How to Play Filipino Mahjong

This guide explains the real in-person Filipino Mahjong table game. It covers hand patterns, sets, Joker rules, flowers, the flower wall, claiming discarded tiles, special wins, house-rule variations, and the basic flow of play.

For best understanding, watch Kling & Jhat’s live games while reading along.

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Basic kind of Tiles

Filipino Mahjong uses suited tiles to form winning hands. The main suits are Circles, Bamboo, and Characters.

  • Each suit has numbered tiles from 1 to 9.
  • Sets must be made from the same suit.
  • Flowers, seasons, dragons, and the wind tiles North, East, South, and West may all be treated as flower tiles depending on the house rules.
  • Some tables use Joker as a wild card, while some cities or house rules in the Philippines do not use Joker at all.

House rules can vary, so always confirm the flower, wind, dragon, and Joker rules before the game starts.

Flowers and the Flower Wall

In many Filipino Mahjong tables, flowers are bonus tiles. Depending on the house rules, the flower group may include regular flowers, seasons, dragons, and the wind tiles N, E, S, and W.

When you draw any tile that counts as a flower, you reveal it, place it aside, and draw a replacement tile from the other side of the wall. Many players call this replacement area the flower wall.

Before the first discard, some tables give a payment if a player has no flower. Other tables pay a player for having 1 flower or for collecting a complete flower count such as 13 flowers. Some house rules extend the count up to 16 flowers when dragons and winds are also treated as flowers.

Flower payments are not the same everywhere. Always ask the table before playing: what counts as a flower, when payment happens, and whether the table pays for no flower, 1 flower, 13 flowers, or 16 flowers.

Special Ambition and House-Rule Wins

Some Filipino Mahjong tables use special ambition rules. These are extra winning patterns or bonus situations that depend heavily on the local table rules.

  • Pani-ngit means winning while waiting for the middle tile of a sequence, also called the mid tile.
  • Back-to-back means waiting for the pair to complete the hand.
  • All Up means winning with no exposed melds down on the table.
  • All Chow means the winning hand uses sequences and has no triplets.
  • Grab the Kang happens when a player tries to make or draw the fourth tile for a Kang, but another player is already waiting for that tile and claims it as a win.

For Grab the Kang, many tables count the winner as winning by draw, but only give 1 marker. This should be confirmed before the game starts because tables can score it differently.

Ambition rules are table rules. Before playing, confirm which ambitions are active and how many markers each one pays.

Winning Hand Patterns

Regular Hand

A regular winning hand is made of 5 sets and 1 pair.

Seven Pairs

A Seven Pairs winning hand is made of 7 pairs and 1 set.

Eskalera

Eskalera must use same suit and must have exact sequence: 1 2 3, 4 5 6, and 7 8 9.

Sets and Suits

Every set must be made from the same suit.

A set can be:

  • 3 of a kind is a triplet same suit also called "Pung" if taken from discard goes to your melds.
  • A straight sequence, must be 3 tiles with the same suit such as 1 2 3, 2 3 4, as long as its in order. but not like 8 9 1

A pair is two matching tiles. The pair completes the winning hand structure.

Joker and Joker Eye Rules

The Joker is a wild tile. It can be used as any missing tile in your concealed hand, but it cannot be used in an exposed meld.

Once tiles are exposed on the table as a meld, they are permanent and cannot be changed. Because of that, a Joker cannot be placed into an exposed Pung, Chow, or Kang.

Joker Eye wins are draw-only. You cannot win any kind of Joker Eye from another player’s discard.

Joker Eye Seven Pairs means you are waiting with 1 set, 6 pairs, and at least 1 unpaired Joker kept as the eye. Extra Jokers are allowed if another Joker helps complete one of the 6 pairs.

You may still claim Chow or Pung while building toward Joker Eye, but the final Joker Eye win must come from your own draw, not from another player’s discard.

Meld Rules

is a group of tiles exposed on the table after a player claims a discard. This can be a Pung, Chow, or Kang.

  • Melds are permanent and cannot be changed.
  • Jokers cannot be placed into exposed melds.
  • Secret tiles stay hidden and are only revealed when someone declares a win.

Start the Game

  • All players must roll the dices. The player got the highest number goes first.
  • The player goes first have to roll the dices again to count the wall of whichever side was chosen, but must be going away from the dealer.
  • The wall is built and was counted 18 tiles concealed up and down with a total of 36 each side of player's wall.
  • The starting player must have 17 tiles in hand. other players have 16 tile.
  • To get your tiles. for starting player only, can take 9 tiles first round and 8 tiles second round or 8 tiles first round and 9 tiles second round.
  • Other player take 8 tiles first then 8 again on secound round. The round always goes counter clockwise.
  • After all player have there tiles in hand. If the house rules have joker, the starting player have to roll dices to count the other side of the wall called flower wall and reveal the wild card a.k.a. "joker".

On a normal turn, the starting player checks the hand, then discards one tile to the center to end the turn. Then next player going counter clockwise draw a tile from the wall, checks the hand, then discards one tile. The next player continues in turn order unless someone claims the discarded tile.

Winning From a Discard or From a Draw rules

Win by Discard

means another player throws the tile you need, and you claim that tile to complete your winning hand.

Win by Draw

means you complete your hand by drawing your own tile from the wall or by drawing a replacement tile.

Joker Eye

is always a draw-only win. Even if another player discards a tile that could win, Joker Eye cannot be won from that discard.

Before the Fifth rukes

means the win happens while fewer than five tiles are visible in the discard pile.

Claimed Pung, Chow, Kang, and the winning discard are removed from the visible discard pile. Because of this, claims can keep the visible discard pile under five tiles.

The source of the winning tile still matters. If the winning tile came from another player, it is still a Win by Discard. If it came from your own draw, it is still a Win by Draw.

Kinds of Bisaklat Rules

Bisaklat Regular, Bisaklat Eskalera, and Bisaklat Seven Pairs happen when the starting player have a complete winning hand without anything to discard.

Bisaklat Triple Joker Win Before the First discard can be won by any player who already has three Joker tiles in there hand before the starting player makes the first discard.

All players should check their hands before the first discard. After the starting player first discard a tile, All The Bisaklat rules is closed. A win from the starting player’s very first discard is counted as a regular Win by Discard before the fifth, not Bisaklat.

Claiming Discarded Tiles

When a player discards a tile, other players may claim it if the tile completes a valid claim.

Pung and Kang

Any player can claim Pung or Kang as long as they have the matching tiles.

Chow

Only the next player in turn order can claim Chow.

Win Claim

If the discarded tile completes a legal winning hand, the player may declare Mahjong. A winning claim has priority over Pung, Chow, or Kang.

Claim Priority

  • Mahjong win has the highest priority.
  • Pung and Kang beat Chow.
  • Chow is only available to the next player in turn order.
  • If more than one player can win, follow the table’s house rule for priority.

Always announce your claim clearly so the table knows whether you are calling Mahjong, Pung, Kang, or Chow.

Pot System

is a special table rule used in Filipino Mahjong. The starting pot amount and the way it increases can depend on the house rules.

A pot may be claimed only by special winning hands such as:

  • Seven Pairs Bunot
  • Eskalera or Pure Straight Bunot
  • Joker Eye

Confirm the pot amount and pot-claim rules before the game starts because different tables may play it differently.

Simple Table Reminders

  • Keep your concealed hand hidden from other players.
  • Place exposed melds clearly in front of you.
  • Do not change exposed melds after they are placed.
  • Do not use Joker in exposed Pung, Chow, or Kang.
  • Declare Mahjong clearly when you have a legal winning hand.
  • Confirm house rules before playing, especially Joker, flower, flower wall, ambition, pot, and Bisaklat rules.