Yakuhai
Yakuhai is a group of yaku that focus on yakupai, or valued honor tiles.
| Type | Yaku |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 役牌 |
| English | Value tiles |
| Value | 1 han per counted meld |
| Speed | Very fast |
| Difficulty | Very easy |
Along with tanyao, this yaku is one of the easiest and most frequently occurring yaku in the game.
Tile patterns
Upon attaining yakuhai, the rest of the hand may be formed as any composition: open, closed, and whatever meld that helps complete the hand.
Rules
| Yakupai | Kanji | Yakupai | Kanji |
|---|---|---|---|
| East seat | 自風 東 | East round | 場風 東 |
| South seat | 自風 南 | South round | 場風 南 |
| West seat | 自風 西 | West round | 場風 西 |
| North seat | 自風 北 | Green dragon | 役牌 發 |
| Red dragon | 役牌 中 | White dragon | 役牌 白 |
In the case of sangenpai (dragon tiles), any player may collect a set of either tile and attain the yaku for that tile.
With regards to kazehai (wind tiles), there are two yaku: one for forming a set of the seat winds, and one for a set of the round winds.
Players are assigned a particular "wind seat", relative to the dealer position, who is always seated East. For the seat wind yaku, players must collect their own set of wind tiles. If the wind is not of their seat wind, then the set is considered to be an off wind or guest wind, which does not count as yaku.
Furthermore, the game has an assigned round wind. Marked by the dealer indicator, the round wind is the same for all players. Collecting a set of this wind satisfies the round wind yaku. The first round is East, followed by South. Occasionally, the game moves into West round as well, where the West wind counts as the round wind.
Collecting all three sangenpai sets or all four wind sets leads to the yakuman daisangen or daisuushii.
Formation
Value
Each yakuhai koutsu (triplet) is a separate yaku worth 1 han.
If a player's seat wind matches the round wind, a koutsu of this wind counts as 2 han instead, because it satisfies two different 1-han yaku.