Mahjong 101: Calling Tiles

If the hand you are playing has an X next to the value of the hand, the hand is designated as a calling, or open hand. A hand with a C is a closed hand and if a tile you need is discarded, you may not call it from the table.

If a tile you need is discarded, and you are playing an open hand, you may call the tile to complete a pung, a kong, a quint or to make Mahjong. A tile may not be called to make a pair, unless it is your Mahjong tile. Once you call a tile, you must expose the pung or kong and you may not make any further changes to the exposed tiles.

Once the next player has picked a tile and put it in her rack, it is too late to call a tile that was discarded and is on the table.

If two players call for the same tile, the one whose turn is next gets the tile. If one of the players is calling the tile for mahjong, she has priority over a player who needs it for a pung or kong.

Back to Mahjong 101: The Rules