So here I am playing Mahjong today with absolutely no idea how to count the 台s at all. Thankfully, I have good friends who helped me with counting the 台s as I played the game.
Basically, the 台s are counted as an addition of a set number of 台s for your winning hand depending on how hard it is to acquire that winning hand. Added on to that will be any 台s gotten from bonus combos in your winning hand.
Disclaimer: Some of the information below is taken from the Wikipedia page that I'm referring to as I type this blog post. I did not copy any of the information word-for-word though. All of the contents below have already been paraphrased.
台s from Winning Hands:
One 台:
臭平和: Win by amassing a hand of four sequences. In addition, the winning tile cannot be an "in-between" tile or used as the "eyes" in your winning hand. This winning hand is similar to the 平和 except that the 平和 has another criteria that has to be met: If you manage to amass the abovementioned hand without obtaining any of the animals or flowers, your hand will be considered a proper 平和, which is worth four 台s in the game, instead.
Two 台s:
对对胡/碰碰胡: Win by amassing a hand of four triplets or quadruplets in the game and not qualifying for any of the other types of winning hands mentioned below.
半色: Win by amassing a hand containing tiles of only one suit. This winning hand is similar to the 清一色. However, this winning hand allows one to have a mixture of one or more wind or dragon sets (东, 南, 西, 北, 发财, 白板 or 红中) in your hand as well. If you manage to amass such a hand without any wind or dragon tiles, your hand will be considered a 清一色 winning hand, which is worth four 台s, instead.
Three 台s:
小三元: Win by amassing a hand containing two dragon triplets or quadruplets (发财, 白板 and 红中) with your "eyes" being the third of the dragon tiles. This winning hand is similar to the 大三元 with only one difference: The 大三元 hand involves three dragon triplets or quadruplets instead of two. The 大三元 hand is worth five 台s.
Four 台s:
平和: Win by amassing a hand of four sequences without obtaining any of the animals or flowers. In addition, the winning the cannot be an "in-between" tile or used as the "eyes" in your winning hand.
大牌一九: Win by amassing a hand of triplets or quadruplets containing only the following tiles: 一万, 九万, 一索, 九索, 一筒, 九筒, 东, 南, 西, 北, 发财, 白板 and 红中. This winning hand is similar to the 请老头 and 字一色/大字 with only these differences: The 请老头 does not involve any wind or dragon tiles (东, 南, 西, 北, 发财, 白板 or 红中) while the 字一色/大字 involves only wind and dragon tiles. Both of these winning hands are worth the maximum number of 台s on the table.
清一色: Win by amassing a hand containing tiles of only one suit without any wind or dragon tiles (东, 南, 西, 北, 发财, 白板 or 红中) in your hand.
小四喜: Win by amassing a hand containing three wind triplets or quadruplets (东, 南, 西 and 北) with your "eyes" being the fourth of the wind tiles. This winning hand is similar to the 大四喜 and 十八罗汉 with only these differences: The 大四喜 involves four wind triplets or quadruplets instead of three while the 十八罗汉 involves four wind quadruplets instead. The 大四喜 hand is worth five 台s while the 十八罗汉 is worth the maximum number of 台s on the table.
Five 台s:
大四元: Win by amassing a hand containing three dragon triplets or quadruplets (发财, 白板 and 红中).
大四喜: Win by amassing a hand of four wind triplets or quadruplets (东, 南, 西 and 北). This winning hand is similar to the 十八罗汉 with only one difference: The 十八罗汉 involves four wind quadruplets instead and is worth the maximum number of 台s on the table.
Thirteen 台s:
十三幺: Win by amassing a hand containing all of the following tiles: 一万, 九万, 一索, 九索, 一筒, 九筒, 东, 南, 西, 北, 发财, 白板 and 红中 with your "eyes" involving any one of these tiles.
Maximum 台s:
请老头: Win by amassing a hand of triplets or quadruplets containing only the following tiles: 一万, 九万, 一索, 九索, 一筒 and 九筒.
字一色/大字: Win by amassing a hand of triplets or quadruplets containing only the wind and dragon tiles (东, 南, 西, 北, 发财, 白板 and 红中).
十八罗汉: Win by amassing a hand of four wind quadruplets (东, 南, 西 and 北).
So I walked out of the mahjong room breaking even (not losing or winning any money) which I consider lucky since I am a pretty new player with almost zero experience counting the 台s in the game at all.
Good game well played, guys! Was a fun day out with you three!
