# Fuzhou Mahjong

Fuzhou Mahjong (福州麻将) is a four-player mahjong game with Fuzhou rules: flowers are replaced, a tile is flipped as the **gold** wild joker, and the first legal win collects from all three opponents. Play at a private table with friends using a room code, or start a solo game against three server bots. This guide covers [mj.micstec.com](https://mj.micstec.com) and the rules as this app implements them.

| | |
| --- | --- |
| **Players** | Four. Group tables start with two or more people; bots fill the empty seats |
| **You need** | A free account (email and password, or Google). **Stay logged in for a year** on your own device |
| **Works on** | Phone, tablet and desktop browsers; installable as an app. Live games need a connection |
| **Languages** | Chinese and English interface, voice, rules and tutorials |

**On this page**

- [Get started](#get-started)
- [Play with friends](#play-with-friends)
- [Read the table](#read-the-table)
- [Play your turn](#play-your-turn)
- [The rules in brief](#the-rules-in-brief)
- [Review a deal](#review-a-deal)
- [Sound and display](#sound-and-display)
- [Watch the tutorial](#watch-the-tutorial)
- [Install on your phone](#install-on-your-phone)
- [Common questions](#common-questions)

## Get started

1. Open [Fuzhou Mahjong](https://mj.micstec.com) and choose **Take a seat**. **Explore the full rules** works without an account.
2. Choose **Log in / Sign up**: use email and password with a nickname, or **Sign in with Google**. Tick **Stay logged in for a year** on your own device.
3. In the **Lobby**, choose:
   - **Solo play** — **You + 3 bots, server-dealt**, starting immediately;
   - **Create table** — open a table and share its **Room code**;
   - **Join table** — enter the six-character code from a friend.

In WeChat's built-in browser, Google sign-in and app install do not work. Tap **···** and choose **Open in Browser**, or use email sign-in.

## Play with friends

1. The host chooses **Create table**, optionally enters a **Table name**, and shares the code with **Copy code** or **Copy invite**. Friends enter it under **Join table**.
2. When two or more players are seated, the host chooses **Start**. A table with fewer than four players asks **Not full yet — start anyway?**; bots fill the empty seats.
3. The host can **Remove** a player and can **End game** to dissolve the table for everyone. **Minimize** keeps the table open so players can come back later.
4. Use **Table chat** (1–500 characters) to talk to the table. **Notifications** collects table events and messages from the administrator.

## Read the table

- The table is drawn from your point of view: your hand at the bottom (you sit South), your upper seat on the left, your lower seat on the right, and the opposite seat at the top. A glowing seat is acting.
- The top line shows the **Gold** tile and how many tiles are **Left** in the wall. Your running score is at the top right; **D** marks the dealer and **Streak** the dealer's run of wins.
- Each player's flowers, exposed melds and discards stay visible.

## Play your turn

1. Your tile is drawn automatically when it is **Your turn**.
2. Tap a tile to select it (tap again to deselect), then choose **Discard**.
3. When you can **Chow**, **Pong**, **Kong** or **Win**, the buttons light up or a **Your call** panel appears; the game waits for your choice. **Pass** declines the claim.
4. **Sort** arranges your hand: gold first, then characters (万), dots (筒), bamboo (索) and honors.

| Keyboard | Action |
| --- | --- |
| `Enter` | Discard the selected tile |
| `S` | Sort the hand |
| `H` | Win, when it is available |

## The rules in brief

These are this app's fixed house rules; regional versions differ. Open **Help → Rules** for ten sections with tile examples.

### Tiles, flowers and the gold

- The wall has **123 tiles**: 108 suited tiles (1–9 in characters 万, dots 筒 and bamboo 索, four of each) plus **15 flowers**, one of each: the winds 东南西北, the dragons 中发白, 梅兰竹菊 and 春夏秋冬. Flowers never join a hand — they only add points when you win.
- When you draw a flower, it is replaced from the tail of the wall. After the deal, everyone replaces flowers dealer-first, in rounds, until no hand holds one.
- Then one tile is flipped from the tail: that is the **gold** (金). Gold is wild — it can complete any sequence or triplet, or be the pair.
- A discarded gold is **dead**: nobody can chow, pong, kong or win on it, and the player who discarded it may only win by self-draw for the rest of the deal.

### Dealer and turn order

The dealer starts with 17 tiles and discards first; everyone else has 16. Play goes counter-clockwise. When the dealer wins or the deal is a draw, the dealership continues and the **Streak** grows, adding to later scores. When someone else wins, the dealership passes on.

### Claims

| Claim | Rule |
| --- | --- |
| **Chow** | Only from your upper seat: two tiles from your hand complete a sequence, exposed |
| **Pong** | Any player's discard, with two matching tiles in hand |
| **Kong** | Exposed (three in hand plus the discard), **Added kong** (draw the fourth for an existing pong) or **Closed kong** (all four drawn yourself). Draw a replacement tile from the tail, then discard |
| **Priority** | Win > kong > pong > chow. If several players want the same tile, the seat nearest the discarder gets it |
| **Rob the kong** | If someone upgrades a pong to an added kong with a tile you are waiting for, you may win on it |

### Winning

A winning hand is **five melds plus one pair** (each exposed meld counts). A meld is a sequence of three in one suit or three identical tiles; a kong counts as a meld. Win by **Self-draw** or **Ron** (claiming a discard). Special wins, scored by the highest one that applies:

| Special win | Condition |
| --- | --- |
| **Pinghu** (平和) | No flowers and no kongs |
| **Gold grab** (抢金) | Win at the gold opening by completing the hand with the gold |
| **Three golds** (三金倒) | Hold three golds — an instant win with any shape |
| **Gold pair** (金雀) | Two golds as the pair, with every other meld natural |
| **Gold dragon** (金龙) | Three golds kept as their own triplet, the rest natural |

**Idle gold:** if your single gold does no work — the rest of the hand already forms every meld — you may only win by self-draw. A gold pair is not idle.

### The final four tiles

Eighteen tiles stay untouched at the tail; each exposed kong adds one and each concealed kong two. When only four drawable tiles remain, the final sweep begins: players draw in turn, no flowers are replaced, and nobody discards or claims. A winning draw wins at once; otherwise the deal is a draw.

### Scoring

| Win type | Base |
| --- | --- |
| Normal hand | 2 (self-draw) or 1 (ron) |
| Pinghu | 10 |
| Gold grab | 15 |
| Three golds | 20 |
| Gold pair | 30 |
| Gold dragon | 50 |

**Bonus** = flowers + golds in hand + exposed kongs × 1 + concealed kongs × 2 + dealer streak. **Total** = base + bonus × multiplier: ×2 for self-draws and special wins, ×1 for a normal ron. The winner collects the total from each of the other three players.

Example: a self-drawn Pinghu with 2 flowers, 1 exposed kong and a streak of 1 scores 10 + (2 + 0 + 1 + 1) × 2 = 18, so each opponent pays 18 and the winner gains 54. Each deal's breakdown appears under **Scoring** and in the deal log.

## Review a deal

Every deal is recorded. Open **Replay** to **Step** through it or **Auto** play it, and **Export** the JSON to share for review (or **Import** one). **Send data** sends the current deal to the administrator if something looks wrong; **Contact admin** opens a private message thread.

## Sound and display

Switch **Sound**, **Voice** (spoken calls in Chinese or English), **Music** and **Keep screen on** on or off to suit where you are playing.

## Watch the tutorial

This narrated English desktop walkthrough shows the actual game interface. The Help screen's **How-to video** offers the same tutorials.

<video class="guide-video" controls preload="none" poster="/assets/images/guides/fzmj-manual-poster-en.jpg"><source src="https://mj.micstec.com/fzmj-manual-en.mp4" type="video/mp4">Your browser does not support video. <a href="https://mj.micstec.com/fzmj-manual-en.mp4">Watch the desktop tutorial</a>.</video>

[English mobile tutorial](https://mj.micstec.com/fzmj-manual-mobile-en.mp4) · [Chinese desktop tutorial](https://mj.micstec.com/fzmj-manual.mp4) · [Chinese mobile tutorial](https://mj.micstec.com/fzmj-manual-mobile.mp4)

## Install on your phone

Choose **Install**, or use the browser's **Install / Add to Home Screen** for full-screen play. On iPhone, tap **Share → Add to Home Screen**.

## Common questions

| Question | Answer |
| --- | --- |
| Why can't I chow? | Chow works only on your upper seat's discard, and a discarded gold can never be claimed. |
| Why is **Win** dark? | Check for an idle gold, a gold you discarded earlier, the final four-tile sweep, or a discarded gold — none of these allow a ron. |
| Why can't I kong? | No kongs in the final sweep; a closed kong needs all four tiles in your hand, and an added kong needs an existing pong. |
| Why can't I discard? | During the final sweep there are no discards; a winning draw settles automatically. |
| The room code does not work | Codes are six letters or digits. Ask the host for a fresh invite. |