01The card sets the value
Unlike Hong Kong faan, you don't add up patterns in American mahjong — every legal hand has a point value printed right next to it on the NMJL card.
Values typically range from 25 points for easier hands up to 75 for the hardest. Choosing a higher-value hand is a genuine trade-off: more points, but a lower chance of completing it before someone else wins.
02Concealed vs exposed
Each card hand is marked C (concealed) or X (exposures allowed). A concealed hand — built without calling any discards — is worth more than the exposed version of the same line, because it's harder to make. The card prints both values where applicable.
03Who pays — discard vs wall
How you win changes who pays and how much:
- Win off a discard: the player who threw the winning tile pays double the hand's value; the other two pay the single value.
- Win from the wall (self-pick): all three opponents pay double the value.
!This is why a self-picked hand is the big score in American mahjong — everyone pays the premium, not just one discarder.
04The jokerless bonus & house rules
Many tables add a jokerless bonus: complete a hand using no Jokers at all and the payout doubles. Some groups also tweak minimums, wall-game handling and penalties. Like all mahjong, the house rules win — agree on them before the first deal.
05Why there's no faan calculator
Because American values are fixed per card line, there is no running points-and-doubles tally to compute — so a Hong Kong faan calculator does not apply here. For American, your "calculator" is the card itself plus the discard/self-pick and jokerless rules above.
06Frequently asked questions
How much is an American mahjong hand worth? +
Whatever the NMJL card prints beside that hand — commonly 25 to 75 points. There's no pattern math; the value is fixed per line.
Why is a concealed hand worth more? +
Because you built it without calling any discards, which is harder. The card lists a higher value for the concealed version.
What is the jokerless bonus? +
A common house rule that doubles the payout when you complete a hand without using any Jokers.
Does the Hong Kong scoring calculator work for American? +
No — that tool uses faan. American hands are scored by the card. Use the card together with the discard/self-pick rules instead.
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