Japanese mahjong scoring rules
Japanese mahjong features a very complex scoring system. Every mahjong hand has a value in terms of han and fu associated with them. The combination of han and fu then corresponds to values indicated from the scoring table, and/or the two numbers of han and fu factor into an equation, by which the scoring table is derived.
Scoring procedure
Calculating basic points
To determine the point value of a hand, the following procedure is used:
- If the hand is a yakuman, then hand scores 8,000 basic points × number of yakuman.
- Otherwise, determine the hand's valid yaku.
- Count the han based on the yaku.
- Count any number of dora to the han count.
- If the han count is 5 or more, then counting fu is no longer necessary. Score the hand according to its han value on the scoring table.
- If the han count is 4 or less, then count fu.
- After determining the number of han and/or fu, refer to the scoring table.
For any who prefer to use the equation, basic points for 5 han or less are computed as
- Basic points = fu × 2(2 + han), using basic points = 2,000 if the former exceeds 2,000
Payments
After determining the basic points, multiply based on the status as dealer and no-dealer as well as the win by ron or tsumo.
- When a non-dealer wins by tsumo, the player earns 1 × basic points from the other non-dealers, rounded up to a full 100. The dealer in this case pays 2 × basic points, rounded up to a full 100.
- When a non-dealer wins by ron, the discarding player pays the winner 4 × basic points, rounded up.
- When the dealer goes out by tsumo, the dealer scores 2 × basic points from all players, rounded up.
- When the dealer goes out by ron, the dealer earns 6 × basic points from the responsible non-dealer, rounded up.
Honba
In the event of ryuukyoku or a dealer win, the honba or tsumibou count increases by 1 for the next hand. If someone wins a hand and East does not, the honba count resets back to zero.
This count increases hand values increases by a total of 300 per honba. For ron, the discarder pays the additional 300 points. For tsumo, everyone pays an additional 100 each. These extra points are added to the hand value after the capping as mangan, haneman, etc., so a non-dealer mangan tsumo with 2 honba costs 2,200 for a non-dealer and 4,200 for the dealer.
In the case of sekinin barai, the yakuman tsumo payment is borne entirely by the discarder of the ponned tile, who also has to pay 300 per honba. On a ron, the yakuman value is split between the discarder of the winning tile and the discarder of the earlier ponned tile. Most rules have the winning tile discarder pay for all honba.
Scoring table
Dealer
| Han/Fu | 20 | 25 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 | 110 | |
| 1 han | -- -- |
-- -- |
500 1500 |
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| 2 han | -- |
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| 3 han | 4000 12000 | |||||||||||
| 4 han | 4000 12000 | |||||||||||
| Mangan (5 han) |
4000 12000 | |||||||||||
| Haneman (6,7 han) |
6000 18000 | |||||||||||
| Baiman (8,9,10 han) |
8000 24000 | |||||||||||
| Sanbaiman (11,12 han) |
12000 36000 | |||||||||||
| Yakuman (13+ han) |
16000 48000 | |||||||||||
Nondealer
| Han/Fu | 20 | 25 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 | 110 | |
| 1 han | -- -- |
-- -- |
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| 2 han | -- |
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| 3 han | 2000(4000) 8000 | |||||||||||
| 4 han | 2000(3900) 7700 |
2000(4000) 8000 | ||||||||||
| Mangan (5 han) |
2000(4000) 8000 | |||||||||||
| Haneman (6,7 han) |
3000(6000) 12000 | |||||||||||
| Baiman (8,9,10 han) |
4000(8000) 16000 | |||||||||||
| Sanbaiman (11,12 han) |
6000(12000) 24000 | |||||||||||
| Yakuman (13+ han) |
8000(16000) 32000 | |||||||||||