Tai

Tai is the scoring unit of Taiwanese mahjong, the 16-tile variant played mainly in Taiwan. Whereas most other styles build a hand of four sets and a pair from 13 tiles, Taiwanese play uses five sets plus a pair, so a complete hand contains 17 tiles at the moment of winning. Each scoring pattern in the hand is worth a number of tai, and the tai are summed and converted to points on a linear scale.

The linear payout is a defining feature. Unlike Hong Kong's exponential faan curve, Taiwanese points rise in direct proportion to tai, so a 6-tai hand is worth twice a 3-tai hand, with each tai mapped to an agreed stake. This produces steadier, more predictable swings across a session and rewards consistently adding patterns rather than chasing a single doubling jackpot.

Tai are awarded for familiar patterns adapted to the 16-tile format, plus several Taiwanese-specific bonuses. Common sources include the seat and round winds, dragon triplets, all-pungs, flush hands, and a generous flower system: each player has matching flower and season tiles, and drawing your own correct flower (matching your seat position) typically grants tai, as does collecting full flower sets. Dealer wins and consecutive dealer streaks (lian zhuang) often add tai as well, and self-draw is usually worth extra.

Because the hand is larger, tenpai shapes and waits involve five sets, but the underlying wait concepts (two-sided, edge, closed, pair) carry over directly. Tai is distinct from Riichi han, MCR fan, and Hong Kong faan; mixing the terms leads to scoring confusion. For example, a Taiwanese hand that is a full flush of bamboo with a dragon triplet and the player's matching flower might total several tai, each adding the same fixed increment to the payout.