Claiming another player’s discard

After a computer player (or another human player) has discarded his tile, it stays visible in the discard slot during the time determined by the Discard delay setting specified in the Preferences dialog box. As long as the tile is visible, you can claim the discarded tile to complete a set in your hand. Valid claims (e.g., whether and when you can claim a Chow) are determined by the rules. E.g., normally you can claim a tile for a Chow only from a player on the left (in Four Winds the player just "above" you), except when you can use the discarded tile to go out, in which case the tile can be claimed from any player. Traditionally there are no other claiming restrictions, but many rules specify non-traditional claiming rules.

Precedence of claims

.To claim a tile:

Note: Four Winds 1.x allowed human player to go out on a discard, even if he did not choose Out in the Tile Claimed dialog box. (E.g., the player could click Pung in the Tile Claimed dialog box, make his meld and then click the Out button on the status bar). This is no longer supported. (However, if you claim a tile for a Kong and get a supplement tile which lets you complete your hand, you are allowed to go out.)

Tip: The mouse and keyboard operation can be customized. The default configuration for claiming is described above, but you can use alternate methods, if you wish. For more information, see Configuring game controls.

Related topics:
Claiming rules – Chows
Claiming rules – Pair
Claiming rules – Competitive claims for going out
Overclaiming
Missed discard

Sacred discard