Middle Tiles

What Is Middle Tiles

Middle Tiles is a demanding but richly rewarded 24-fan hand in Chinese Mahjong. You must use only ranks 4, 5, and 6 across any suits to build your four melds and one pair, restricting your chow possibilities to just 4–5–6 sequences or relying on pungs/kongs of 4, 5, or 6. While this can be challenging—given the narrow range of tiles and the watchful eyes of opponents—the payoff is substantial when successful. Recognizing a heavy concentration of midrange tiles early, discarding everything else, and carefully managing meld calls can lead to a dramatic, high-scoring “Middle Tiles” victory.

The Tile Pattern of Middle Tiles

Middle Tiles designates a winning hand in which all 14 tiles are drawn exclusively from the middle ranks: 4, 5, and 6.

Middle Tiles are not allowed to use:

• Ranks 1–3 or 7–9
• Any honor tiles (winds or dragons)

Example:

• Chow of 4–5–6 Bams (4 B, 5 B, 6 B)
• Chow of 4–5–6 Dots (4 D, 5 D, 6 D)
• Pung of 6 Craks (6 C, 6 C, 6 C)
• Pung of 4 Dots (4 D, 4 D, 4 D) – if you happened to draw the fourth copy, it could become a kong
• Pair of 5 Craks (5 C, 5 C)

Fan Value of Middle Tiles

Under the Chinese rules, Middle Tiles is worth 24 fan. This high reward corresponds to the difficulty of confining an entire 14-tile hand solely to ranks 4, 5, and 6, especially given that you have limited chow options (only 4–5–6) and must avoid both lower (1–3) and higher (7–9) ranks, as well as any honor tiles.

Strategies and Considerations of Middle Tiles

Check Your Opening Hand: If you see several 4, 5, or 6 tiles—especially pairs or partial sequences like 4–5—you might consider pushing for “Middle Tiles.” Immediately throw away any 1–3, 7–9, or honors, to streamline your hand toward 4, 5, 6.

Limited Chow Option: The only chow available is 4–5–6, so you may form multiple chows if your draws (or opponents’ discards) align.

Pungs or Kongs: Another approach is collecting triplets of 4, 5, or 6. This might pair well with “All Pungs” in some scoring interpretations (though usually the higher-valued pattern supersedes smaller ones).

Predictable Discards: Throwing away anything that isn’t 4, 5, or 6 can tip off vigilant opponents. They might then withhold or carefully discard middle tiles. Because you only have three ranks (4, 5, 6) in three suits, monitor how many of each tile gets discarded or melded by others. If key 4, 5, or 6 tiles run low, your plan might fail.

Potential Combinations

• All Pungs: If you form only pungs of 4, 5, or 6, you effectively have “All Pungs.” Depending on local rules, the 24-fan “Middle Tiles” may overshadow smaller patterns, but it’s noteworthy if extra scoring is considered.
• One-Suit Variation: If all your 4–5–6 tiles end up being from the same suit, you might coincide with “Full Flush”, but typically only one top-tier pattern is counted.
• Concealed Hand: If you remain fully concealed and self-draw, you might stack minor bonuses, though it’s uncommon for a large pattern like “Middle Tiles” to rely solely on self-draw.

Restrictive Ranks: You must commit to 4, 5, 6. If your draws do not favor these ranks or if opponents hoard them, you could stall.