Riichi Mahjong is a strategic four-player game from Japan that combines elements of memory, probability, and risk management [1]. Often compared to poke...
Riichi Mahjong is a strategic four-player game from Japan that combines elements of memory, probability, and risk management [1]. Often compared to poker or gin rummy, the objective is to build a winning hand of 14 tiles and accumulate the most points over a series of rounds [2].
Riichi Mahjong is played with a standard set of 136 tiles, consisting of three numbered suits and several honor tiles [1]. Each game typically involves four players seated around a square table, each assigned a compass direction (Wind) that rotates throughout the match [2].
To begin, players must determine their initial seating positions. This is often done by drawing wind tiles (East, South, West, North) to assign the starting dealer, who is always East [12]. The game is usually played in two halves: the East round and the South round. Each player starts with a set amount of points, commonly 25,000 or 30,000 [12].
The 136 tiles are placed face down and shuffled. Each player then builds a "wall" in front of them, two tiles high and 17 tiles long [12]. These walls are pushed together to form a square. The dealer (East) rolls dice to determine where the wall will be broken to begin the deal. Once the break point is established, 14 tiles are set aside to form the "dead wall," and the remaining tiles form the "live wall" from which players will draw [1, 12].
Each player is dealt 13 tiles, starting with East. The dealer then draws a 14th tile to begin the first turn of the game. Throughout the game, a "Dora" indicator tile is flipped face-up on the dead wall. This tile indicates a bonus tile that adds value to a winning hand [12].
The 136 tiles are divided into three suits (Numbers) and two types of Honor tiles [1, 2]. Each of the 34 unique tile types has four identical copies in the set [1].
The Number Suits (Suited Tiles):
Honor Tiles:
Tiles numbered 2 through 8 are called "Simples," while 1s, 9s, Winds, and Dragons are collectively known as "Terminals and Honors" [1, 2]. Understanding this distinction is vital for scoring, as many winning patterns (Yaku) depend on whether your hand contains these specific tiles.
A standard winning hand consists of four sets of three tiles (Mentsu) and one pair of identical tiles (Jantou) [3]. These sets can be sequences, triplets, or quads [3].
Sequences (Shuntsu): A sequence consists of three consecutive numbers in the same suit, such as 4-5-6 of Circles [3]. Sequences cannot be made with Honor tiles, and they cannot "wrap around" (e.g., 8-9-1 is invalid) [3].
Triplets (Koutsu): A triplet consists of three identical tiles, such as three East Winds or three 7-Bamboos [3].
Quads (Kantsu): A quad is a set of four identical tiles. While it contains four tiles, it functions as a triplet for the purpose of the 4-set + 1-pair structure [8]. Declaring a quad requires drawing a replacement tile to ensure the hand remains at the correct size [8].
Pairs (Jantou): Every standard hand must have exactly one pair of identical tiles to act as the "head" or "eyes" of the hand [3, 9].
The game proceeds in a counter-clockwise direction, starting with the dealer (East) [2]. Each turn consists of a draw phase and a discard phase [1, 12].
A player begins their turn by drawing one tile from the live wall. They then examine their hand of 14 tiles and choose one to discard, placing it face-up in front of them in their discard pond [2]. Discards are arranged in rows of six to keep the table organized and to allow other players to track what has been played [2, 12].
During the brief moment after a tile is discarded, any of the other three players may "call" that tile to complete a set in their own hand [5]. If no one calls the tile, the turn passes to the player on the right. This cycle continues until a player declares a win or the live wall is exhausted [6, 11].
Calling a tile allows a player to complete a set using another player's discard, but it "opens" the hand, which can limit scoring opportunities [5]. When a tile is called, the completed set is revealed and placed to the side of the player's hand [5].
Chi (Claiming a Sequence): You can only call "Chi" on a discard from the player immediately to your left [5]. This completes a sequence.
Pon (Claiming a Triplet): You can call "Pon" on a discard from any player if you already have a pair of that tile in your hand [5]. Pon takes priority over Chi if both are called simultaneously [5].
Kan (Claiming a Quad): There are three ways to form a quad [8]:
Whenever a Kan is declared, the player draws a replacement tile from the dead wall and flips a new Dora indicator, increasing the potential value of all hands [8, 12].
Tenpai is the state where a hand is exactly one tile away from being complete [9]. While in Tenpai, a player is "ready" to win the moment their final tile appears [9].
A hand does not need to be revealed to be in Tenpai. In fact, keeping a hand "closed" (making no calls) is often a strategic choice [7]. While in Tenpai, a player must identify their "waits"—the specific tiles that would complete their hand [4]. A hand might wait for a single tile (Tanki wait), a middle tile in a sequence (Kanchan wait), or multiple tiles at the ends of a sequence (Ryanmen wait) [4].
Reaching Tenpai is crucial because if the game ends in a draw, players who are in Tenpai receive points from those who are not (Noten) [11].
Riichi is a unique bet made by a player with a closed hand in Tenpai, announcing to the table that they are one tile away from winning [7]. To declare Riichi, a player says "Riichi," discards their tile sideways, and places a 1,000-point stick on the table [7].
Declaring Riichi has several consequences:
A player wins by completing their 14th tile through either a self-draw (Tsumo) or by claiming another player's discard (Ron) [6]. To win, the hand must possess at least one Yaku (scoring pattern) [2].
Tsumo (Self-Draw): When you draw your winning tile from the wall, you declare "Tsumo." In this case, all other three players must pay a portion of the total points to the winner [6]. If the winner is the dealer, the other three players split the cost equally. If the winner is a non-dealer, the dealer pays half and the other two players split the remaining half [12].
Ron (Discard Win): When an opponent discards your winning tile, you declare "Ron." The player who discarded the tile is solely responsible for paying the full value of the hand to the winner [6].
If multiple players call Ron on the same tile, most rulesets (like WRC) use the "Atama-hane" or "Head Bump" rule, where only the player closest to the discarder's right wins [12].
Furiten is a restrictive state that prevents a player from winning on another player's discard if they have already discarded any of their potential winning tiles themselves [10]. This is one of the most important defensive mechanics in Riichi Mahjong.
There are three types of Furiten:
While in Furiten, you can still win via Tsumo (self-draw), but you can never win by Ron [10]. This rule allows players to look at an opponent's discard pile and know that those specific tiles are "safe" to discard themselves [10].
Scoring in Riichi Mahjong is calculated using two main units: Han (doubles) and Fu (minipoints) [12]. Han is determined by the number of Yaku (patterns) in the hand and the number of Dora tiles held [2].
The Scoring Process:
Scoring Thresholds (Mangan): When a hand reaches 5 Han (or 4 Han with enough Fu), it hits a cap called "Mangan" [12]. Above this level, Fu is no longer counted:
An exhaustive draw (Ryuukyoku) occurs when the live wall is completely depleted and no player has declared a win [11]. In this event, the "Noten Penalty" is applied.
Players must declare whether they are in Tenpai (one tile away) or Noten (not ready). Those in Tenpai reveal their hands to prove it [11]. The players who are Noten must pay a total of 3,000 points to the players in Tenpai [11, 12].
After the draw, the dealer position may rotate. Under "Tenpai Renchan" rules, if the dealer was in Tenpai, they remain the dealer for the next hand. If the dealer was Noten, the dealership passes to the player on the right [12].
Severe rules violations in Riichi Mahjong result in a penalty called "Chombo," which usually requires the offending player to pay a Mangan-sized penalty to the other players [12].
Common Chombo offenses include:
When a Chombo occurs, the current hand is voided, points are paid, and the hand is redealt [12].
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