Chinese Official Mahjong · 8 pt

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

In Chinese Official Mahjong, Reversible Tiles (推不倒) is worth 8 points: every tile of the winning hand, exposed sets included, is one of the 14 tiles whose face looks the same when turned upside down. On its own it already reaches the 8-point minimum.

Which tiles count

Only these 14 tiles are allowed — not a single other tile:

• No characters at all, and no winds, Red or Green Dragon
• Chows, pungs and kongs may be claimed; the hand need not be concealed
• Only four chows are possible: , , , ; pungs and pairs can be any of the 14 tiles
• Seven Pairs qualifies too if all seven pairs are reversible tiles

What it does not combine with

A Reversible Tiles hand never has characters, so under the non-repeat principle One Voided Suit (1 point) is not counted. Everything else stacks normally, for example:

• Half Flush: all dots plus White Dragons — add Half Flush, 6 points
• Full Flush: all dots, no White Dragon — add Full Flush, 24 points
• All Pungs, Seven Pairs, Dragon Pung (White Dragons) and Pung of Terminals or Honors (1 dots, 9 dots, 9 bamboo)

Scoring examples

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

How often it happens

The hand has to avoid every character, 6–7 dots, 1–3–7 bamboo and almost every honor, so it is very restrictive. The computer players on this site never aim for Reversible Tiles; it only scores when it happens by accident. In 4,000 computer games there were 3,849 wins, and only 0 of them had Reversible Tiles (0%). That sample is far too small for a reliable rate — it only tells you the hand is rare.

When to go for it

• No characters left and your dots and bamboo already sit on reversible tiles: if you are building a dots Half Flush and happen to avoid 6–7 dots, keep Reversible Tiles in mind for another 8 points.
• All Pungs routes: pungs can be any of the 14 tiles, which is far easier than chows.
• Don't break a good hand for it: with only four possible chows, forcing Reversible Tiles is usually slower than another 8-point route.

To try it yourself, play MCR online — the score breakdown lists Reversible Tiles automatically.

FAQ

How many points is Reversible Tiles?

8 points in Chinese Official Mahjong — enough for the 8-point minimum by itself. One Voided Suit is not counted on top.

Which tiles are reversible?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9 dots; 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 bamboo; and the White Dragon — 14 tiles whose faces look the same upside down. The Chinese name 推不倒 means "can't be pushed over".

Does it combine with Full Flush or Half Flush?

Yes. All dots is Reversible Tiles plus Full Flush; dots plus White Dragons is Reversible Tiles plus Half Flush. Only One Voided Suit drops out.

Can I claim chows and pungs?

Yes. Reversible Tiles only looks at which tiles you used; the hand does not have to be concealed.

Related fan

All Green 88 pt Only 2-3-4-6-8 bamboo and Green Dragon for 88 points: which tiles are green, no Half Flush, and Full Flush on top when there's no dragon. One Voided Suit 1 pt Exactly one suit missing for 1 point: honors don't matter, flushes don't qualify, Reversible Tiles drops it. Half Flush 6 pt One suit plus honors for 6 points — short of the 8-point minimum. How to top it up with dragon and wind pungs, and when to go for it.