Straits MahjongThirteen Wonders 十三幺
Thirteen Wonders is a hand of one of each 1 and 9, every wind and every dragon, with any one of them doubled. In Singapore Mahjong it pays the limit, 5 tai.
The one hand that breaks every rule about sets. Thirteen different tiles, all from the edges of the game, and one of them doubled.
Also called: Shi San Yao, Thirteen Orphans
What It Is
Thirteen Wonders (十三幺, Shi San Yao, also Thirteen Orphans) is the 1 and 9 of each suit, all four winds and all three dragons, one of each, plus a second copy of any one of them. No Chi, no Pongs, no Eye in the usual sense. You can’t claim anything for it except the winning tile.
What It Pays
| Table | Called | Worth |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 13 Wonders | the limit, 5 tai |
| Hong Kong | Sap Saam Yiu | the limit, 10 faan |
| Riichi | Kokushi Musou | yakuman |
At a Singapore table it pays the limit, 5 tai, and in this game it’s always paid as a Zi Mo, even when you win on a discard: everyone pays, 192 points in all.
It can also rob a concealed Kong. If someone declares a concealed Kong of the very tile you’re waiting for, you may take it and win. No other hand can do that here. (This is a house rule, on as standard; a winner nearer the discarder still goes first on an ordinary discard.)
When To Try
Count your 1s, 9s and honours after the deal. With nine or ten different ones, it’s a real option, because you only need a handful of specific tiles and anyone’s discard of them will do for the last one. With six or seven, build something normal.
The great thing about this hand is the wait. Hold all thirteen kinds once and you’re waiting on any of them: thirteen kinds of winning tile. Hold twelve kinds and a pair, and you need the one missing kind.
The danger is that it’s an all-or-nothing hand. If it fails, your tiles make nothing else. Give up early if two copies of a kind you still need are gone.
How Others Spot It
With no claims, the hand gives little away. What gives it away is the discards: a player throwing middle tiles, 4s, 5s and 6s, from the first turn and keeping every honour is either very cautious or chasing this.
There’s no special Bao for Thirteen Wonders at a Singapore table. Late in the hand, though, the general rule still bites: with five or fewer live tiles left, a fresh tile (one nobody has thrown yet) that wins makes you pay for everyone. Late in the wall, an unseen honour is exactly the tile it’s waiting on.
At Other Tables
Hong Kong’s Sap Saam Yiu is a limit too, the limit, 10 faan. Malaysian 3 Kaki plays only one numbered suit, so the hand can’t exist there.
In Riichi, Kokushi musou is a yakuman, and the thirteen-sided wait is a double yakuman in this game. It’s the only hand allowed to rob a concealed kan there too.