Rule variations

Restrictions on the winning hand – Exceptions

Four Winds allows you to specify exceptions to the rules that apply restrictions on the winning hand.

Ignore minimum score requirement:

If the hand has no mixed suits. If the rules specify minimum points/doubles/faan/han for the winning hand, you can specify an exception which allows to ignore the requirement if the hand has no mixed suits.
When determining ready state of losers' hands. If the rules specify minimum points/doubles/faan/han for the winning hand, you can specify that this restriction is ignored when the ready state of losers' hands is examined for scoring. Each loser pattern has an option which lets you specify whether it is paid always or only if it appears in a ready hand. If this option is checked, and minimum point check is ignored, losers are paid even if their hands (when completed) would not meet the minimum point requirement, otherwise only the hands worth the minimum (with the best possible winning tile) are paid.
Note: This rule option does not have effect on determination of ready state of a hand in a situation the deal ends in a draw. Separate option – Check true ready state of hand – is provided for this purpose and can be found on the Winning & Draw option page. A separate option for evaluating the minimum point state of the hand is also provided for the voluntary ready declaration.

When calculating minimum points, ignore:

Flowers and Seasons. If the rules specify minimum points/double/faan/han for the winning hand, you can specify whether bonus points for Flower and Season tiles are included in the calculation when determining whether the hand meets the minimum requirement. In certain rules bonus points for these tiles are awarded only afterwards, if the hand qualifies as a winning hand without extra bonus for these tiles.
Dora tiles. As above, but allows ignoring of Dora tiles (including the special red Dora tiles) when the program determines the qualification for a winning hand.
Auxiliary points. As above, but allows ignoring of auxiliary points when the program determines the qualification for a winning hand. Auxiliary points are scoring assignments made with the points unit, when Faan-Laak scoring system is used.
Advanced. Click to open the Advanced Minimum Point Exceptions dialog box, where you can specify individually, which additional winning patterns should be ignored when calculating the minimum points for the hand. The list contains most of the patterns in the Winning category of the Sets and Patterns option page, and most of the patterns in the Special Ways of going out category of the Limit & Special Hands option page.
Note: These patterns are ignored even if they have a limit scoring.

Ignore limit for the maximum number of Chows:

If the hand is a special or a limit hand. If the rules allow only a limited number of Chows in the winning hand, you can check this option to allow more than the specified number of Chows in a Limit or a Special hand. A limit hand is any pattern specified with % of Limit unit (the value can be less than 100) or which scores more than the current limit (in point units).
Note: The American hands Imperial Jade and Imperial Pearl ignore this exception and force the general Chow limit (if such is in use). Note too that limitation on number of Chows does not apply to irregular hands with concealed Chow-like series (these are not considered technically as Chows); however, melded Chows (i.e., Chows declared before that hand goes out), if allowed in the hand, are considered as Chows and counted normally.
The rule can be modified by the Excluding special ways of going out option: if checked, structurally regular winning hands that go out in a special way (like Heavenly Hand and Earthly Hand) are excluded from the exception and Chows in these hands are counted normally.
If the hand is fully concealed. Same as above, but allows to override the Chow limit in the case hand is fully concealed (including the winning tile).

Exceptions to prohibition of mixed suits:

Enable conflicting patterns for limit scoring. If checked, allows you to specify limit scoring for those patterns and hands which by definition require more than one suits (having a limit scoring for such a pattern bypasses the prohibition of mixed suits for the hand, and also automatically excludes scoring for all other patterns). E.g., All Terminals cannot be composed of tiles of only one suit, but you can still include this hand in the point calculation if you check this option and specify scoring by using % of Limit unit or by using point units and a value equal or higher than the current limit. Both scoring assignments would mark the hand as a direct count (meaning that all other patterns for the hand are ignored). For the hands in the Limit & Special Hands option page you can also use a point value lower than the current limit, since Four Winds automatically marks special hands that may conflict with rule of prohibited mixed suits as hands that are counted directly.
Disabling this option automatically grays out all patterns and hands, which by definition require more than one suits.
Ignore restriction in the following special cases. Shows a list of hands, which are acknowledged as winning hands even if they consist of more than one suit (these hands can be composed of non-mixed suits, but by specifying an exception, you can bypass prohibition of mixed suits for these hands). To toggle the state of a hand double click its name in the list. Notice that if no scoring is specified for a hand, its tile icon is gray and its state can't be changed.

To specify exceptions to the restriction on the winning hand, click the Exceptions button on the Winning & Draw option page (under the Rules section in the category tree of the Preferences dialog box).