Calling a Discard and Choosing a Rack

Calling a Discard and Choosing a Rack

When your opponent discards a tile you can use to complete a group of three or more — a pung, kong, or quint — you may call it, just like in a standard game. What is different in Siamese is the extra decision: you choose which of your two hands receives the exposure.

The rack you pick is the rack that keeps it

Once you place the claimed tile and expose the group, it is pinned to that hand. You cannot slide an exposed group over to your other rack afterward. So before you call, ask which hand truly needs it — claiming a tile onto the wrong hand can leave your other hand short and lock you into a shape you did not want.

Two rules worth remembering

• You can never call your own discard, not even to feed your other hand. A discard is only available to your opponent.
• A discarded joker is dead and cannot be called by anyone.

If nobody calls, the turn passes and the next player draws. Because every exposure narrows one of your hands to a particular pattern, calling in Siamese is a commitment you make twice as carefully — you are steering not one hand but two.