The rules · Development build
Draw a tile.
Make your case.
Nine characters in hand. One more to draw.
Making a phrase is one thing.
Convincing your friends is another.This guide starts with the default phrase mode.
Chapter 1
Your friends can catch up.
Two to four players, nine tiles each. Every tile carries a Chinese character. On your turn, draw one, decide what to keep, then discard one.
Share a room code with friends. You need at least two players, with everyone ready to start. Playing alone? Choose offline practice with one to three bots. You can also take turns on one device; hands are hidden between players.
The host sets phrase or sentence mode, judging, and homophones before the game. These settings stay fixed for the round. Offline practice uses phrase mode and a local dictionary.
Chapter 2
Got a phrase? Put it down.
Before you discard, you can submit a phrase of at least three characters. Longer is fine. You don’t have to save every word for one big reveal.
Once approved, a group stays on the table: you can’t take it back, break it apart, or draw replacements. You must use all your remaining tiles or leave at least three. With ten tiles, five plus five works. Eight plus two doesn’t.
What would you do with these?
Original example · Not a full game我上班 means “I’m going to work.” Use all ten as 我家小猫也不想上班了 and your little cat wants out of work too. Select tiles in order; select one again to undo it. Tab and Enter work as well. This example arranges tiles only; it doesn’t judge the phrase.
Choose a character tile to start.
In a friend room, every phrase, chi, and winning hand needs the selected judge’s approval: either a player vote or the AI judge. Even familiar words go through judging. Only offline practice accepts words directly from its local dictionary. The example above does neither.
Curious about other word-mahjong games? A Bilibili video is titled 「嘿！他家瓜飞了！」 (“Hey! Their melon flew away!”). Visit the original video ↗. This is an external video, not Tile & Tell footage; we haven’t verified its tile combinations.
Chapter 3
Wait. I need that tile.
After a discard, a winning claim comes first. Peng and exposed gang come next, then chi.
WinPeng / GangChi
- Chi
- Take the latest discard and combine it with your tiles to make a phrase of three or more characters. By default, everyone gets a chance in seat order, not just the next player. After a successful chi, discard without drawing, unless you’ve won.
- Peng
- Two identical characters in your hand plus the same character just discarded make a set of three. Claim it, then discard without drawing.
- Gang
- Four identical characters make a gang. Complete it and draw a replacement tile. You can claim a discard, use four tiles from your own hand, or add a fourth to an existing peng. Before you upgrade a peng, other players get a chance to win on that tile.
Claims of equal priority are offered in seat order, starting after the player who discarded. If nobody claims, the next player draws. Peng and gang require the very same character; homophones don’t count.
Chapter 4
The tiles are down. Explain.
Same sound. Different story.
With homophones enabled, you can use a character with the same Mandarin sound in a phrase or winning hand. Different tones are allowed. Everyone sees both the original tiles and what you mean. The current pronunciation list is limited; some characters with multiple readings and dialect pronunciations aren’t supported.
Take our example 我家有小雨: “There’s a little rain at my home.” Maybe the roof leaks. Read 雨 (yǔ, rain) as 鱼 (yú, fish), and you have a small pet instead. Matching sounds is only the first check. The phrase still has to make sense.
When voting is on, the table decides.
Play pauses for a ruling. The person proposing the phrase doesn’t vote. Everyone else chooses yes or no privately; more than half must say yes. Nobody sees the other votes before the result.
Back to your cat’s career. “Where does it work?” “At the shop. Bringing in customers.” Make your case, then wait for the votes.
Not enough yes votes before time runs out? The proposal fails. If your own-turn phrase is rejected, you must discard before play can continue.
AI judging is still being tested and is not enabled on the public server. Friend rooms use voting by default. Offline bots use the local dictionary.
Chapter 5
Every last character counts.
A brilliant sentence with one stray tile won’t win. In phrase mode, all ten character slots must belong to approved phrases or peng/gang groups. Get the last group approved, and you can call a win.
Groups you laid earlier still count. Split your ten slots as 3 + 3 + 4, 3 + 7, 4 + 6, or 5 + 5. One ten-character expression works too. Each phrase needs at least three characters; nothing can be left over.
One exception to the tile count: a gang contains four physical tiles but occupies only three slots. Its three designated tiles may be used in the expression; the extra tile stays in the gang and can’t be reused.
In sentence mode, all ten slots must form one sensible sentence. Groups already on the table stay together, and their internal order cannot change.
Play another round with the next dealer; scores carry over within the session. If the tile wall runs out before anyone wins, the round is a draw.
Chapter 6
Before you take a seat.
Is this played with English letters?
No. The tiles carry Chinese characters, and you build Chinese expressions. These are English instructions for a game currently played in Chinese. Familiarity with Chinese will help you form phrases and argue your case.
Can I play on my own?
Yes, in the development build’s offline practice mode. You play with one to three bots, each of which only sees its own concealed hand. Practice uses a local dictionary, not a language model. For new expressions outside that dictionary, play with friends and use voting.
Why didn’t I draw after laying a phrase?
Those tiles moved from your hand to the table; they still belong to your hand for scoring and winning. You draw on your normal turn or after completing a gang, not after laying a phrase.
Can I download it now?
There’s no public download yet. Windows and macOS builds are in private testing, and the Steam store page is not open. We’ll update the site when a public playtest is ready. The tile example on this page is just a local interaction, not a playable match.
Check playtest statusDo regular mahjong rules apply?
You still draw, discard, chi, peng, and gang. What makes a valid hand depends on this game’s word rules. Start with default phrase mode: groups of at least three characters, covering every slot in your hand.
Are the website images from the game?
The large brand image on the homepage is clearly labeled concept art. The separate tea-room image is an actual screenshot of a development build. The game’s visuals are still being refined.
We’re still testing the rules.
Your explanation is your own.