Calling a Discard and Making an Exposure

Here’s where the game gets lively. If the tile someone just discarded completes a group of three or more in your hand, you can claim it — this is called calling.

The window, and the lock

Speak up right away, before the next player draws from the wall — that’s your window. Take the tile, place the finished group face-up on your rack (an exposure), then make your own discard. Once a group is exposed, it’s locked: you can’t rearrange those tiles later, except to swap a joker in or out.

You may only call to complete a group of three or more — never for a pair or a single. And if two players call the same tile, the one using it to win has first claim; otherwise priority usually follows the seating order, so agree on that before you start.

Where a Joker Can (and Can’t) Go

Pung of 5-Dot

✓ joker OK in a group of 3+

Kong of 3-Bam

✓ jokers OK

A pair

✗ no joker in a pair

A single

✗ no joker as a single

Original illustration. Jokers stand in for a tile inside any group of three or more. They may never be used in a pair or as a single tile.