Hong Kong Mahjong · Limit

Four Kongs (十八羅漢) in Hong Kong Mahjong: Limit Hand, Examples and Odds

In Hong Kong mahjong, Four Kongs (十八羅漢, "Eighteen Arhats") is a limit hand, scored Limit: all four sets are kongs, plus a pair. Four kongs of four tiles make 16, plus 2 for the pair — 18 tiles on the table, hence the name. A limit hand scores the 10-fan cap straight away.

The rules for Four Kongs

• All four sets are kongs: exposed (three in hand, claim the fourth), added (upgrade a pung with the fourth tile) and concealed (all four drawn yourself) all count
• The kongs can be any tiles — characters, dots, bamboo or honours, no single suit needed
• It always ends on a single wait: with four kongs declared, one tile is left in hand, waiting for its match
• Self-draw or a discard both win

How Four Kongs waits

Each kong takes three tiles out of your hand and gives you a replacement draw from the back of the wall. After the fourth kong, one tile is left, waiting for its pair:

1. Kongs one to three: each gives a replacement draw — a chance at Win on a Kong.
2. The fourth kong: after the replacement draw you hold two tiles; discard one and wait on the other.
3. Waiting for the match: win on a discard or a self-draw. A single wait has at most three tiles left, minus any already discarded.

How Four Kongs is scored

A limit hand isn't added up item by item. The fan below are computed live by the same scoring code the game uses.

How it relates to other hands

• All Pungs: kongs count as pungs, so Four Kongs is always All Pungs — but a limit hand scores only the limit.
• Four Concealed Pungs: four concealed kongs make both limit hands, counted once.
• Win on a Kong: self-drawing your replacement tile after a kong, 1 fan. Building Four Kongs gives you several shots at it along the way.
• Robbing a Kong: when you add a fourth tile to a pung, someone waiting on it can win off you — a real risk on the road to Four Kongs.

Four Kongs odds

Four Kongs needs all four copies of four different tiles to end up with you, and you must keep declaring kongs without anyone else winning first. In 100,000 hands of computer play on this site (81,026 wins), the tally of Four Kongs wins was 1.

For reference, in the same games Win on a Kong was 1.3% of wins and Robbing a Kong 0.35%: kongs themselves aren't rare, but four of them in one hand is another matter.

When to think about Four Kongs

• Two or three kongs already: and the rest of your hand is pungs or pairs — keep going.
• Kongs pay their way: every kong is an extra draw; even if Four Kongs never comes, you may Win on a Kong.
• Watch added kongs: if someone is waiting on the tile you add, the kong hands them the win.

Four Kongs is luck more than planning; most of the time you kong just to draw an extra tile. To try kongs and replacement draws, open a table of online Hong Kong mahjong and play the computers.

Four Kongs in other mahjong styles

Four kongs is a big hand in Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese Official (Guobiao) mahjong, with different names and scores: Japanese mahjong yaku list, Taiwanese mahjong tai table, Guobiao fan table.

FAQ

How many fan is Four Kongs?

In Hong Kong mahjong Four Kongs is a limit hand: Limit, the 10-fan cap.

Do exposed kongs count for Four Kongs?

Yes. Exposed, added and concealed kongs are all kongs; any four of them make Four Kongs.

Why is it called "Eighteen Arhats"?

Four kongs of four tiles are 16 tiles, plus a pair of 2 — exactly 18 tiles laid out, like the eighteen arhats of Buddhist tradition.

Related hands

Four Concealed Pungs Limit All Pungs with every pung self-drawn: a limit hand. Winning on a discard still counts on a pair wait, not on a two-pair wait. Win on a Kong 1 fan Self-draw your win on the replacement tile after a kong: 1 fan. Any kong counts, flowers don't; who pays and how often it happens. All Pungs 3 fan Four pungs and a pair, no chows — 3 fan, exactly enough to win. Examples, scoring combos and how many pairs you need to go for it.