4. Gameplay
Calls Must Be Spoken
- Every claim on a discard must be verbalized (3.6.1)
- Say "Chi" to chow, "Pung" to pung, "Kong" (or "Gang") to kong, "Hu" to declare mahjong, and "Hua" when taking a flower replacement (3.6.1)
- Players must not call out the names of tiles when discarding, and are forbidden to discuss, gossip, or communicate in their own or another language (3.6.1)
The Turn
- Play consists of taking a tile, discarding, and the claims — chow, pung, kong — in the prescribed order of turns (3.6.2)
- A player is waiting when a single tile would complete their hand (3.4.21)
- A flower replacement is drawn from the back end of the wall, repeated until the hand holds no flowers (3.4.20)
Declaring a Win
- Winning (hu) is reached when, after taking a discard or drawing, the fourteen tiles form a complete structure as prescribed and the hand scores eight or more points (3.4.22)
- Self-drawn — winning on a fresh tile taken from the wall (3.4.23)
- A hand that reaches neither a declaration nor a winner is a draw game (3.4.2)