Nagashi Mangan
By Kenji Tanaka · Updated
Definition
An optional rule that pays mangan at an exhaustive draw if every tile in your discard pile is a terminal or honor and no opponent ever called one of your discards. No completed hand is required. A single call against you, or one middle tile thrown, ends the attempt.
Nagashi Mangan
Nagashi Mangan (流し満貫) is an optional special scoring rule in Japanese mahjong that awards a mangan payment when the hand reaches an exhaustive draw (ryūkyoku) under specific conditions.
Nagashi Mangan at a glance
Nagashi mangan is awarded to a player at an exhaustive draw when they have discarded only terminal and honor tiles throughout the entire hand, and none of their discards were called (claimed by other players). The player receives a mangan payment regardless of their hand composition at the time of the draw.
The mechanics of Nagashi Mangan
Conditions for Nagashi Mangan
All of the following conditions must be met:
- The hand reaches an exhaustive draw (all tiles are drawn without anyone winning)
- The player has discarded exclusively terminal tiles (1s and 9s) and honor tiles (winds and dragons)
- None of the player’s discards were called by any opponent through pon, kan, or chi
- The rule is enabled (it is optional and not used in all rule variants)
Why This Rule Exists
Nagashi mangan recognizes the difficulty of maintaining a hand containing only simple tiles (2-8 of each suit) while discarding only terminals and honors. This requires careful tile management and strategic play. The rule adds an element of risk-reward gameplay, as players must decide whether to pursue this special condition or play more conventionally.
Important Distinctions
Nagashi mangan is only awarded at an exhaustive draw. If the hand concludes through a win (tsumo or ron), the standard scoring rules apply instead. Additionally, if even a single discard is called, the player cannot qualify for nagashi mangan, even if all subsequent discards are terminals and honors.
Application in Different Rule Sets
Nagashi mangan is common in casual play and is enabled on major online clients such as Tenhou and Mahjong Soul. It is not part of the EMA Riichi or World Riichi Championship (WRC) tournament rulesets. Players should always clarify whether nagashi mangan is being used before beginning play.
Nagashi Mangan in practice
During a hand, East player discards in this sequence: 1m, 9m, 1p, 9p, 1s, 9s, East wind, South wind, White dragon, 1m, 9p, East wind, 9s.
None of these discards are called by opponents. The hand reaches an exhaustive draw with no winner. If nagashi mangan is in effect, East player receives a mangan payment from all other players, despite their hand potentially being incomplete or worthless by standard scoring.
Conversely, if during this same sequence an opponent called the second 1m discard with pon, East player would no longer qualify for nagashi mangan, and would receive nothing at the exhaustive draw.
Related Terms
Mangan
満貫
Mangan is the first capped tier, where fu stops mattering: 8,000 points, 12,000 from the dealer. A hand gets there at 5 han, at 4 han with 40 or more fu, or at 3 han with 70. It marks the practical boundary between an ordinary hand and a game-swinging one, and every larger tier (haneman, baiman, sanbaiman, yakuman) is defined as a multiple of it.
Draw
流局
An exhaustive draw (ryuukyoku) ends a hand when the live wall empties with no winner. Hands are revealed, tenpai players collect from noten players out of a 3,000-point pool, and the dealer keeps or loses the seat by the same tenpai test. Many rule sets also recognize abortive draws: four riichi declarations, four kans across different players, or all four players discarding the same wind on the first go-around.
Terminal
么九牌
Terminals are the 1s and 9s, the tiles at the ends of each suit. They extend sequences in only one direction, which makes them less flexible than middle tiles but also safer to discard on defense, since fewer waits catch them. Several hands are built on them: chanta and junchan demand a terminal or honor in every block, and the yakuman chinroutou uses terminals alone. Grouped with the honors they form the yaochuuhai family.