Thirteen Orphans (十三么)
All 13 unique terminal-or-honor tiles plus a pair of one of them. A non-standard hand structure — no melds at all.
How Thirteen Orphans (十三么) works
A special hand of one each of the twelve terminal and honor tiles (1 and 9 of each suit plus all four winds and three dragons), with one of those tiles duplicated to form the pair.
Thirteen Orphans does not use the standard four-sets-and-a-pair structure; instead it collects all thirteen unique terminal/honor types, one of which is paired. It is a fixed limit-class hand in MCR and cannot combine with structural fan that assume normal sets, such as flush or chow-based awards. The hand is inherently fully concealed in composition since it cannot be melded into sets.
- •Uses every terminal and honor type exactly once, with a single duplicate as the pair.
- •Cannot coexist with set-based fan like flushes, all-pungs, or chow patterns.
- •It already encompasses the all-terminals-and-honors character, so those overlapping awards are not added.
Thirteen Orphans (十三么) — FAQ
Which tile becomes the pair?
Any one of the thirteen terminal or honor tiles is duplicated; the rest appear singly.
Can it be completed on a melded set?
No, the hand has no ordinary sets to meld, so it is formed entirely in hand.