Play continues until someone calls 'Mahjong' or all the tiles are used up (apart from the Loose Tiles/Kong Wall which remain on the table) If the game is unfinished then a 'Goulash' is played by using the 2 Bamboo as 'Wild/Joker' tiles or adding the 4 white tiles to use as 'Jokers' (if available).

As such, during the late Qing reforms, mahjong became considered a social issue. Mahjong started to become outlawed indirectly as gambling and smoking opium became criminalized. The ban was not very successful, however, at least until the Chinese cultural revolution.