Nagashi Mangan
流し満貫 | Nagashi Mangan
Score a mangan at exhaustive draw when all of your discards are terminals and honors and none were called by other players.
By Kenji Tanaka · Updated
Overview
Nagashi mangan is a special hand scored at an exhaustive draw rather than by completing tiles. You earn it if, when the wall runs out, every tile you discarded during the hand is a terminal or honor (a 1, 9, wind, or dragon) and none of your discards were ever called by another player. It pays like a mangan, 8,000 for a non-dealer or 12,000 for a dealer, even though no winning hand is formed. It is an optional rule, so it is not used at every table, and details vary on whether your own tenpai status still matters for the usual draw payments. Because it depends entirely on your discards, nagashi mangan is something you stumble into more than plan for, though a hand dealt many terminals and honors can be steered toward it. Opponents can deny it simply by calling one of your terminal or honor discards.
Example Hand
1m 9m 1p 9p 1s 9s 1z 2z 3z 4z 5z 6z 7z 9m
Conditions
- The hand must reach exhaustive draw (ryuukyoku) — no one wins during the round
- Every tile you discarded during the round must be a terminal (1 or 9) or honor tile (winds and dragons)
- None of your discards were called by another player (no chi, pon, or kan on any of your discards)
- Your hand itself does not need to be tenpai or follow any particular shape
- Scores as a mangan payment (not counted in han)
- Not all rulesets include this yaku — confirm it is in play before relying on it
Strategy Tips
- Nagashi mangan is almost never something you plan from the start. It tends to happen naturally when you draw mostly terminals and honors while other players are focused on their own hands and ignoring your discards.
- Keep track of whether any of your discards have been called. A single pon or chi on one of your terminal or honor discards ruins the entire yaku, so be aware that your chance evaporates the moment someone calls on you.
- If you notice midway through a round that all your discards so far are terminals and honors, consider whether it is worth continuing the attempt. You may need to discard a non-terminal tile to defend, which would break nagashi mangan but could save you from dealing into a large hand.