風) : 30
Two triplets/kong of Winds, plus a pair of Winds as the eyes.
Example: 🀂 🀂 🀂 , 🀃 🀃 🀃 , 🀀 🀀

3.3.2 Big Three Winds (大三風) : 120
Three triplets/kong of Winds.
Example: 🀀 🀀 🀀 , 🀁 🀁 🀁 , 🀃 🀃 🀃

3.3.3 Small Four Winds (小四喜) : 320
Three triplets/kong of Winds, plus a pair of Winds as the eyes.
Example: 🀀 🀀 🀀 , 🀂 🀂 🀂 , 🀃 🀃 🀃 , 🀁 🀁

3.3.4 Big Four Winds (大四喜) : 400
Four triplets/kong of Winds.
Example: 🀀 🀀 🀀 , 🀁 🀁 🀁 , 🀂 🀂 🀂 , 🀃 🀃 🀃

3.4 All Honors (字一色) : 320
The hand consists entirely of honor tiles.

4.0 Triplets and Kong

4.1 All Triplets (對對和) : 30
The hand contains 4 set of triplets/kong; no sequences.

4.2.1 Two Concealed Triplets (二暗刻) : 5
The hand contains two concealed triplets/concealed kong.

4.2.2 Three Concealed Triplets (三暗刻) : 30
The hand contains three concealed triplets/concealed kong.

4.2.3 Four Concealed Triplets (四暗刻) : 125
The hand contains four concealed triplets/concealed kong.

4.3.1 One Kong (一槓) : 5
The hand contains one kong. (Irrespective of whether it is exposed or concealed; same below)

4.3.2 Two Kong (二槓) : 20
The hand contains two kong.

4.3.3 Three Kong (三槓) : 120
The hand contains three kong.

4.3.4 Four Kong (四槓) : 480
The hand contains four kong.

5.0 Identical Sets

Identical sets are sets in the same suit in the same numbers. Obviously, only sequences can be identical.

5.1.1 Two Identical Sequences (一般高) : 10
Two sequences in the same suit in the same numbers.
Example: 🀛 🀜 🀝 , 🀛 🀜 🀝

5.1.2 Two Identical Sequences Twice (兩般高) : 60
The hand contains two groups of “Two Identical Sequences”.
Example: 🀛 🀜 🀝 , 🀛 🀜 🀝 , 🀍 🀎 🀏 , 🀍 🀎 🀏

5.1.3 Three Identical Sequences (一色三同順) : 120
Three sequences in the same suit in the same numbers.
Example: 🀛 🀜 🀝 , 🀛 🀜 🀝 , 🀛 🀜 🀝

5.1.4 Four Identical Sequences (一色四同順) : 480
Four sequences in the same suit in the same numbers.
Example: 🀛 🀜 🀝 , 🀛 🀜 🀝 , 🀛 🀜 🀝 , 🀛 🀜 🀝

6.0 Similar Sets

Similar Sets are sets in the same numbers across 3 different suits.
In Zung Jung, all 3 suits must be present; 2-suit patterns are not recognized.

6.1 Three Similar Sequences (三色同順) : 35
Three sequences in the same numbers across three different suits.
Example: 🀛 🀜 🀝 , 🀒 🀓 🀔 , 🀉 🀊 🀋

6.2.1 Small Three Similar Triplets (三色小同刻) : 30
Two triplets/kong in the same number in two different suits, and the eye pair in the same number in the third suit.
Example: 🀜 🀜 🀜 , 🀊 🀊 🀊 , 🀓 🀓

6.2.2 Three Similar Triplets (三色同刻) : 120
Three triplets/kong in the same number across three different suits.
Example: 🀜 🀜 🀜 , 🀊 🀊 🀊 , 🀓 🀓 🀓

7.0 Consecutive Sets

Consecutive sets are sets in the same suit in consecutive numbers. The patterns here require three or more such sets.

7.1 Nine-Tile Straight (一氣通貫) : 40
A “123” sequence, a “456” sequence, and a “789” sequence, all in the same suit.
(The hand must contain exactly the three sequences listed above)
Example: 🀇 🀈 🀉 , 🀊 🀋 🀌 , 🀍 🀎 🀏

7.2.1 Three Consecutive Triplets (三連刻) : 100
Three triplets/kong in consecutive numbers in the same suit.
Example: 🀊 🀊 🀊 , 🀋 🀋 🀋 , 🀌 🀌 🀌

7.2.2 Four Consecutive Triplets (四連刻) : 200
Four triplets/kong in consecutive numbers in the same suit.
Example: 🀊 🀊 🀊 , 🀋 🀋 🀋 , 🀌 🀌 🀌 , 🀍 🀍 🀍

8.0 Terminals

Terminals are the 1 and 9 number tiles.
The Greater patterns consist of terminal tiles only, while the Lesser patterns include also “123” and “789” sequences.

8.1.1 Mixed Lesser Terminals (混全帶么) : 40
Every of the 4 sets in the hand, as well as the pair of eyes, includes a terminal tile or an honor tile.
Example: 🀐 🀐 🀐 , 🀇 🀈 🀉 , 🀟 🀠 🀡 , 🀅 🀅 🀅 , 🀏 🀏

8.1.2 Pure Lesser Terminals (純全帶么) : 50
Every of the 4 sets in the hand, as well as the pair of eyes, includes a terminal number tile.
Example: 🀐 🀑 🀒 , 🀇 🀇 🀇 , 🀍 🀎 🀏 , 🀡 🀡 🀡 , 🀐 🀐

8.1.3 Mixed Greater Terminals (混么九) : 100
An “All Triplets” or “Seven Pairs” hand which consists entirely of terminal tiles and honor tiles. (Not applicable to a “Thirteen Terminals” hand)
Example: 🀘 🀘 🀘 , 🀇 🀇 🀇 , 🀂 🀂 🀂 , 🀅 🀅 🀅 , 🀙 🀙

8.1.4 Pure Greater Terminals (清么九) : 400
The hand consists entirely of terminal number tiles.
Example: 🀐 🀐 🀐 , 🀏 🀏 🀏 , 🀙 🀙 🀙 , 🀡 🀡 🀡 , 🀘 🀘

9.0 Incidental bonuses

Lucky bonuses for winning on rare opportunities.

9.1.1 Final Draw (海底撈月) : 10
Self-draw win on the “seabed” tile (the last tile in the wall, excluding the dead wall).

9.1.2 Final Discard (河底撈魚) : 10
Winning on a discarded “riverbed” tile (the last discard by the player who has drawn the seabed tile).

9.2 Win on Kong (嶺上開花) : 10
Self-draw win on a “supplement” tile (after declaring a kong).
(If the supplement tile is also the seabed tile, both patterns can be counted)

9.3 Robbing a Kong (搶槓) : 10
Winning by robbing a kong (when another player makes a “small exposed kong”).

9.4.1 Blessing of Heaven (天和) : 155
East winning with his initial 14-tile hand.
(This pattern is invalid if East has made a concealed kong)

9.4.2 Blessing of Earth (地和) : 155
A non-East player calling with his initial 13-tile hand, and winning on East’s very first discard.
This pattern is invalid if East has made a concealed kong.

10.0 Irregular Hands

Irregular Hands are hands that do not consist of 4 sets and a pair. Irregular hands do not count for “Concealed Hand”.

10.1 Thirteen Terminals (十三么九) : 160
Among the 13 types of terminals and honors, the hand contains one pair of one type, and one tile each of the other 12 types.

10.2 Seven Pairs (七對子) : 30
The hand consists of seven pairs.
Example: 🀑 🀑 , 🀌 🀌 , 🀙 🀙 , 🀟 🀟 , 🀆 🀆 , 🀂 🀂 , 🀃 🀃

Four identical tiles can count as two pairs as long as kong is not declared.
A Seven Pairs hand cannot count those patterns which specifically require triplets, kong, or sequences. But it can count other patterns which do not have such requirements.

The Basic Rules

Basic Rules

1. Only the winning hand is scored. The winning player collects points corresponding to the value of his hand, from the other three players according to the “payoff scheme”.
2. The 44 “patterns” in Zung Jung are listed above. Each pattern specifies a certain condition; for fulfilling the specified condition, the winning hand scores the specified point value. There are no “basic points” in Zung Jung; a hand scores only for the patterns it contains.
3. The patterns are organized into categories and series. In the numbering, the first number indicates the category, and the second number indicates the series (within that category). For example, “3.3” indicates the “Honor Tiles” category and the “Winds” series.
4. Additive Rule: When the winning hand fulfills the conditions for multiple patterns, the value of the hand is generally the sum of the values of the relevant patterns. You can count all patterns contained in the hand (even if one of them “implies” another), provided that they belong to different series. You cannot count multiple patterns from the same series, nor can you count the same pattern more than once. (“3.1 Value Honor” is an exception: you can add 10 points for each set of value honors in your hand.) As an example, a hand with “Four Concealed Triplets” is always also a “Concealed Hand” and an “All Triplets” hand, so such hand always scores at least 125+5+30=160 points.
5. Minimum Requirement: In standard Zung Jung, there is no minimum point requirement for winning; any hand which qualifies as a “winning hand” (a “regular hand”, or one of the “irregular hands” listed in category 10) may win. A hand which does not contain any patterns (called a “chicken hand”) scores a token 1 point. There is an official variant in which there is a 5-point minimum requirement for winning; a chicken hand may not win, and will be considered a “false win”. (This is a common tournament variant, used in the World Series of Mahjong, and often when ZJ is referred to as ‘Australian Rules.’
6. Maximum Limit: There is a “limit” of 320 points. If the hand contains multiple patterns of which values add up to 320 or more, the hand scores 320 points (called a “Compound Limit Hand”). But if the hand contains a pattern which has a listed value of 320 or more (called a “Listed Limit Hand”), it scores the single highest-valued pattern in the hand. (It scores for one single pattern only.)

Payoff Scheme

1. Fixed Payoff Principle: The total income of the winning player is determined solely by the total value of the patterns in his hand. It will not fluctuate just because the player luckily self-draws. The payoff scheme here specifies how this payment should be split among the three other players.
2. The Zung Jung Formal Competition Scheme is adopted. The winning player’s total income is always 3 times the pattern value of his hand.
3. Everybody pays for self-draw: When the winner self-draws, no one is “responsible”. When no one is responsible, the payment is split equally among the three other players: each player pays the winner 1 time the total pattern value of his hand.
4. Discarder pays for big hands: When the winner wins on discard, in general the discarder is “responsible” (exception explained below). 25 points is taken to be the standard score value; for small hands of 25 points or less, the three players split the payment equally (regardless of who is responsible), meaning each player pays the winner 1 time the total hand value. For a big hand of over 25 points, each player first pays the winner 25 points, and then the responsible player pays the rest of the balance (so that the winner receives in total 3 times his hand value). For example, if the winning hand is 70 points, the two non-responsible players each pay 25 points, and the responsible player pays the remaining 160 points. The winner gets in total 210 points, which is exactly 3 times 70 points.
5. Rule of Same-Round Immunity: When the winner wins on discard, if in the same round (starting from and including the winner’s previous discarded tile, until before the win) another player has just discarded the same tile as the winning tile, then the discarder will not be “responsible” for having followed with the same discard. If it is the winner who has just discarded the winning tile, then no one will be considered responsible (the three players split the payment equally). Otherwise, the player who first discarded the winning tile in the same round (after the winner’s previous discard) will be considered responsible.

This is a lot to digest.

Agreed. But it is not so daunting as it appears. You score as many patterns as your hand qualifies for. You always get three times what your hand is worth. If you drew the winning tile yourself, each player pays you points equal to the total of the patterns your hand qualified for. If you claimed a tile for the win one of two things happens: either each player pays the value of your hand (if it was worth 25 points or less), or each player pays 25 points to you and the discarder pays the remainder, (3 times the value of your hand) – 50.

Rather than focusing on all 44 patterns, check out this guide on a short list of the most common patterns you should be learning first!

For a discussion of the Basic Rules and the Payoff Scheme, take a look here.