Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles

What Is Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles

Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles is a unique 12-fan special hand in Chinese Mahjong, requiring 14 tiles that have no normal melds, no adjacency, no duplication, and include at least one honor. Though challenging to assemble, it provides a substantial payoff (12 fan) that far exceeds the usual 8-fan minimum. Success often depends on recognizing early that your tiles are widely scattered and then methodically avoiding standard meld formations. While the rarity of “All Unrelated” can make it a gamble, the surprise factor and high reward can decisively swing a game in your favor if you see a clear path to completing it.

The Tile Pattern of Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles

• No Chows: You cannot have two suited tiles that are consecutive (e.g., 2-3 Bams).
• No Pungs: You cannot have three identical tiles.
• No Pairs: You cannot have two identical tiles.

Hence, all 14 tiles must be single, unique, and sufficiently spaced so that no adjacency occurs in the suits.

Honors + Knitted Sequences

• You must include at least four honor tile (a Wind or Dragon) to satisfy the “Lesser Honors” aspect.
• The suited tiles must be spaced such that they form what the rules describe as “knitted” groupings, typically represented by skipping two ranks each time (e.g., 1-4-7 or 2-5-8 or 3-6-9 in each suit).

While you do not literally meld them on the table, the arrangement in your hand must be “knittable” into these disjoint sequences plus your honors, with no duplicates or adjacencies.

Example Layout

An example of a 14-tile hand that fits “Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles” might look like (in purely illustrative notation):

• 1 Bams, 4 Bams, 7 Bams
• 2 Craks, 5 Craks, 8 Craks
• 3 Dots, 6 Dots, 9 Dots
• East Wind
• Red Dragon
• Green Dragon
• White Dragon

No tile is adjacent to another within its suit, no duplicates exist, and there are multiple honors. After discarding any single tile (for instance, if a rule variant requires demonstrating your final 13), the rest can be reorganized into knitted “1-4-7” or “2-5-8” or “3-6-9” sequences in each suit plus separate honors.

Fan Value of Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles

Under Chinese Mahjong rules, Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles is worth 12 fan. This high value reflects both the rarity of the hand and the difficulty of assembling 14 non-adjacent, non-duplicated tiles that also include at least one honor.

Strategies and Considerations of Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles

Early Assessment: If you notice, after the initial deal, that your tiles are extremely scattered (lots of single, spaced-out ranks across suits, plus some honors), consider aiming for All Unrelated.

Abandoning Normal Melds: Committing to this hand means not attempting to form sets. If you accidentally create adjacency or pairs, you lose eligibility for “Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles.”

Preserve at Least One Honor: Because the hand requires “Lesser Honors,” do not discard all your Winds/Dragons. Retaining at least one ensures you fulfill that requirement and helps differentiate from a normal “no adjacent suits” idea that might yield 0 fan.

Avoid Accidental Sequences: If you draw a tile that sits next to or duplicates an existing tile in your hand (e.g., you already have 4 Bams, and you pick up 5 Bams), you should discard it quickly to maintain spacing.

High-Risk, High-Reward: This hand is quite rare. If you see you already have pairs or near-complete sets, it’s probably not worth forcing into All Unrelated.

Backup Plan: If you realize partway through that you have formed an accidental pair or your suits are beginning to line up in sequences, pivoting to a different hand (e.g., Mixed One Suit or a more straightforward pattern) might be better.

No Standard Wait: Since you do not have normal sets, your “wait” for the 14th tile is effectively the wait for the last piece that keeps everything “unrelated.” Be sure you know which tile or tiles can safely fit that condition.

Showing the Hand: When you declare Mahjong, you must demonstrate that your 14 tiles meet the “no adjacency, no duplication” rule, including at least one honor tile.