HOW TO SCORE (Article 208)

Mah jongg is a game that requires critical thinking, situational awareness, and social acquity. Players need to develop these skills, and scoring is one way to indicate how well they perform from game to game.

The hands of American mah jongg are assigned a value on the card related to the difficulty level.:

25 Exposed with singles, pairs, big multiples
30 Exposed with at least three pairs or concealed with singles, pairs, pungs
35 Concealed with singles, multiple pairs, pungs
40 Quints with pair, pung, kong, quint
45 Quints with pung, kong, quint
50 Concealed with singles and pairs
75+ Concealed with mostly singles

There is no bonus for winning without exposures, nor are there penalties for discarding the winning tile to a player with exposures.

When a player completes a hand, they declare mah jongg and must verbalize their hand’s value.

• If a player declares mah jongg after picking their winning tile from the wall, the other players pay double the value of the hand.
• If a player declares mah jongg after another player discards their winning tile, the discarder pays double the value of the hand, and the other players pay the value of the hand.
• If a player wins a hand that can use jokers, had jokers at one time, but the final hand had no jokers (i.e., jokerless), the value is double the of the hand.

Some people call this “double-double.” Technically, the hand value on the card is the base value (BV). When a player declares mah jongg with a hand that can use jokers but has no jokers, the BV doubles (BV2). If the player picks their winning tile, the BV2 doubles (BV4). So, the formula for a jokerless self-picked win is (BV x 2) x 2.

The winner is responsible for correctly announcing the hand they won and the value to be paid. The other players are responsible for verifying the win and paying the value announced if the win passes muster. When payment is received, the transaction is complete. If a mistake was made (e.g., exposure with a concealed hand, wrong hand value, should have been doubled for jokerless), it’s too late to make corrections.

Since a penalty is incurred for discarding the winning tile, everyone should discard it mindfully. In the end game (i.e., 40 tiles left for picking), the risk of discarding the winning tile increases, so players need to monitor their potential to win by considering these variables:

• The number of tiles visible (i.e., discards, exposures, your concealed tiles)
• The number of tiles visible that you need
• The number of tiles visible that your opponents need
• The number of tiles left for picking
• The number of your discards
• The potential of you getting the tiles you need to complete your hand
• The value of your hand compared to the value of your opponent’s hand

If your potential is high, play to win and discard the riskiest tiles first. Otherwise, fold and discard the safest tiles to prevent other players from developing their hands.

Although the game is designed with scoring in mind, some groups choose to play without it. Many players claim that the game changes scoring is involved, especially when Playing for Cash Money (Article 238)!

For the official rules on scoring, see Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 26). For a video presentation, look for “Scoring” in the American Mah Jongg Skills and Strategies Matrix (Article 210).

Learn more about playing for cash money and scoring in these wiki articles:

• Playing for Cash Money (Article 208)
• 5th Player Betting (Article 80)
• The League on House Rules (Article 50; allowances, penalties, immunity)