Bao 包
Who pays after a dangerous feed, what triggers liability, and whether it persists to a later win.
Versioned house-rule reference
Singapore Mahjong Rules Atlas
A rule is useful only when its scope is clear. This atlas separates the Wong Hong Wei practice-table default from documented alternatives, shows when the difference changes a result, and links the same choice to the physical-table companion.
Written by Wong Hong Wei · Published and reviewed · Profile version: Wong practice table v1
Direct answer
There is no single nationwide Singapore Mahjong code used by every table. The stable core is draw-and-discard Mahjong with Singapore tiles and terms; scoring, liability, claim locks and several edge cases vary. Name the profile first, then apply it consistently.
Start with the rules that change outcomes
Ping Hu 平胡
Four Chows are only the start: compare the eye, bonus, wait and self-draw conditions.
Passed Hu 過水
What becomes temporarily unavailable after passing Hu, Pong, Kong or Chi, and when the lock clears.
Multiple winners
Who wins when two players call Hu on one discard, what outranks Pong or Chi, and how the alternative changes settlement.
The Wong practice-table profile
| Dimension | Default here | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum and cap | At least 1 Tai; payout capped at 5 Tai | A complete zero-Tai shape cannot Hu; extra Tai above five does not raise payment. |
| Ping Hu | Four Chows, unvalued eye, no bonus tiles; a discard win needs at least two possible winning tile types. Self-draw is exempt from that wait test. | The same all-sequence shape may be +4, fall to All Chow, or have no Tai. |
| Bao | Specified third-Dragon, fourth-Wind or fourth-same-suit exposed-set feed; liability persists to the eventual win. | One player can owe the complete discard or self-draw settlement. |
| Passed claims | Passing an eligible claim locks that tile for the corresponding claim until the player next draws. The latest own discard is also temporarily unavailable. | A later identical discard may not be claimable even though the hand shape still fits. |
| Competing Hu | One winner: nearest eligible claimant in turn order. | A second legal caller receives nothing from the same discard. |
| Immediate awards | Kongs and listed bonus combinations settle immediately and remain separate from the final hand. | The award survives even when the hand later draws. |
How claims are labelled
Practice-table default
An implementation claim. It describes the tested result produced by this website's current game or companion, not a universal national rule.
Documented alternative
A rule stated by a named publisher, club, competition or established reference. Its scope and review date should stay attached.
Reported house rule
A family or group's convention. It should be attributed as a report until independently reviewed; popularity is not assumed.
Not yet represented
A real variant can exist without being available in the profile editor. The companion's settings are useful options, not a complete census.
Do not combine rows silently. A Ping Hu definition from one source and a payout schedule from another create a new house profile. That can be perfectly valid, but it must be named as your table's choice.
Provenance and review method
- The playable table's final test hook and regression suite decide what the app actually does; early duplicate functions in its source are not treated as authoritative.
- The guide and companion are checked against that behaviour. A disagreement is recorded and corrected rather than averaged into vague prose.
- External sources describe their own rulesets. They support comparisons, not a claim that one source is universally official.
- Every atlas page gives a decisive answer in raw HTML, a worked scenario, the current site default, named alternatives, source links and a review date.
Primary comparison references currently include SingaporeMahjong.com, SPGG competition rules, and the Singaporean scoring reference. They differ in scope and do not replace the explicit practice-table specification.
Read the full methodology and corrections policy, or inspect the public source registry, rule data and conformance examples.
Rules Atlas FAQ
Is there one official Singapore Mahjong ruleset?
No single nationwide code governs every Singapore table. Families, clubs, competitions and software implementations use consequential variants, so each rule on this site names its scope.
Which house rules should be agreed first?
Agree the minimum Tai and cap, discard and self-draw payments, Ping Hu conditions, Bao triggers and duration, passed-claim locks, multiple winners and immediate awards before the first deal.
What does the Wong practice table use?
It uses a 148-tile set, a one-Tai minimum and five-Tai payout cap, strict Ping Hu, persistent Bao after specified feeds, temporary claim locks until the next draw and nearest-player priority for competing Hu claims.