Three-Player Mahjong: Rules and How to Play
Three-Player Mahjong uses 108 tiles. Draw and discard to complete sets and win points. Set north tiles aside for extra value. Scoring is automatic.
Objective
Three-Player Mahjong uses 108 tiles. Draw and discard to complete sets and win points. Set north tiles aside for extra value. Scoring is automatic.
Setup
- Three players use 108 tiles, removing 2–8 of characters. Deal 13 each and start at 35,000 points. There is one red five of circles and one of bamboo by default.
- Seats are East, South and West. The default half-game runs from East 1 through South 3.
How to play
- Draw and discard to build four sets (matching triples or consecutive numbers of one suit) and a pair.
- You can call pon or kan on a discard. Chi, taking a discard for a run, is unavailable.
- By default, set north aside and draw a replacement: each extracted north adds one han. Winning on the replacement adds rinshan kaihou. You can instead keep north as always-dora in the hand.
- With a concealed hand one tile from winning, pay 1,000 points to declare riichi.
- Any kita interrupts ippatsu, Blessing of Earth, double riichi and the nine-terminals draw. North can form a set in the hand but is not a value wind.
- Choose whether 4 han 30 fu and 3 han 60 fu round up to mangan.
- A pair matching both your seat wind and the round wind adds 4 or 2 fu.
- End below zero, or at zero as well.
- Mahjong Soul: only the liable yakuman. Tenhou: all combined yakuman. Maru-Jan: liable portion, also the fourth open kan. The liable player pays tsumo, shares ron, and pays honba.
- Reveal open/added-kan dora after discarding or immediately. Closed-kan dora always reveals immediately.
- Repeat if any ron winner is dealer, or only when the winner nearest after the discarder is dealer.
- On an exhaustive draw, ready players share this total from players who are not ready: 3,000 or 2,000 points.
Winning and scoring
- Complete a winning shape with at least one yaku. Win by tsumo on your draw or ron on a discard; scoring and payments are automatic.
- On tsumo, the two opponents pay their usual four-player amounts. The missing North seat pays nothing (tsumo loss).
- At an exhaustive draw, ready hands collect 3,000 points in total from unready hands. The dealer continues after winning or being ready at a draw.
- End below zero; extend if nobody reaches 40,000 at the default final hand. Default settlement: 35,000 return, no oka, +15 / 0 / −15 placement points. Return points, bonuses, honba and draw treatment are configurable.
Tiles, north and scoring
Defaults follow the compared official rules; choose variants at table setup.
| Item | This game |
|---|---|
| Tiles | 108; no 2–8 characters |
| North | Extract for 1 han and a replacement |
| Chi | Unavailable |
| Start / settlement | 35,000 / 35,000 |
| Tsumo | Tsumo loss |
| Red fives | 0 or 2; default 2 |
| Placement | +15 / 0 / −15 (three choices) |
| Honba | Ron 200; tsumo 100 each (changeable) |
| Blessing of Earth | Interrupted by any kita |
| Abortive draw | Dealer repeats or passes |
| Round to mangan | Choose whether 4 han 30 fu and 3 han 60 fu round up to mangan. |
| Double wind fu | A pair matching both your seat wind and the round wind adds 4 or 2 fu. |
| Bust threshold | End below zero, or at zero as well. |
| Responsibility | Mahjong Soul: only the liable yakuman. Tenhou: all combined yakuman. Maru-Jan: liable portion, also the fourth open kan. The liable player pays tsumo, shares ron, and pays honba. |
| Kan dora timing | Reveal open/added-kan dora after discarding or immediately. Closed-kan dora always reveals immediately. |
| Double ron dealer | Repeat if any ron winner is dealer, or only when the winner nearest after the discarder is dealer. |
| Noten pool | On an exhaustive draw, ready players share this total from players who are not ready: 3,000 or 2,000 points. |
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 3 players (set automatically by the party size) |
| Turn time limit | None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds) |
| If someone drops mid-game | Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place. |
| Draws | In ranked play, a draw counts as halfway between a win and a loss for your rating. |
| Source of the rules | Based on the standard reference rules |
Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)
House rules
Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game lengthGame lengthEast-only is East 1–3; a half-game is East 1–South 3. One hand is for practice. Dealer repeats can add hands. | Choose a single hand, an east-only game, or a full half-game. | Half-game | Yes |
| Red fivesRed fivesEach red tile adds 1 han. Choose none or two, one each in circles and bamboo. | One red five each in circles and bamboo. | 2 | Yes |
| Open tanyaoOpen tanyaoAll simples uses no terminals or honors. When on, it can score even after pon or kan. | Allow winning on an all-simples hand even after calling. | On | Yes |
| Minimum hanMinimum hanHan is the unit of hand value; each yaku adds a set number. Dora does not count here, so with no yaku you cannot win however many dora you have. 1 han is the usual rule: any single yaku is enough. 2 or 4 han means you need a bigger hand to win. | The fewest han (not counting dora) a hand needs to win. | 1 | Yes |
| Time limitTime limitCounts during discards and call/ron decisions. Standard time resets for each decision; reserve resets at the start of each hand, with no recovery for quick play. At zero, the drawn tile is discarded or the call is passed. Disconnected and CPU seats are not timed. | Seconds of standard time + reserve. Reserve resets to the chosen value at the start of each hand. | 5＋20 seconds | Can be changed |
| Starting pointsStarting pointsAuto starts at 35,000. Choose return points separately; the ending target is starting points + 5,000. | Default: Auto (35,000). | Auto (35,000) | Can be changed |
| UmaUmaAdds or subtracts settlement points by final rank; the actual tile scores stay unchanged. | Settlement bonuses for first, second, and third. Default: +15 / 0 / −15. | +15 / 0 / −15 | Can be changed |
| ChipsChipsCount red fives in the winning hand and melds, ura-dora on a riichi win, and ippatsu. For each yakuman, add 10 from the discarder on ron or 5 from each other player on tsumo. Double and combined yakuman scale with their yakuman count. Ippatsu, red and ura chips also apply to yakuman. Counted yakuman adds no yakuman chips. Chips do not change the raw score. Net chips × the chosen value is added to final pt. | Value per chip (pt). Ippatsu, each ura-dora and red five: 1 chip. Each yakuman adds 10 on ron or 5 from each other player on tsumo. | None | Can be changed |
| Hands shown to spectatorsHands shown to spectatorsSeat the teacher as a spectator to reveal all hands, drawn tiles and waits. Select a player to enlarge their hand, then tap tiles to inspect the waits after each discard. Players still see only their own hand. | Spectators can see everyone’s hand | Off | Can be changed |
| Return pointsReturn pointsSubtract this score at settlement. Three times the difference from starting points goes to first place. | Default: 35,000. | 35,000 | Changeable |
| North tilesNorth tilesKita sets north aside for a replacement and one bonus han. Always-dora north stays in the hand and adds one bonus han per tile. | Default: Kita. | Kita | Changeable |
| Honba pointsHonba pointsBonus per repeat counter: the discarder pays the first amount on ron; each opponent pays the second on tsumo. | Default: 200 / 100. | 200 / 100 | Changeable |
| Abortive drawAbortive drawAfter nine different terminals/honors on the first draw, or four kans by multiple players, keep or pass the dealership. | Default: Dealer repeats. | Dealer repeats | Changeable |
| Nagashi manganNagashi manganAn exhausted wall with only uncalled terminals/honors discarded. Draw settlement repeats on dealer tenpai. As a win, collect honba and deposits; repeat only for a dealer win. | Default: Draw settlement. | Draw settlement | Changeable |
| Round to manganRound to manganChoose whether 4 han 30 fu and 3 han 60 fu round up to mangan. | Default: 7,700. | 7,700 | Yes |
| Double wind fuDouble wind fuA pair matching both your seat wind and the round wind adds 4 or 2 fu. | Default: 4. | 4 | Yes |
| Bust thresholdBust thresholdEnd below zero, or at zero as well. | Default: < 0. | < 0 | Yes |
| ResponsibilityResponsibilityMahjong Soul: only the liable yakuman. Tenhou: all combined yakuman. Maru-Jan: liable portion, also the fourth open kan. The liable player pays tsumo, shares ron, and pays honba. | Default: Soul. | Soul | Yes |
| Kan dora timingKan dora timingReveal open/added-kan dora after discarding or immediately. Closed-kan dora always reveals immediately. | Default: After discard. | After discard | Yes |
| Double ron dealerDouble ron dealerRepeat if any ron winner is dealer, or only when the winner nearest after the discarder is dealer. | Default: Any winner. | Any winner | Yes |
| Noten poolNoten poolOn an exhaustive draw, ready players share this total from players who are not ready: 3,000 or 2,000 points. | Default: 3,000. | 3,000 | Yes |
Terms
- Riichi
- A declaration made with a concealed, tenpai hand and at least 1,000 points. After it you discard whatever you draw.
- Pon
- Calling another player's discard to complete a set of three matching tiles.
- Kan
- A set of four matching tiles — made privately (concealed kan) or by calling (open or added kan).
- Dora
- A bonus tile worth one extra han each. It is the tile after whichever indicator is shown face up.
- Furiten
- The state of having passed up a winning tile. While it applies, you cannot call ron on your own, even on a different winning tile.
FAQ
What is tsumo loss?
Only the two opponents pay. Nobody replaces the payment from the missing North seat.
What follows a 1 of characters indicator?
The 9 of characters is dora; after 9 comes 1.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-10-29 · Run by Qdan, Inc.