Four Winds Rule Collection – Japanese Classical

4. Miscellaneous rules

The following rules can be considered optional.

4.1 Missed discard

In Japanese rules it is customary to apply a rule according to which a player is prohibited to go out on a discard, which he has missed during the very same turn.

E.g., if player A is calling Bamboo 3 to go out, and player B discards Bamboo 3, and player A does not claim it, he may not claim and go out on Bamboo 3, if it is discarded by player C or D on the same turn. Player A must make a discard before being able to claim a missed discard again.

Note however that there are no restrictions on going out self-drawn on a missed discard, and that a player can claim a missed discard, if he does not go out on that tile. 

4.2 Sacred discard (furiten)

The rule of Sacred discard is common in modern Japanese Mah Jong, but seldom used in classically oriented games. If the rule is used, it is normally used in its mildest form, according to which a player is prohibited from going out on a discard that is identical with his last discard. 

Several different versions of Sacred discard rule are used in Japanese Mah Jong. A more restricting version extends the rule to cover the whole deal and prohibits a player to go out on a discard that is identical with any tile a player has discarded during the deal (including ones that have been claimed by others). A still more restricting version is called 1-4-7 rule, which prohibits a player to go out on a discard that completes a set that a player's sacred discard (any tile he has discarded during the deal) would complete. The most restrictive version of the rule, called absolute, prohibits a player to go out on any discard (that is, not only discards that are identical with a sacred discard, but any discard), if he has amongst his discards a tile that would complete his current hand into a structurally legal winning hand (a minimum point requirement is ignored, when this state is examined).

Some rules also allow a player to declare "Sacred discard". This informs other players that a player has a sacred discard (though the actual tile that is sacred is not displayed) and accordingly all restrictions related to sacred discard are abolished.

4.3 Dealer’s extra hands

Modern Japanese rules often specify an extra payment for winning a dealer's extra hand. Sometimes this rule is also used in classically oriented games, but in this case the bonus is normally given only for East (dealer) for his successive wins (the modern rules often give the bonus to any winner, not just East). 

The rule works so that East places a 100 point stick on the table on each successive time he acts as a dealer. This is a marker that indicates a sum each loser must pay to the winner of the deal. On the first extra hand (that is, the second time in a row the same player acts as a dealer) each loser pays 100 points to the winner of the deal (total being 300 points), on second extra hand the sum is 200 points (total being 600 points), etc.

If the winner goes out on a discard, the specified sum (i.e., 300 point on the first extra hand, 600 points on the second, etc.) is paid alone by the discarder. 

4.4 Payments after a draw

Sometimes rules allow payments after a draw for player who have calling hands. 

Normally a total of 600 points (in modern rules 3,000 points) is paid by non-calling players to players with a calling hand. Accordingly, if there is only one player who has a calling hand, each loser pays 200 points to him. If there are two players with a calling hand, each of the two losers pays 300 points to the two calling players. If there are three calling players, the non-calling player pays each calling player 200 points.

4.5 Abortive draws

Often the Japanese rules specify certain conditions for a “dead hand”. In these situations an abortive draw is declared, the current deal is abandoned and a new one is started. The deal never passes as a result of an abandoned deal (even if the rules specify that the deal passes after a draw).

The following cases are sometimes acknowledged as situations in which a draw can be declared:

• 9 or more different Terminals and Honors in the dealt hand. Allows a player who gets nine (out of thirteen) different Terminals and Honors in the dealt hand, including the first tile he draws from the Wall, to declare his hand dead and require a new deal.
  The declaration must be done on the first turn before the player has made his first discard, and requires that none of the players has melded a Chow, Pung or Kong.
• Four same discards on the first turn. If the first four discarded tiles are identical (and no one has melded a Chow, Pung or Kong), the deal is automatically abandoned. The rule is normally modified in Japanese Mah Jong by requiring the the four first discards must be identical Wind tiles.
• Four Kongs declared during the deal. Specifies that declaring of the fourth Kong during the deal causes the deal to be abandoned. The new deal starts right after the player declaring the fourth Kong has melded the combination (without giving the supplement tile). There are two exceptions to this rule: if the limit hand Four Kongs is acknowledged, and all four Kongs have been declared by one player, the deal can continue. However, on the next declaration of Kong, the deal is abandoned. The second exception allows a player to rob the fourth Kong and use the robbed tile to complete his hand and go out. This is actually no exception, since the fourth Kong was never really completed.
• Four players have declared Ready. Specifies that the deal is automatically abandoned, if all four players have declared Ready.
• Three players claim a tile for 'Out'. Specifies that the deal is automatically abandoned, if three players claim the same tile in order to go Out. This option is normally not used in modern Japanese Mah Jong, which allows multiple winners.

4.6 Penalties

The etiquette for correct drawing and claiming of tiles may vary, as may the consequences for violating the etiquette. Basically the irregularities which have no effect on other players should have no consequences in friendly games. To avoid confusion, the players should agree on the etiquette and penalties before beginning the game.

In the following some common practices are listed:

• If a player notices that he has too many tiles in hand, and has already seen the face of the superfluous tile, he must continue playing with a long hand to the end of the deal (thus being deprived of the chance to go out). If he has not seen the face of the tile, he can put the tile back in the Wall.
• If a player notices that he has too few tiles in hand, he must continue playing with a short hand to the end of the deal (thus being deprived of the chance to go out). 
• If a player mistakenly draws an incorrect tile, he can replace it and draw the correct tile, provided that he has not yet discarded. If he has already discarded, he may not replace the tile, but can continue without penalties.
• A player is allowed to change his discard as long as another player has not claimed the tile, and as long as the next player in turn has not drawn from the Wall.
• If a player claims a tile, but cancels his claim before his next discard is claimed (or another player has drawn from the Wall), there is no need to penalize him for his mistake. In tournaments a penalty of 100 points may be applied for canceling a claim.
• Also, if a player claims a tile for Chow, Pung or Kong, but notices that he does not have right tiles in hand, he is allowed to cancel his claim without consequences, provided that he does that before his next discard is claimed (or another player has drawn from the Wall).  In tournaments a penalty of 100 points may be applied for making a false claim.
• If a player makes a faulty declaration of out, but notices his error before the other players expose their hands, there is no need to penalize him for his error. On the other hand, if one or more players have already exposed their hands, the deal is abandoned and the offender shall pay each of the other players 50% of the Limit (East paying and receiving double). The deal always passes after a faulty declaration of Out.

4.7 Insurance penalties

Players sometimes agree on applying insurance penalties for irresponsible discards, that is, for dangerous discards that let another player go out on a big hand (this is often called "letting off a canon").

Insurance penalties are normally applied for the following hands:

• Big Four Winds or Little Four Winds. Applied when player A has exposed three sets of winds, and another player discards a wind tile, which enables player A to go out with Big Four Winds or Little Four Winds (immediately on that tile, or later – after having composed the fourth set of winds with player A's dangerous discard – with any tile, either claimed or self-drawn).
• Three Great Scholars (Big Three Dragons) or Little Three Dragons. Applied when player A has exposed two sets of dragons, and another player discards a dragon tile, which enables player A to go out with Three Great Scholars (Big Three Dragons) or Little Three Dragons (immediately on that tile, or later – after having composed the third set of dragons with player A's dangerous discard – with any tile, either claimed or self-drawn).
• All Honors. Applied when player A has exposed three sets of Honors, and another player discards an honor tile, which enables player A to go out  with All Honors (immediately on that tile, or later – after having composed the fourth set of honors with player A's dangerous discard – with a self-drawn tile).
• All Terminals. Applied when player A has exposed three sets of terminals, and another player discards a terminal, which enables player A to go out  with All Terminals (immediately on that tile, or later  – after having composed the fourth set of terminals with player A's dangerous discard – with a self-drawn tile).

Note that letting another player rob a Kong that involves a dangerous tile is considered the same as discarding a dangerous tile, and accordingly penalized in the same way.

Claiming a dangerous discard for a Kong does not result in applying insurance penalties (since in this case a player already had that dangerous set completed as a concealed Pung – promoting this set into a melded Kong does not necessarily bring the hand any closer to winning).

A player who is liable for "letting off a canon" must pay for all losers (that is, not only for himself, but also for the other two players). Note that in Japanese rules the insurance penalties are meaningful only in context of self-drawn winning hands, as a discarder always pays for all losers, anyway.

Related topics:
Introduction
Tiles
Preliminaries
Playing
Scoring
Payments