Seat Wind

What Is Seat Wind

In Mahjong, each of the four players sits at a designated position associated with a wind: East, South, West, or North. This seat wind remains with the player, typically rotating after each hand or round according to the rules. A Seat Wind Pung is a three-of-a-kind set of exactly your own seat wind tiles. For example, if you are seated in the South position (your seat wind is South), collecting three South wind tiles forms a Seat Wind Pung.

The Tile Pattern of Seat Wind

Three Identical Wind Tiles: You must form a pung (three identical copies) of your seat wind. Example: If you are West seat, the set would be West, West West, West, West.

Concealed or Melded: In Chinese Mahjong rules, it does not matter whether you draw all three yourself (concealed pung) or claim a discard to complete the pung (melded pung). The fan value remains the same.

Fan Value of Seat Wind

Under standard Chinese Mahjong rules, Seat Wind Pung is worth 2 fan. This fan bonus is:

• Independent of whether your seat wind is also the prevalent wind (round wind).
• Stackable in certain scenarios if your seat wind coincides with the round wind. In that case, a single pung of that wind might earn both Seat Wind Pung and Prevalent Wind Pung bonuses.

Strategies and Considerations of Seat Wind

Early Tile Evaluation

• If you begin a hand holding one or two copies of your seat wind tile, it can be attractive to keep them, hoping to form a pung for an easy 2-fan boost.
• If you only have one wind tile and see others discarding it, forming the pung might become impossible—so stay flexible.

Synergy with Other Honor-Based Sets

• If you enjoy collecting honor tiles, you might combine a Seat Wind Pung with a Dragon Pung or Prevalent Wind Pung for additional high-value patterns.
• All Pungs or Half Flush with honors can also incorporate a Seat Wind Pung nicely.

Watching All Four Copies: Each wind tile has exactly four copies in the set. If too many of your seat wind tiles end up in the discard pile or in others’ melds, you may need to abandon the pung to avoid wasting time.

Opponent Awareness: If you meld a Seat Wind Pung, opponents immediately know you are at least 2 fan richer and might assume you are going for a pung-heavy hand. This can make them more cautious about discarding other honors or related tiles.

Overcommitting: While 2 fan is substantial, do not cling to a single seat wind tile if you have no promising path to get the other two. Discarding it early may be more efficient if you see your seat wind tile is not reappearing.

Seat Wind = Prevalent Wind: If your seat wind is also the current round wind, a single pung of that wind could grant both a Seat Wind Pung (2 fan) and a Prevalent Wind Pung (2 fan) simultaneously. Depending on the rule set, you might earn 4 fan total for that single pung.

Combining with Dragons: Pung-based hands often include Dragon Pungs, which also yield 2 fan apiece. A seat wind pung and a dragon pung together can rack up fan quickly.