Fan 番Tai 台Points & payouts
Singapore Mahjong scoring
Count the winner's Fan, apply the table's cap, then adjust the payment for a discard win or self-draw. This page uses points or chips—never a currency.
Start here
Fan are doubles; Tai is common table language
This guide uses Fan 番 because each unit doubles the base point. In Singapore, you will also hear players say Tai 台 for a hand's value. Do not assume every household uses the same Tai payout table—ask the host before the first shuffle.
Minimum
1 FanA normal hand must earn at least 1 Fan. A 0-Fan Chicken Hand cannot win unless the table changes the minimum.
Default cap
5 FanKeep naming the raw hand value, but calculate payment as 5 Fan unless the table agrees on a higher cap.
Formula
2FanStart at 1 base point and double once for every payable Fan.
Reference table
How to earn Fan
Add every compatible source of Fan. Ping Wu is 4 Fan total and replaces the 1 Fan for All Chow; it does not stack on top of it.
| Category | Pattern or event | Fan |
|---|---|---|
| Hand | Chicken Hand | 0 |
| Hand | All Chow | 1 |
| Hand | All Pong; Half Color; Half Terminal | 2 each |
| Hand | Ping Wu; Full Color | 4 each |
| Hand | 13 Wonders | 8 |
| Hand | All Terminal | 9 |
| Honors | Each Dragon Pong or Kong | 1 |
| Honors | Prevailing Wind Pong or Kong | 1 |
| Honors | Your Seat Wind Pong or Kong | 1 |
| Honors | Little Dragons: two Dragon sets plus third Dragon as Eye | 3 total |
| Honors | Little Winds: three Wind sets plus fourth Wind as Eye | 4 total |
| Special | All Dragons; All Winds | 7; 12 |
| Bonus | Each Animal; each seat-matching Flower or Season | 1 each |
| Bonus | Complete Animal, Flower, or Season set | +1 |
| Special | Eight Flowers; seven Flowers then take the eighth | 12; 10 |
| Event | Replacement-tile win; final-tile win; robbing a Kong | +1 each |
Valuable Wind can score twice
If East is both the Prevailing Wind and your Seat Wind, its Pong or Kong earns 2 Fan total.
Three quick Fan
Dragon set + valuable Wind set + Animal = 3 Fan, so the base is 8 points.
Settle the win
Discard win versus self-draw
Find the base points first. Then change who pays double.
Win on a discard
The discarder pays 2× base. Each of the other two opponents pays 1× base.
Self-drawn win
Every opponent pays 2× base. A 13 Wonders win is paid like self-draw even if its winning tile came from a discard.
During the hand
Instant payouts
These are paid when the set appears; they are separate from the later winning-hand payment.
Kong-1 or Kong-3
2 points from each opponent. No default instant payment is listed here for Kong-4.
Complete set
4 from each for all Animals, all Flowers, or all Seasons.
Matching pairs
Each pair pays 2 from every opponent, or 4 from each when both tiles arrived in the initial 13.
Fast answers
Scoring FAQ
Do Fan above the cap disappear?
No. Name and record the raw pattern correctly, then use the agreed cap only for calculating payment.
Does everyone score their own hand?
No. Only the winner's hand is scored at the end of the game, although instant side payouts can occur earlier.
Do all Singapore tables use this exact Tai table?
No. Household rules vary. Confirm the minimum, cap, instant payouts, and whether “Tai” maps to this same doubling ladder before play.
Keep learning