shanten
Shanten is a term used in Japanese mahjong to describe the number of tile draws a player needs before a hand becomes a winning hand (called “reach” or “tenpai” in the next draw). The concept helps players gauge how close they are to victory and decide strategy during play. A hand that is already in a winning state has a shanten value of minus one, while a completed hand is sometimes said to have a shanten of minus one or zero depending on context. A shanten of zero indicates the hand is one tile away from winning. A higher positive value means more tiles are required.
The calculation for standard mahjong involves counting the number of sets (three tiles of the same rank
Shanten is also used in score prediction. By knowing the shanten count, a player can assess the