Live Wall vs Dead Wall

Understand which tiles are drawn in normal play and after kongs.

Concept

Draw from the live wall for normal draws, and dead wall for replacements.

After the dice break, the wall has two distinct ends. The live wall is the main draw pile: after the initial deal, ordinary turns draw from the live wall in order.

The dead wall is a reserved section of 14 tiles, or 7 stacks. After the break is made, those 7 stacks are taken from the back side of the break, opposite the side where the dealer starts taking tiles.

The dead wall is used for replacement tiles. When a player declares a Kong, they also draw the replacement tile from the dead wall before discarding.

If the live wall runs out before anyone wins, the hand ends in a draw. The dead wall does not become a normal draw pile.

Visual example
Rule in plain English

Draw from the live wall, unless you had a Kong.

Normal draws come from the live wall. The dead wall is reserved for Kong replacement tiles.

Interactive check

Choose the right wall area.

On a normal turn, where does a player draw from?

How large is the standard dead wall reserve?

After the break is made, which stacks become the dead wall?

Which event uses the dead wall?

Not complete
Takeaway

Live wall is ordinary play; dead wall is replacement reserve.

Do not use the dead wall as a normal draw pile. Only use it for Kong tile replacements, which you will learn about in more detail in later sections.