Question 1

How do you score Hong Kong Mahjong?

Accepted Answer

Hong Kong Mahjong is scored using faan (番), a point system that ranks winning hands. Each faan represents a doubling of the base payment, so higher-faan hands pay exponentially more. Common faan-earning patterns include All Pungs (3 faan), Mixed One Suit (3 faan), Pure One Suit (7 faan), and Thirteen Orphans (13 faan). The winner collects payment from all three other players, with the discarder paying double if the win came off a discard.

Question 2

What is faan in mahjong?

Accepted Answer

Faan (番) is the Hong Kong Mahjong scoring unit. Each additional faan doubles the base payout: 3 faan pays 2 base units, 4 faan pays 4 units, 5 faan pays 8 units, and so on, doubling each step up to a capped maximum (commonly 10 faan, called 滿糊 or full hand).

Question 3

How many faan do you need to win in Hong Kong Mahjong?

Accepted Answer

Hong Kong Mahjong has no universally fixed minimum — house rules typically require 3 faan to declare a winning hand, though some tables play with 1 or 5 faan as the floor. TileBuddy lets each game set its own minimum faan threshold to match the rules at your table.

Question 4

What is the best app for scoring Hong Kong Mahjong?

Accepted Answer

The leading apps for scoring Hong Kong Mahjong on iOS are TileBuddy (free, AI tile-scanning via Gemini Vision, automatic faan calculation, offline faan wiki), Mahjong Camera (camera-based scanning, multi-variant), and Hong Kong Mahjong Club (simulation with Cantonese voice-over). For Android, Mahjong Helper offers manual faan calculation across multiple rule sets.

Question 5

Can you scan mahjong tiles with your phone?

Accepted Answer

Yes. TileBuddy uses Google Gemini Vision to identify mahjong tiles from a photo, recognizing all 144 tiles in the standard Hong Kong set including Bamboos, Characters, Circles, Winds, Dragons, Flowers, and Seasons. Once identified, the app automatically computes the faan value of the hand and the payment owed by each player.

Question 6

How do you calculate payments in Hong Kong Mahjong?

Accepted Answer

Payment in HK Mahjong follows a doubling table based on the winning hand's faan. The base unit is set before play (e.g., $1 or $10). On a self-draw (自摸), all three losers pay the winner. On a discard win (食糊), the discarder pays double and the other two players pay single. The dealer (莊家) pays or receives double the standard rate.

Question 7

Is TileBuddy free?

Accepted Answer

TileBuddy is free to download and use. Score tracking, manual faan calculation, the offline faan wiki, and game history are all free with no ads. AI tile scanning includes 4 free scans per day; up to 50 scans per day are available via subscription.

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