Little Three Dragons

What is Little Three Dragons in Japanese Mahjong

Little Three Dragons is a two-han yaku in Japanese Riichi Mahjong. It centers on collecting two triplets (or quads) of dragon tiles and a pair of the remaining dragon tile, stopping just short of completing all three as triplets. Little Three Dragons is a powerful two-han yaku requiring exactly two dragon triplets and a pair of the remaining dragon. Because each dragon triplet also yields a Yakuhai bonus, Little Three Dragons hands can quickly rack up high han counts. While not as potent as Big Three Dragons, it remains a rewarding and relatively accessible way to build a high-scoring hand, whether you keep it concealed or call openly to assemble your dragon sets.

How to Achieve Little Three Dragons？

Two Dragon Triplets (or Quads): Among the three dragon suits—White, Green, and Red—you must form two distinct triplets (or quads). For instance, a triplet of White Dragons and a triplet of Red Dragons.

Pair of the Third Dragon: The third type of dragon must appear as your pair rather than a full triplet/quad. For example, if you have triplets of White and Red, your pair must be Green.

No Other Restrictive Requirements: Little Three Dragons does not require a fully concealed hand. You can call (pung/kong) the dragon tiles to form your sets. You still need the rest of your hand to form one more set (triplet or sequence) to reach the standard four sets + one pair structure.

Scoring: Little Three Dragons is worth two han. Each completed triplet/quad of dragons also counts separately as Yakuhai for +1 han each. Therefore, if you have two dragon triplets, that alone adds at least +2 han (one per triplet). Combined with Little Three Dragons two-han base, you can quickly accumulate four or more han before even considering other elements like dora.

What is the Strategy and Risk of Little Three Dragons?

Melding Dragons: Because you can openly call (pung/kong) dragon tiles, Little Three Dragons is typically easier to spot and pursue once you get at least one dragon triplet. Opponents, however, will often withhold discarding dragon tiles if they suspect you might be collecting them.

Rapid Point Accumulation: Dragons are also Yakuhai sets, so each dragon triplet boosts your han count individually. Plus, the two-han bonus for Little Three Dragons can catapult your hand to mangan (or higher) range when combined with dora or additional yaku.

Defensive Implications: When you reveal one or two dragon triplets, opponents become wary of discarding any of the remaining dragon tiles. They may also switch to a more defensive stance to avoid dealing into a potentially large-scoring hand.

Efficiency vs. Versatility: Chasing Little Three Dragons can sometimes constrain your tile choices—if you fail to get enough dragon tiles, your strategy might collapse into a less valuable hand. However, because each dragon triplet is worth yaku points on its own, you can still end with a decent score even if you cannot complete the pair for Little Three Dragons.

Little Three Dragons Example Hand

• Triplet of White Dragons
• Triplet of Green Dragons
• Pair of Red Dragons
• Additional Sets: For the remaining portion of your hand, you need either: Two sequences, or One sequence and one triplet, or Another triplet and one sequence, etc.

This formation grants Little Three Dragons (two han) plus 2× Yakuhai (one for each dragon triplet). If any of those triplets are concealed or if you add dora, your hand value increases further.