Mahjong Duel Rules: Two-Player Mahjong, Fan Table and Scoring
Mahjong Duel is fast one-on-one mahjong: only the characters suit and the honour tiles, 64 tiles in all, 13 each, no chows from discards, and one hand straight after another. The fan list comes from Push-Down Mahjong, but the numbers and the payments are tuned for two players. This guide covers the rules, the full fan table, how fan turn into multiples and kong payments, with three worked examples.
The basics: 64 tiles, 13 each
- Tiles: characters 1–9, four of each (36), plus East, South, West, North, Red, Green and White dragons, four of each (28): 64 tiles. No dots, no bamboo and no flowers.
- Players: two, facing each other. Each holds 13 tiles; the dealer starts with one extra and discards first.
- Winning hand: four sets (chows, pungs or kongs) + one pair, or seven pairs (four identical tiles count as two pairs).
- Drawn hand: if the wall runs out and nobody has won, the hand is a draw.
There is no minimum fan: any complete hand can be declared.
No chows: pungs, kongs and robbing a kong
- No chows: you cannot take your opponent's discard to complete a run. Runs you draw yourself, such as 3-4-5 characters in your hand, still count as sets.
- Pung: claim your opponent's discard when you hold two of the same tile.
- Exposed kong: claim the discard when you hold three of the same tile.
- Concealed kong: draw all four of a tile yourself.
- Added kong: add a drawn fourth tile to a pung you already called. If that tile is the one your opponent is waiting on, they can rob the kong: the set goes back to a pung and no kong payment is made.
A concealed kong keeps your hand concealed; a pung, exposed kong or added kong does not.
How it differs from Taiwan Mahjong and Push-Down Mahjong
- Fewer tiles: only characters and honours. The flowers of Taiwan Mahjong and the dots and bamboo of Push-Down Mahjong are gone, so big hands come together more easily.
- 13 tiles: like Push-Down Mahjong, not the 16 of Taiwan Mahjong.
- Fan, not tai: fan are added up and turned into a multiple that doubles with every extra fan, instead of Taiwan's base + tai × tai value.
- No dealer bonus: the dealer keeps the deal after winning or a drawn hand, but the streak adds no fan.
- No half flush: with only characters and honours, almost every hand would be one, so it scores nothing. A full flush (characters only) is just 2 fan.
Fan table
These are the fan used in MacePlay's Mahjong Duel. Every pattern that applies is added together, and if a hand can be split more than one way, the highest-scoring split counts.
| Pattern | Fan | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Basics | ||
| Win | 1 | Every winning hand gets this. |
| Self-drawn | +1 | You draw the winning tile yourself. |
| Concealed | +1 | No pungs, exposed kongs or added kongs (concealed kongs are fine). |
| Hand patterns | ||
| All pungs | 2 | All four sets are pungs or kongs. |
| Full flush | 2 | Characters only, no honours. |
| Seven pairs | 3 | Seven pairs, with no calls. |
| Luxury seven pairs | 5 | Seven pairs including four identical tiles (replaces the 3 for seven pairs). |
| Big three dragons | 8 | Pungs or kongs of Red, Green and White. |
| Little four winds | 8 | Pungs of three winds, with the fourth wind as the pair. |
| Big four winds | 10 | Pungs or kongs of all four winds. |
| All honours | 10 | Every tile is an honour. |
| Timing | ||
| Win on a kong | +1 | The replacement tile after a kong completes your self-drawn win. |
| Last tile | +1 | You self-draw on the last tile of the wall. |
| Robbing the kong | +1 | You win on the tile your opponent adds to a kong. |
| Heavenly / earthly hand | 8 | The dealer's opening 14 tiles already win (heavenly), or the non-dealer self-draws on their first draw before any calls (earthly). Worth 8 fan flat, with nothing else added. |
In MacePlay's Mahjong Duel there is no little three dragons, dragon pung, round or seat wind, all chows, single wait or last discard, and no flowers. For those, try Taiwan Mahjong.
How fan become multiples
| Fan | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 32 |
With only one opponent, they pay for both self-drawn and discard wins. Kongs are paid on top, whoever wins the hand and even on a draw, and the cap does not apply to them:
- Exposed kong: your opponent pays 2× stake.
- Added kong: 1× stake.
- Concealed kong: 4× stake.
The player receiving coins pays a 5% fee, and no one pays more than the chips they have at the table.
Three worked examples
Example 1: concealed self-draw
You have made no calls. Your hand is 1-2-3, 4-5-6 and 7-8-9 characters plus a pung of East, waiting on a single White dragon, and you draw it yourself.
- Win 1 + self-drawn 1 + concealed 1 = 3 fan
Your opponent pays 2^(3 − 1) = 4× stake. In Taiwan Mahjong the East pung might add wind tai, but Mahjong Duel does not score wind pungs.
Example 2: full flush, all pungs
You have called pungs of 2 and 7 characters. In hand you hold a pung of 3s, a pair of 5s and a pair of 9s, waiting on either. Your opponent discards a 9 and you win.
- Win: 1 fan
- All pungs: 2 fan
- Full flush (characters only): 2 fan
5 fan in total, so your opponent pays 2^4 = 16× stake. Because you called pungs, the hand is not concealed.
Example 3: a capped big hand plus a kong
You made a concealed kong of East and called a pung of Red. In hand you hold a pung of Green and pairs of White and North, and you self-draw a White.
- Win 1 + self-drawn 1 + all pungs 2 + big three dragons 8 + all honours 10 = 22 fan
- That is over the limit, so it pays at the 6-fan cap: 32× stake
- Concealed kong of East: another 4× stake (not capped)
Your opponent pays 32 + 4 = 36× stake for the hand.
Common questions
If I can't chow, are runs still useful?
Yes. You just can't complete a run from a discard; 3-4-5 characters that you draw yourself still count as a set.
Can seven pairs include a kong?
No. Seven pairs must stay entirely in your hand, so any call rules it out. If you hold four of a tile, don't declare the kong: keep them as two pairs for luxury seven pairs.
Who deals after a drawn hand?
The dealer keeps the deal after winning or after a draw; it passes only when the non-dealer wins. Streaks add no fan.
Is there a time limit?
Yes: 15 seconds per move and 8 seconds to claim a discard. On a timeout the system plays for you, and wins if it can; repeated timeouts switch you to auto-play.
Play Mahjong Duel in MacePlay
Mahjong Duel in MacePlay is a one-on-one neon party table. Your opponent sits opposite with the sides left open, so the discards are bigger and easier to read, and the result screen lists every fan pattern, the multiple and any kong payments. Choose novice, standard or expert rooms and play hand after hand; AI players fill in when no one is waiting, and private rooms let you take on a friend. For four-player tables, switch to Taiwan Mahjong or Push-Down Mahjong, each with its own guide to compare.
MacePlay is for adults 18+ and for entertainment only. Virtual coins have no cash value and cannot be exchanged for cash or goods.
Ready? Open a table in MacePlay
One-on-one Mahjong Duel, hand after hand. The result screen lists every fan pattern, multiple and kong payment.
