Chinese Classical rules

One fixed Classical ruleset

Four players begin with 2,000 points and play East, South, West and North rounds. East repeats after winning or a draw. Otherwise the dealer advances. The match ends after sixteen dealer changes; ratings use final match scores. Seats stay fixed throughout the match.

The 144 tiles include four copies of each suited tile and honour, plus four flowers and four seasons. No red fives, dora, Riichi or seven-pairs special hand. Each player receives 13 tiles, East 14. Server shuffling replaces the physical dice and wall-building ceremony.

Draws, claims and replacements

Before the first discard, each player in East-to-North order may declare concealed kongs or continue. The kong box reserves 16 tiles, shrinks as replacements are drawn and is never refilled. Flowers and seasons are exposed and replaced from the open end of the live wall, including flowers found in a kong replacement.

Chow may claim only the previous player’s discard. Pung and Kong may claim any opponent. Winning takes priority over Pung/Kong, then Chow. The nearest claimant wins simultaneous winning claims. You may meld the final discard; a draw ends when the next required live tile is unavailable.

Any winning hand may rob an added kong; only thirteen orphans may rob a concealed kong. Passing a win does not create furiten. Declare Original Call with your first discard if ready. Then keep the hand unchanged, discard each new draw or win, and make no calls or kongs. Winning with Original Call earns one double.

Basic points

Every player scores completed groups and eligible pairs. Flowers and seasons give 4 points each. Chows and ordinary pairs score zero. Non-winners may score only concealed pairs.

The winner adds 10 points. Self-draw adds 2 except on the last live tile. Completing the pair adds 2, plus another 2 for a terminal or honour pair. A one-chance win adds 2. Alternative waits are eliminated only when all four copies are publicly discarded or melded, not by copies concealed in your own hand.

Doubles for all players

Each dragon group, seat-wind group and round-wind group gives one double. Seat and round wind awards can both apply. Three concealed triplets give one double; claimed kongs count, promoted pungs do not.

Little three dragons gives three doubles; big three dragons gives five. These replace individual dragon doubles. Little four winds gives one in addition to seat/round wind awards. Four winds gives the winner the limit; a non-winner receives four doubles including seat/round wind awards.

Your own flower together with your own season gives one double. All four flowers give one, and all four seasons give one. All eight therefore give three doubles total. An individual own flower or season alone gives none.

Winner’s doubles

One double each: all chows with a non-scoring pair; all pungs/kongs; terminals and honours only; one suit with honours; concealed self-draw; last live tile; last discard; kong replacement; robbing a kong; Original Call. A pure suit gives three doubles. Compatible awards combine.

Claimed kongs count as concealed for the concealed-hand award; promoted pungs do not. A flower replacement never earns the kong-replacement bonus. A kong claimed on the last discard earns the replacement bonus instead of the last-discard bonus.

The 1,000-point limit

Multiply basic points by two for each double, capped at 1,000 before East payments. Limit hands receive 1,000 directly, without added awards.

Limit patterns: all green (green dragons and bamboo 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 only); four kongs; four concealed triplets on self-draw; three dragon groups plus a fourth pung/kong; all honours; all terminals; four winds; nine gates; thirteen orphans; fully concealed single-suit self-draw. Claimed kongs count as concealed where applicable, promoted pungs do not.

Special limits: East wins before the first discard (concealed kongs allowed); a non-dealer wins on East’s first discard; last live-wall 1-circle or last-discard 1-circle; self-drawn 5-circle kong replacement; robbing a 2-bamboo kong; winning on the replacement immediately after the second consecutive kong; East’s thirteenth consecutive win.

Settlement and fixed defaults

Every non-winner pays the winner’s hand value. Non-winners also pay each other the difference between their hand values. Any payment involving East is doubled once. Wall draws have no payment. Negative scores are allowed and do not end the match.

Example: East scores 2, South 46, West 12 and North wins with 192. Changes are East −492, South −70, West −206 and North +768, totaling zero.

No optional insurance or physical-handling penalty variants. The server prevents illegal declarations; accepted legal moves cannot be retracted. Each hand is saved for replay. The final hand includes the match rating result.

Online table options

Choose Bullet (2s + 5s reserve), Blitz (3s + 10s), Standard (5s + 20s) or Relaxed (15s + 60s). Reserve resets each hand. Casual tables may be untimed. Quick Play uses Standard. Calls use the base allowance without reserve; opening exchanges and suit choices get at least 15 seconds. Computer opponents may fill seats after about 15 seconds. Timed decisions continue through disconnects. Return with the same account to reclaim your seat. Tables expire after 24 hours without a game action.