Sichuan vs MCR
Both Sichuan (血战麻将) and MCR (国标) are Chinese mahjong variants — but they hail from opposite ends of the spectrum. Sichuan is the variant 100 million mainland mobile players actually use; MCR is the tournament code nobody plays casually.
Pung-only, no honors, mandatory missing-suit. The fastest variant in widespread play.
81 fan patterns with strict exclusion rules and 8-fan minimum.
Sichuan vs MCR — every axis
| Axis | Sichuan | MCR |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Sichuan Province, southwest China | WMSC, 2002 international standardization |
| Hand size | 14 tiles | 14 tiles |
| Chi call (claim chow from discard)? | Not allowed — but in-hand chows still legal | Allowed |
| Honor tiles | Removed from play | Full set (4 winds + 3 dragons) |
| Missing-suit rule | Mandatory (缺一门) | None |
| Scoring math | Exponential (2^fan) | Additive |
| Pattern count | ~20 patterns | 81 patterns |
| Minimum to declare | 1 fan (basic win) | 8 fan strict |
| Round speed | 5-10 minutes | 20-40 minutes |
| Where played | Mainland CN mobile apps, Sichuan/Chongqing home tables | World championships, MCR clubs |
Strengths
- •Fast — most rounds complete in 5-10 minutes
- •Easy to learn (no honors, no chi calls, ~20 patterns)
- •Missing-suit rule forces defensive thinking
- •Dominant variant on mobile mahjong apps in China
- •Highest scoring precision of any mahjong variant
- •Patterns reward strategic hand-building over speed
- •Internationally recognized for cross-cultural play
- •Full mahjong palette — chows, honors, complex hands
Which should you play?
Pick Sichuan if you're learning to play with mainland Chinese friends, you have limited time per session, or you want fast/exciting mobile-style mahjong. Pick MCR if you want a precise tournament-grade ruleset and are willing to invest in learning 81 patterns.
Common questions
Why does Sichuan have so few patterns vs MCR?+
Sichuan deliberately strips down the rules to make games fast. No honor tiles removes the entire wind/dragon hand family. No chi calls means most hands lean toward pungs/kongs (and the All Pungs bonus is easy to hit). The missing-suit constraint further limits possibilities. The result: ~20 patterns vs MCR's 81.
Can MCR players easily learn Sichuan?+
Yes — Sichuan is structurally simpler. The challenge is unlearning chow-building habits. Most MCR players pick up Sichuan within a few games once they internalize the no-chow constraint.
Is exponential 2^fan scoring random?+
It feels more swingy than MCR's additive scoring. A 5-fan Sichuan hand pays 32 base units while a 7-fan hand pays 128 — small differences in hand quality produce big differences in payout. MCR's additive scoring is steadier.