Your table questions, answered.
Everything you need to know before you sit down: rule modes, Sifu coaching, claims, scoring, and playing with friends on the same Wi‑Fi.
Which mahjong rule sets are included?
Mahjong Master includes two distinct modes: Hong Kong 麻雀 and Taiwan 台灣麻將. Hong Kong uses 13-tile hands, faan scoring, and a 3-faan minimum; Taiwan uses 16-tile hands, tai scoring, dealer streaks, and larger hands.
What is the goal of a hand?
Build a complete hand: four sets plus a pair in Hong Kong mode, or five sets plus a pair in Taiwan mode. A set can be a chow (a suited run of three), a pung (three identical tiles), or a kong (four identical tiles).
You win either by claiming a discard that completes your hand or by drawing the winning tile yourself.
Can I play by myself?
Yes. Start a table and any unoccupied seats are played by AI, so you can practice immediately without waiting for other people.
What does the Sifu coach do?
Sifu analyses the current hand on-device and gives tactical guidance such as recommended discards, waits, live improvement tiles (“outs”), concealment trade-offs, claim advice, and whether your hand has a viable scoring path.
When coaching is enabled, it can also review a discard choice and show how many improving tiles that move gives up compared with the strongest option.
What do “shanten,” “waits,” and “outs” mean?
Shanten is how many tile improvements away you are from a ready hand. A wait is a tile that completes a ready hand. Outs are the live tiles that improve your hand. Sifu uses these measures to compare discard choices rather than relying only on intuition.
How do claims work?
After a discard, a winning claim has highest priority, followed by pung or kong claims, then a chow. Only the next player in turn may chow. Claimed sets are exposed, and exposing them can cost a concealed-hand bonus, so claims should serve a clear plan.
Why can’t I win a complete Hong Kong hand?
Hong Kong mode requires at least 3 faan to win. A structurally complete hand that does not reach that value cannot declare a win. Common ways to add value include a dragon, seat-wind, or round-wind pung; All Pungs; Half Flush; Full Flush; staying concealed; or self-draw.
How does Taiwan scoring differ?
Taiwan mode uses 16-tile hands and scores tai on a base. Dealer streaks (連莊) add pressure because repeated dealer wins compound the stakes. Flowers also matter: matching seat flowers score tai, and collecting all eight flowers is an instant win.
How do I host or join a multiplayer game?
Choose Host Room to open a table, or Join Room to find a nearby host. Both devices must be on the same Wi‑Fi network, and iOS will ask for Local Network permission so the app can discover the table.
Mahjong Master supports one to four human players. Empty seats remain covered by AI.
What happens if the host disconnects or the app closes?
The match saves a checkpoint after every move on each participating device. If the host leaves, sleeps, crashes, or loses connection, a surviving player can take over hosting and continue from the same point. A disconnected player’s seat is covered by AI and can be reclaimed when that player rejoins.
After an interrupted match, use Resume interrupted match. The app first looks for an already-recovered table; if it cannot find one, it resumes the saved match locally so others can rejoin.
Does Mahjong Master need an account or internet connection?
No account is required. Solo play runs locally, and nearby multiplayer is designed for the local Wi‑Fi network rather than an external game server. See the Privacy Policy for details about local game data and local-network play.