LRC Taiwanese · Scoring rule
16 Orphans
16 Orphans scores 50 points for a hand holding one widely-gapped run in each suit — such as 1-4-7 — together with one of every wind and dragon and a single duplicate for the eyes. Like the 13 Orphans it is a structural special hand rather than a standard five-meld shape.
A worked example
One orphan-sheung per suit, where each pair of tiles differs by ≥3 (at least 2 numbers between, e.g. 1-4-7) + all 4 winds + all 3 dragons + 1 pair. 50 points.
1-4-7 (each pair differs by ≥3) in bamboo/character/circle + every wind & dragon + a duplicate 1-bamboo for the pair. Same values across all 3 suits also scores Sisters. (No All 5 Suits bonus — orphans always span all 5 suits by definition.)
Frequently asked
How many points is 16 Orphans worth in Taiwanese mahjong?
16 Orphans scores 50 pts in LRC Taiwanese 16-tile mahjong. 16 Orphans scores 50 points for a hand holding one widely-gapped run in each suit — such as 1-4-7 — together with one of every wind and dragon and a single duplicate for the eyes. Like the 13 Orphans it is a structural special hand rather than a standard five-meld shape.
What is an example of 16 Orphans?
1-4-7 (each pair differs by ≥3) in bamboo/character/circle + every wind & dragon + a duplicate 1-bamboo for the pair. Same values across all 3 suits also scores Sisters. (No All 5 Suits bonus — orphans always span all 5 suits by definition.) The full 17-tile hand scores 67 points in total.