Mangan

Mangan is the first major score cap in Japanese Riichi, the point at which a hand stops being calculated from the raw han-and-fu formula and instead pays a fixed limit value. A mangan pays 8,000 points for a non-dealer win and 12,000 for a dealer win, distributed appropriately on a ron or split across the table on a self-draw (2,000 from each non-dealer, or 4,000 each when the dealer self-draws).

A hand reaches mangan in two ways. The clean route is accumulating 5 han, which always pays mangan regardless of fu. The other route is a high-fu hand at 4 han or 3 han: because the base-points formula can exceed the mangan threshold, rules cap such hands at mangan, a situation often handled by the kiriage mangan (rounded-up mangan) house rule that promotes 4 han 30 fu and 3 han 60 fu directly to mangan.

Mangan anchors the limit-hand ladder. Above it sit haneman (6-7 han, 1.5x mangan), baiman (8-10 han, 2x), sanbaiman (11-12 han, 3x), and yakuman (13+ han or a special pattern, capped). Reaching mangan is therefore a common strategic target, since the jump from a 4-han mid-value hand to a guaranteed 8,000 points is a significant swing in a hanchan.

Mangan and the tiers above it exist only in Riichi and Japanese-derived rules; MCR, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese mahjong use their own scoring scales and caps. As an example, a closed riichi hand with tanyao, pinfu, and three dora totals 5 han, scoring a clean mangan of 8,000 even though its fu is only the pinfu-fixed 20.