Straits MahjongZi Yi Se 字一色
Zi Yi Se is a hand made only of winds and dragons: four honour Pongs or Kongs and an honour Eye. In Singapore Mahjong it pays the limit, 5 tai.
Not a single number tile. Every set a wind or a dragon, and the Eye too. It’s a flush in honours, and it pays the limit.
Also called: All Honours
What It Is
Zi Yi Se (字一色, “words one colour”) is a hand made only of winds and dragons. Honours can’t make a Chi, so it’s four Pongs or Kongs and an honour Eye, every time. Claiming is fine.
It often overlaps with other big hands. Three dragon sets in it is Da San Yuan; four wind sets is Da Si Xi. They’re all limit hands, so you’re paid once either way.
What It Pays
| Table | Called | Worth |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Zi Yi Se | the limit, 5 tai |
| Hong Kong | Zi Yat Sik | the limit, 10 faan |
| Malaysian 3 Kaki | All Honours | the limit, 10 fan |
| Riichi | Tsuuiisou | yakuman |
At a Singapore table Zi Yi Se pays the limit, 5 tai, in place of every other tai: 128 points on a discard, 192 points on Zi Mo. Even the cheapest version, with no dragons and none of your winds, gets there.
How To Build It
Start with honour pairs. Four or five pairs of winds and dragons is a strong start, and every Pong you make on the way pays something if it’s a dragon, your Own Wind or the Round Wind.
Pong everything you can. You need four sets from just seven kinds of tile, and each kind has only four copies, so speed matters more than secrecy. The fallback is Pong Pong Hu with a lot of honour tai, which is no disaster.
Keep an eye on the discards. Two copies of a wind or dragon gone means you can’t make a set of it, and you’ll need another kind.
Your wait matters at the end. Waiting on two honour pairs gives you up to four winning tiles; waiting on a single honour for your Eye gives you three at most, and fewer once any are thrown. If you have the choice, keep the wait with more live copies.
How Others Spot It, And Bao
A player who claims three honour sets and throws every number tile is hard to miss. At that point, every honour you throw could finish them.
At a Singapore table that’s Bao: with three honour sets face up, a discard that wins them Zi Yi Se, or an honour they claim for a later Zi Yi Se, makes you pay the whole bill. Throw number tiles instead; none of them can finish this hand. Two dragon sets, or three wind sets, bring their own Bao cases as well.
At Other Tables
Hong Kong calls it Zi Yat Sik and pays the limit, the limit, 10 faan. Malaysian 3 Kaki pays All Honours the limit, 10 fan.
In Riichi, Tsuuiisou is a yakuman, and there it can also be made as seven different honour pairs. Seven Pairs doesn’t count at a Singapore table.