Chinese Official Mahjong · 8 pt

Last Tile Draw in Chinese Official Mahjong (MCR): Points, Examples and the Last Tile Claim Difference

In Chinese Official Mahjong, Last Tile Draw (妙手回春) is worth 8 points: you draw the very last tile of the wall yourself and it completes your hand. That alone reaches the 8-point minimum, but under the non-repeat principle Self-Drawn is not counted.

The conditions

• The winning tile is the last tile of the wall, and you drew it yourself
• MCR keeps no dead wall: play continues until the wall is empty, so "last tile" really is the last tile of the whole wall
• Concealed or with claimed sets — both are fine; any hand shape
• Winning on the discard that follows the last draw is not Last Tile Draw but Last Tile Claim

Last Tile Draw vs Last Tile Claim

The two "last tile" fan have Chinese names that are swapped compared with Taiwanese and Sichuan mahjong, which confuses many players:

What it does not combine with

• Self-Drawn (1 point) is not counted: Last Tile Draw is a self-draw by definition
• A concealed hand that self-draws the last tile still scores Fully Concealed Hand (4), which itself replaces Self-Drawn and Concealed Hand
• This site's engine: if the last tile is the replacement tile after a kong, both Last Tile Draw and Out with Replacement Tile apply and both are counted. The rulebook doesn't address this case explicitly; this is how the site scores it.

Scoring examples

Both hands are scored live by this site's scoring engine — the same one the game uses.

How often it happens

The wall has to run out, the last draw has to be yours, and it has to be your winning tile. In 4,000 computer games on this site there were 3,849 wins and 5 of them were Last Tile Draw (0.13%). That is too few to give a precise rate — treat it as "rare".

Playing the last few tiles

• Still waiting in the last round? Don't give up: if the last draw comes to you and you hit, you gain 8 points, which can turn a hand that was short of 8 into a win.
• Count who draws last: the number of tiles left tells you; if it is you, be extra careful with the discards just before it.
• To try it, play MCR online against the computer — the wall count is always shown.

In other mahjong styles

Self-drawing the last tile is usually called 海底撈月 elsewhere:

• Taiwanese mahjong: 1 tai (Taiwanese mahjong Last Tile Draw)
• Sichuan mahjong: 1 fan (Sichuan mahjong Last-Tile Self-Draw)
• Japanese riichi mahjong: Haitei, 1 han (riichi yaku list)

FAQ

How many points is Last Tile Draw?

8 points in Chinese Official Mahjong — enough for the minimum on its own. Self-Drawn is not added.

What is the difference between Last Tile Draw and Last Tile Claim?

Last Tile Draw is self-drawing the last wall tile; Last Tile Claim is winning on the last discard of the hand. Both are 8 points.

Does a concealed Last Tile Draw also score Fully Concealed Hand?

Yes. Last Tile Draw (8) plus Fully Concealed Hand (4); only Self-Drawn drops out.

Related fan

Last Tile Claim 8 pt Win on the last discard of the hand: 8 points. In MCR the self-drawn version is Last Tile Draw — the opposite of the Taiwanese and Sichuan naming. Self-Drawn 1 pt Win on your own draw: 1 point, and all three opponents pay. Concealed it becomes Fully Concealed Hand; Last Tile Draw and Out with Replacement Tile also replace it. Out with Replacement Tile 8 pt Win on the replacement tile after a kong: 8 points, no Self-Drawn on top. Any kind of kong counts; a flower replacement doesn't.