First game
Play your first game
From choosing opponents to your first win: reading the table, discarding and every button.
On this page
Start a new game
Press “Play” on the home page to open the lobby. For your first game we suggest:
- Opponents: Easy. The computer plays loosely and quickly, so you can learn the flow.
- Length: One hand or One round. A hand takes a few minutes; a round is 4 hands.
- Keep the 8-point minimum. It is the official rule. If you really can’t win, you can lower it to 4 under “Rules” for practice.
The game saves itself. Close the page and come back later — the lobby shows “Continue”.
Read the table
You sit at the bottom; the three computer players are on the left, top and right. The dice decide the first dealer, then the dealer rolls to break the wall.
- Your hand: the bottom row, normally 13 tiles. On your turn a 14th tile arrives on the right.
- Flowers: drawn flowers are laid out automatically and replaced from the end of the wall. Each is worth 1 point but does not count toward the 8-point minimum.
- Discards: the tiles each player has thrown. What others discard is your best clue for defence.
- The centre display: tiles left in the wall, the prevalent wind and each seat wind. The player marked “Dealer” deals this hand.
Draw one, discard one
On your turn the game draws for you; you just pick a tile to discard. Tap a tile to lift it, tap it again to discard. On a keyboard, use the arrow keys and Enter.
You always draw one and discard one until your hand makes four sets and a pair. How to build a hand is in Winning hands.
Chow, pung, kong and win
When another player discards a tile you can use, buttons appear above your hand:
- Chow: only from the player on your left, to complete a run.
- Pung: you hold a pair and take the third from anyone.
- Kong: you hold three and take the fourth, or declare one yourself when you draw the fourth. Then draw a replacement from the end of the wall.
- Win: the tile completes your hand and it is worth at least 8 points.
Press “Pass” to let it go. Chow and pung expose your tiles and you lose Concealed Hand (2 points), so think first.
Wait hints and points
When you are one tile from winning, the hint above your hand lists each tile you wait on, how many are left and what each would score.
- Gold points: you can win off a discard.
- Marked “Self-draw”: only a self-draw reaches 8 points.
- Faded “Only N pt”: not enough even if it comes — change your hand.
If your hand is complete but under 8 points, the game tells you it can’t win yet. What each fan is worth is in The 81 fan.
After the hand
When someone wins or the wall runs out, the results show the fan scored, the fan not counted, the total and what everyone paid. Press “Next hand” to continue. How points are paid is in Scoring.
Read nextThe tiles →