A player is tenpai (ready) when they need just one more tile to complete a winning hand. For example, if you have 4 complete melds and just need one tile to form a pair, you are tenpai. Being tenpai at the end of the game is critical.

When the wall runs out of tiles and no one has won, cha jiao settlement occurs. Players who are tenpai collect points from players who are not tenpai. If you are not tenpai when the wall runs out, you pay a penalty to every tenpai player. Always try to reach tenpai as the wall gets low!