Start with these ideas
- Use concealed 1112345678999 in one numbered suit, plus any extra tile of that suit.
- HKMA’s 九子連環 is 10 faan and requires a nine-sided wait for a discard win; our 8-faan check uses the final shape.
Reference values below follow the Hong Kong Mahjong Association (HKMA) rules. Worked calculator examples use our browser game’s house rules; check the differences before comparing results.
The thirteen-tile base and the winning tile
The base uses three 1s, one each of 2 through 8, and three 9s, all in Characters, Dots or Bamboo. Add one tile of the same suit for a fourteen-tile hand. Our game permits no declared melds, including concealed Kongs, for Nine Gates.
The saved example uses Characters and adds a second 5. Removing the winning 5 leaves the full thirteen-tile base, which waits on any of the nine ranks.
Final shape and pre-win wait are different checks
HKMA lists this as 九子連環, a 10-faan limit. Its self-draw condition uses the completed shape, while a discard win must come from a nine-sided wait. The source therefore asks more than just whether the final fourteen tiles look right.
Our game checks the final concealed shape and returns an 8-faan limit without requiring the earlier nine-sided wait. It adds no Full Flush, Concealed Hand or self-draw faan. Changing the winning-tile selector does not add HKMA wait validation.
A concealed Full Flush is not enough
The hand must contain the full base counts. A missing 1 or 9 cannot be replaced by extra middle tiles. For an HKMA discard win, remove the actual winning tile and check the thirteen-tile wait; using a different tile as the imagined winner changes the question.
Check a complete example without claiming a wait proof
Load the example and switch between discard and self-draw: our limit stays at 8. To explore another completed Nine Gates shape, replace only one of the two 5 Characters with another rank of Characters. This tests the house final-shape rule, not unseen tile availability.
Sources
A hand to try
Win: discard · Seat: East · Round: East · Minimum: 3. Declared melds and special draw context are loaded with the hand.
With the saved win method, seat wind and round wind, this example is expected to score 8 final faan under sc_hk13_v1_2. The calculator also shows every contributing pattern and whether the hand reaches the selected minimum.
Try this in the calculatorCheck your understanding
Which statement matches our house rules?
Choose a statement to see the explanation.
A few things to know
Does every Nine Gates-looking hand prove a nine-sided wait?
No. The actual winning tile determines what the thirteen-tile hand was. Our calculator recognises the final house shape; it does not certify the earlier wait required for an HKMA discard win.