Three Kongs

What Is Three Quads

Three Quads is one of the highest-paying 32-fan hands in Chinese Mahjong, requiring you to form exactly three kongs (four-of-a-kind melds) plus one additional meld and a pair. Although it can be challenging—and telegraphed once you start upgrading pungs to kongs—the payoff is tremendous. Balancing when to reveal your kongs, monitoring tile availability, and staying flexible if opponents block key copies are essential skills. Achieving “Three Quads” typically means a windfall of points that can change the entire dynamic of the game.

The Tile Pattern of Three Quads

Three Quads means your winning hand contains exactly three kongs (four-of-a-kind melds). A kong is formed when you have four identical tiles.

• Concealed kongs: You draw all four copies of a tile yourself (kept in your concealed hand until you declare it),
• Exposed kongs: You promote an existing pung (three-of-a-kind) by adding the fourth tile, or reveal all four copies at once if you call from a discard.

Once you have three separate kongs, you still need a fourth meld (which might be a chow, pung, or another kong, although the pattern specifically requires exactly three kongs for “Three Quads”) and a pair to reach a complete 14-tile winning hand.

Example:

• Kong 1: 1 B, 1 B, 1 B, 1 B
• Kong 2: 7 C, 7 C, 7 C, 7 C
• Kong 3: Red Dragons
• Chow: 3 D–4 D–5 D (your fourth meld)
• Pair: 9 B, 9 B

Fan Value of Three Quads

Under Chinese Mahjong rules, Three Quads is worth 32 fan. This is a very high-scoring pattern, reflecting the difficulty of collecting so many multiples of the same tile—especially since opponents may try to avoid discarding the fourth copy once they see you forming kongs.

Strategies and Considerations of Three Quads

Pairs into Pungs into Kongs: You often build up to a kong by first obtaining a pair or pung. Keep an eye out for tiles you already hold two or three of, and be cautious about discarding potential “fourth” copies.

When to Declare: You can delay announcing a kong (particularly a concealed one) if you do not want to reveal your strength or give opponents an immediate clue. On the other hand, declaring a kong lets you draw a replacement tile from the dead wall, which can hasten your win.

Melded vs. Concealed Kongs

• Concealed Kongs: Harder to form because you rely on self-drawing all four copies, but your opponents cannot directly stop you (besides keeping one copy in their hand). Concealed kongs are often more surprising and do not reveal your hand’s rank tiles until you declare.
• Exposed Kongs: Easier to assemble if you already have a pung displayed and draw or claim the fourth tile. However, once you show a pung, opponents see you might upgrade it to a kong and could hold back the fourth tile if they draw it themselves.

Signaling: Each time you declare a pung or a kong, you reveal part of your plan. If you have multiple kongs, opponents might guess you are going for “Three Quads” or even “Four Quads” (a higher-scoring, extremely rare pattern). They may attempt to withhold crucial tiles.

Potential Overlaps

• All Pungs: You already have three kongs (which are pungs with an extra tile), so your fourth meld might also be a pung. Typically, “Three Quads” (32 fan) is the higher-scoring pattern and supersedes smaller patterns like “All Pungs.”
• Seat Wind / Prevalent Wind / Dragons: Any kongs formed using your seat wind, the current round wind, or dragons add small bonus fan. Even so, the 32 fan from “Three Quads” is the primary prize.
• Self-Draw: If you remain concealed or self-draw your final tile, you might add a minor bonus. House rules vary on whether such small additions stack when a big pattern is involved.

Matching Four Copies: Forming three kongs requires collecting 3 × 4 = 12 identical tiles total, in sets of four. That can be tough if opponents catch on. Successfully completing “Three Quads” often swings the round heavily in your favor, especially if combined with other minor fan bonuses.