Chinese Official Mahjong · 24 pt

Upper Tiles in Chinese Official Mahjong (MCR): Points, Examples and Odds

In Chinese Official Mahjong, Upper Tiles (全大) is worth 24 points: when you win, every tile — in hand and in exposed chows, pungs and kongs — is a 7, 8 or 9 of characters, dots or bamboo, with no honors at all.

The rules for Upper Tiles

• All 14 tiles are 7s, 8s or 9s, in any of the three suits
• No honors
• The only possible chow is 7-8-9; pungs are 777, 888 and 999
• Claiming is allowed, no concealed hand needed; Seven Pairs can be Upper Tiles too
• You need at least two suits: one suit has only 12 tiles from 7 to 9, not enough for 14, so Upper Tiles is never a Full Flush

What Upper Tiles does not combine with

• Upper Four (12 points): 7, 8 and 9 are all above five anyway
• No Honors (1 point)

How Upper Tiles is scored

The points below are calculated live by this site's scoring engine — the same one the game uses — including the fans dropped under the non-repeat rule.

Common combinations:

Related fans

• Upper Four: 6 to 9, 12 points; Upper Tiles is the stricter version, and with Upper Tiles you no longer count Upper Four.
• Middle Tiles and Lower Tiles: the same idea with only 4-5-6 and only 1-2-3, 24 points each.
• Mixed Triple Chow: the only chow in Upper Tiles is 7-8-9; one in each suit is Mixed Triple Chow.
• All Simples: counted when the hand has no 9.

How often does Upper Tiles happen?

7, 8 and 9 make 12 tiles per suit, 36 over the three suits — only about a quarter of the 136 tiles — so an opening hand landing entirely inside them is practically impossible; Upper Tiles always takes a lot of exchanging. Upper Tiles is not one of the target patterns of this site's AI and only appears by accident: in 3,849 AI wins it appeared 0 times. The sample is too small for a rate; it is extremely rare.

When to go for Upper Tiles

• Lots of 7s, 8s and 9s in the opening hand, forming 7-8-9 chows or 777, 888, 999 pungs.
• 7-8-9 in all three suits: add Mixed Triple Chow for more points.
• No need to stay concealed: chow and pung 7s, 8s and 9s.

When to give up: you still hold three or more tiles of 6 or lower. Stepping back to Upper Four (6s allowed) is still 12 points and often more realistic. To try it yourself, play Chinese Official Mahjong online — the scoring is automatic.

FAQ

How many points is Upper Tiles?

Upper Tiles is worth 24 points in Chinese Official Mahjong. Upper Four and No Honors are not counted on top.

Can Upper Tiles include a 6?

No. With a 6 it is only Upper Four (12 points); Upper Tiles allows only 7, 8 and 9.

Can Upper Tiles also score All Simples?

Yes, but only when there is no 9: a hand of only 7s and 8s is also All Simples, worth 2 points.

Can Seven Pairs be Upper Tiles?

Yes. Upper Tiles only looks at which tiles you use; seven pairs of 7s, 8s and 9s score Seven Pairs plus Upper Tiles.

Related fan

Upper Four 12 pt A whole hand of 6s to 9s for 12 points: rules, the difference from Upper Tiles, what it stacks with. Middle Tiles 24 pt A whole hand of 4s, 5s and 6s for 24 points: rules, what it absorbs, how it stacks with All Fives. Lower Tiles 24 pt A whole hand of 1s, 2s and 3s for 24 points: rules, the difference from Lower Four, what it stacks with.