Small Three Dragons (小三元) — 5 Faan

What it is

Small Three Dragons is one of the classic big hands in Hong Kong Mahjong. You need pungs (or kongs) of two of the three dragon tiles — Red (中), Green (發), White (白) — with a pair of the remaining dragon as your eyes. The other two melds can be anything: chows or pungs, any suit.

How to form it

A typical example: a pung of Red Dragons, a pung of Green Dragons, a pair of White Dragons, plus two ordinary melds. In practice the hand starts taking shape once you hold at least a pair of each dragon — pung two of them and keep the third as your eyes. There are only twelve dragon tiles in the wall, so watch the discards: once the third dragon is gone, the hand is dead.

Example hand — 5 Faan

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Common scoring mistake

The most common scoring argument is double counting: the 5 faan for Small Three Dragons already includes the two dragon pungs (1 faan each) — don’t add another 2 faan on top for 7. Also, if all three dragons are pungs it’s Great Three Dragons (8 faan), not Small.

Combines with

Small Three Dragons pairs naturally with Half Flush — one suit plus your dragons makes 5 + 3 = 8 faan. Self-draw or a concealed hand each add 1 more. If you end up with no suited tiles at all, you’re looking at All Honours instead.

Frequently asked questions

How many faan is Small Three Dragons?

Small Three Dragons is worth 5 faan in Hong Kong Mahjong: pungs or kongs of two dragon types plus a pair of the third. The 5 faan already includes the two dragon pungs.

What is the difference between Small and Great Three Dragons?

Small Three Dragons has pungs of two dragons plus a pair of the third (5 faan). Great Three Dragons has pungs or kongs of all three dragons (8 faan).

Does Small Three Dragons need to be concealed?

No. Dragon pungs claimed from discards count just the same. If your hand happens to be fully concealed, Concealed Hand adds 1 extra faan.

Related hands

See how this hand fits into the complete scoring table: