Proto-mahjong › Chinese classical › Shanghai / Hong Kong new style › Hong Kong old style › Modern HKOS
Modern HKOS
3-faan minimum, 1970s
Caveat from the source chart
The 1970s 3-3 system is asserted by the Mahjong Wiki timeline and carries no citation there.
Cross-comparison
partial — sources agree on some points and are silent or divided on others
| Source | Tiles | Hand | Flowers | Scoring | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [1] | — | — | — | no standardised rubric; a popular variation is a minimum of three fan before winning | — |
| [2] | — | — | — | common 3-faan minimum and 13-faan ceiling | — |
| [3] | — | — | — | a winning hand must often reach some point value, anywhere between one and five points, with three being the most common | — |
- [1] wiki states the 3-fan minimum as a common variation, not a dated reform
- [3] presents the minimum as a player convention with a range, not as a dated reform
Reading it
Three sources now describe the minimum, and all three describe it as a convention rather than an event. Wikipedia's scoring article is the most explicit: the threshold ranges from one to five points, with three most common. The chart's 3-faan figure is well supported; its 1970s date is supported by nothing fetched here, and the wiki's own Guangdong timeline attaches the 1970s to the Clear Chapter reform instead.
Sources
Mahjong Wiki. "Hong Kong Old Style Overview." supporting checked 2026-09-18
The 1950s simplification, removal of fu, the 1970s 3-3 system, and the late-1980s split into Taiwanese and Guangdong styles.
http://mahjong.wikidot.com/rules:hong-kong-old-style-overview
Also cited on: Hong Kong old style, Guangdong style, Guangdong MCR / GMCR, Taiwanese style · bibliography #8
Wikipedia. "Hong Kong Mahjong Scoring Rules." canonical checked 2026-09-18
Faan scoring, the common 3-faan minimum and the 13-faan ceiling.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_mahjong_scoring_rules
Also cited on: Hong Kong old style · bibliography #18
Wikipedia. "Scoring in Mahjong." cross-check checked 2026-09-18
Comparative scoring across Hong Kong, Chinese Classical and Taiwanese systems, including the range of minimum-point conventions and the Mandarin and Cantonese terms for a scoreless hand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoring_in_Mahjong
Also cited on: Chinese classical, Taiwanese style, Zung Jung, Tui Dao Hu · bibliography #55
Sloper, Tom. "FAQ 2b: Identifying a Mah-Jongg Variant." Sloperama. supporting
Tile counts, hand sizes, flower handling and scoring for roughly 50 named variants. Primary source for most leaf nodes in this chart.
https://www.sloperama.com/mjfaq/mjfaq02b.html
Also cited on: Chinese archaic, Chinese pre-classical, Chinese classical, Shanghai / Hong Kong new style, Hong Kong old style, Taiwanese style and 43 more · bibliography #1