Eighteen Arhats / Four Kongs (十八罗汉)
Eighteen Arhats — four kongs in a single hand. The maximum kong-heavy hand.
How Eighteen Arhats / Four Kongs (十八罗汉) works
A winning hand built around four kongs plus a pair, so that the hand effectively totals eighteen tiles of melded sets.
Eighteen Arhats is formed when a player declares all four of their sets as kongs, leaving only a pair to complete the win. Each kong is four identical tiles, so four kongs plus the pair give the namesake count. It naturally overlaps with All Pungs since four kongs are themselves triplet-type sets, and the kongs must all be drawn from the two suits the player is not void in.
- •Distinct from a single kong: this requires all four sets to be kongs in the same completed hand.
- •It inherently satisfies the All Pungs shape, since kongs count as triplet groups rather than runs.
- •All four kongs use only number-suit tiles and must avoid the voided suit, as Sichuan has no honors to kong.
Eighteen Arhats / Four Kongs (十八罗汉) — FAQ
Do the kongs have to be concealed?
No. The pattern is defined by having four kongs total; melded and concealed kongs both count toward it.
Why is it also called Four Kongs?
Because the defining feature is declaring four kongs in one hand; the 'Eighteen Arhats' name simply reflects the large tile count those kongs represent.