Straits MahjongPlay Free

When To Claim

Claim a Chi or Pong only when it brings you closer to a win you can actually score. A win beats a Pong or Kong, which beats a Chi, and every claim tells the table something about your hand.

Every discard is a chance to claim, and beginners tend to take them all. Good players ask one question first: does this get me closer to a win I can actually score?

The Rules In Brief

  • Chi (a run) only from the player on your left.
  • Pong (three of a kind) from anyone.
  • Kong (four of a kind) from anyone, when you hold the other three.
  • Hu (a win) from anyone, if your hand scores at least 1 tai.

A win beats a Pong or Kong, and those beat a Chi. Shouting first doesn’t matter. If two players can both win on the same tile, this game gives it to the one who comes first in turn order after the discarder.

When To Pass

Pass when the claim doesn’t move you forward:

  • it swaps a tile for one you already hold, like a Chi of 4-5-6 when you already have 4-5-6;
  • it breaks a finished set or uses up your only pair;
  • it trades a good wait for a worse one;
  • it spoils the pattern you’re building, like a Chi in a Pong Pong Hu hand, or an off-suit Chi in a flush.
You hold 5-6-7 Dots. A 5 Dots on the left: claiming it gains nothing.

A Chi from your left is the least urgent claim of all. If you pass, the next draw is usually yours anyway.

The Hidden Cost: Your Concealed Tai

A hand with nothing claimed earns 1 tai when you win by Zi Mo. That’s Men Qing. Claim anything and it’s gone. If that tai was your only one, your claim may leave you with a hand that can’t win.

The game’s Hint checks this. It will tell you to pass when a claim would leave every possible win below the minimum, and remind you that staying concealed keeps the Zi Mo tai.

When To Claim

Claim happily when the claim is clearly worth it:

  • a Pong of a dragon, your Own Wind or the Round Wind gives you a tai, especially your first;
  • the claim makes your hand ready, with enough tai to win;
  • it builds the hand you’re going for: Pongs for Pong Pong Hu, same-suit sets for a flush;
  • the wall is running low and speed matters more than a bigger hand.

If a claim does two of these at once, like a dragon Pong that also makes you ready, take it without a second thought.

What A Claim Shows

Every claimed set goes face up, and the table reads it. Two Pongs and no Chi hint at Pong Pong Hu. Two sets in one suit and the whole table starts watching for a flush. You also keep fewer tiles in hand to choose a safe discard from.

Passing has history too. In this game, if you could win or Pong a tile and pass, you can’t win or Pong another copy of it until you draw or declare a set. And at most tables you can’t claim a copy of your own last discard. So decide properly the first time.