There are only 5 steps to remember at first!
For mahjong beginners, there are 1) 34 types of tiles and the purpose of the game, 2) the action of "drawing 1 card and discarding 1", and 3) the challenge of ``four melds and one pair (4 3-card set + 1 pair)''. As long as you understand the 5 steps, ④ you need at least one ``yaku'' to move up, and ⑤ the score changes by declaring ``tsumo'' or ``ron,'' you can enjoy the first game right away. There is no need to memorize complicated scoreboards or rare yaku before sitting at the table!
- Know the tiles:Learn how to distinguish between manzu, pinzu, souzu and honor tiles
- Actions on your turn:Draw one card from the pile and discard one unnecessary card into the river.
- Create a rising shape:Align 4 sets of 3 discs (meld) and 1 set of 2 identical discs (pair)
- Add yaku:First, aim for riichi, yakuhai, or tanyao.
- Declaration of completion:If you draw it yourself, declare it ``tsumo'', if it's someone else's discarded tile, declare it ``ron''.
Before you start: mahjong is a "scoring game with different conditions"
riichi mahjong is a game in which each player exchanges tiles to form win and yaku shapes and exchanges points. In a typical four-player game, each game is played by four players: the East family, the South family, the West family, and the North family. After each game, players proceed to the next station according to their parent's continuation and seating order, and compete for ranking based on the total up to a predetermined division, such as an East-only game with only the East area, and an East-South game with East and South areas.
However, there are differences depending on the ruleset, such as starting points, return points, ranking points, red fives, intermediate points, consecutive games, round-up, and so on. This article will focus on the common parts of 4-player riichi mahjong, which beginners often come into contact with for the first time, and will limit the numerical examples to those examples. For actual matches, please check the rules for mahjong parlors, tournaments, homes, and online services first.
It's not about ``memorizing everything,'' but rather playing each game to the end while checking ``what to do on your turn,'' ``is it possible to win,'' and ``is there a yaku?'' You may check the score declaration with an experienced person or with a calculation function.
Read only 6 items before starting the match
Even in the same 4-player riichi mahjong, if the table changes, the settings that affect the result will change. Beginners are more likely to stop making decisions if they discover ``rules they didn't know'' midway through, so read the following 6 items together before starting. Check the rule details screen online, check the in-store notices and explanations of the facilitator when in person, and ask questions about words you don't understand before handing out the tiles.
- match length
- Check whether it is an East-only game or an East-South game, and whether there are ending conditions for overtime or final hands.
- starting points and ranking points
- What points should you start with and what points should you aim for when you finish? We will also discuss the handling of uma and tied rankings.
- yaku and dora
- Confirm the acceptance or rejection of kuitan, retrofit, one shot, red fives, ura dora, counting yakuman, etc.
- parents and current situation
- Check whether it is a win or hearing match, whether there is a midstream station, and the handling of no-ten penalty fu.
- Termination condition
- Check the end when there are no starting points, the end of the race, the end of the competition, and the ranking in case of a tie.
- declaration and ruling
- When in doubt, such as double rons, wrong rons, show tiles, fewer tiles, or more tiles, check whose ruling you should follow.
The purpose of this confirmation sheet is not to determine which method is correct. The goal is to share the hiring rules with everyone and proceed with each game under the same conditions. When comparing the results after the game is over, you can record the results separately for East-only games and East-South games, three-player mahjong and four-player mahjong, and the presence or absence of red fives, so you can look back on the results of different conditions without mixing them up.
There are 34 types of mahjong tiles, and a standard 4-player game has 136 tiles.
Mahjong tiles are divided into three types of numerical tiles and honor tiles that use letters. There are 9 types of numbered tiles: manzu, pinzu, and souzu, each numbered from 1 to 9. There are four types of honor tiles: east, south, west, and north, and three types of ternary tiles: white, red, and medium. The total is "9 types x 3 systems + 7 types = 34 types." In principle, there are 4 of the same tiles, so there are 34 types x 4 = 136 tiles.
manzuis represented by Chinese numerals and ``萬''.pinzuis the number of round patterns,souzucan be identified by the number of bamboo-like patterns. Only one string has a bird pattern. Honor tiles have no numerical order and cannot be combined east, south, south, north to form a sequence.
Number tiles 1, 9 and honor tiles are "么 Nine tiles"
Manzu, pinzu, souzu 1 and 9, and the 7 types of honor tiles are called Jiu tiles. The number tiles from 2 to 8 are medium tiles. This distinction is used many times when memorizing yaku such as tanyao, kizentai-kyu, junzentai-kyu, and kokushimusou. For beginners, it is enough to divide them into two groups: "1, 9, honor tiles" and "2-8".
Dora is not a type of tile, but a mark that adds points.
Dora determined from dora display tiles, red dora from red fives, etc. increase the number of han when held. However, dora alone does not make you a yaku. An important point for beginners is that even if you have three dora, you cannot win if you do not have one yaku such as riichi or yakuhai. The displayed tile and the actual dora may not be the same tile, so check them according to the rules on the match screen or tabletop.
4 locations: Seat, Parent, Venue, Own Wind and Tabletop
Each station has Azuma family.parentOne person, otherchildThere are three people. Starting from the East House, the South House, West House, and North House are lined up counterclockwise. The person facing you is in front of you, the upper house is on the left, and the lower house is on the right. The only opponent who can chi is the upper house, so learning how to call left and right early will make it easier to follow the progress.
atmosphereis the current overall wind. For the east field, the east is the field tile, and for the south field, the south is the field tile.own windis the wind at your seat, if you are in the east house, it is east, if you are in the south house, it is south. If you match 3 pieces of Bafu or Jifu, it becomes yakuhai. Please check the rule table for the fu and details of Renpu tiles, such as what to do when the Azuma family in the East field has 3 East cards.
The dora display tile is one of the king tiles turned face up. For example, if the display tile is 30,000, the next 40,000 is usually the dora. After 90,000 tiles, the next one is 10,000, next to the north is the east, and in the sanyuan tile, the next to the middle is the white. There are regulations that increase the number of displayed tiles when a kan is established, but the timing and upper limit for turning over are subject to the adoption rules.
The basic win type is "four melds and one pair"
Normal win type has 3 pieces as a set.meldis 4 pairs and 2 of the same tiles.pairis one set. Meld includes a sequence of 3 consecutive numbers, a triplet of 3 identical tiles, and a quad, which is a formal declaration of 4 identical tiles. A quad has 4 tiles, but a win type counts as one set of melds.
There are usually 13 tiles in hand. On your turn, draw the 14th card, and if you don't win, discard 1 card and return to 13. When you win, the 14 cards will be "3-disc set x 4 + 2-disc set x 1". Even if you publish meld by crying, the public part and the hand will make four melds and one pair.
There are exceptions, but you can put them off at first.
Shichipair, which creates 7 pairs of two identical tiles, and Kokushi Musou, which collects 1, 9, and honor tiles, are not four melds and one pair. However, for the first few games, it is sufficient to organize the tiles based on the normal shape. Start by being able to remember the name of the exceptional form when you see an extremely large number of paired tiles or 么 Nine tiles.
Flow of 1 game: Tile dealing, tsumo, discard, calling, win or flow
When the game begins, each player is dealt 13 tiles, with only the parent receiving 14 tiles due to the first discard. The parent discards one card, and then the South family, the West family, the North family, and the East family repeat the process of ``drawing a card from the pile → discarding a card.'' When you chi or pon a discarded tile from another family, do not do the normal tsumo, but place the revealed pair and then discard one. In kan, after revealing or confirming the quad, you draw one tile from the king and then discard it.
- See the tile allocationSeparate into completed melds, paired tiles, 2-piece sets that are easy to connect, and isolated tiles.
- 1 piece tsumoruLook at all 14 cards and judge whether your move is better than before.
- discard oneLeave the necessary pairs in yaku and four melds and one pair and place unnecessary tiles in the river.
- Check other families' discarded tilesSee if you can ron, if it's worth crowing, and if your turn has changed.
- win or flowA game ends when someone tsumo-rons or when the normal pile runs out.
If you lose a game, check to see if it's a non-ten or a no-ten.
If no one wins after drawing the normal pile, it is a lost game. In many rules, no-ten penalty fu is passed between the waiter, who is waiting for a winning tile, and the no-ten player, who has not yet reached the waiting state. If the parent is a playing tile, there is a method of consecutive winnings, but the type of midstream station, the continuation of the parent, and the handling of penalty fu differ depending on the rule set.
Beginners should follow the instructions at the table before lowering or opening their hands when playing a game. Although it is possible to have a wait without yaku even in the form of a cho-pai, the conditions for treating it as a ka-pai also depend on the adoption rules. Unless you can make a decision on your own, you can learn by asking someone to check the tiles without breaking them.
Distinguish sequence, triplet, quad, and pair
sequenceis a set of three consecutive tiles of the same type. 234 萬 and 678 tubes are sequences, but 234 and 891, which are a mixture of manzu, pinzu, and souzu, are lined up across the edges, and east-southwest lines are not sequences.tripletis the same 3 tiles,quadis the same four tiles made into a meld using the kan procedure.pairare two identical tiles, and only one is required for the win shape.
sequence
triplet
quad
pair
The two-disc set of meld candidates is called "Tarts"
The 2-disc set that is left until the sequence is Tarts. There are two sides, such as 450,000, which can receive 30,000 and 60,000 on both sides, 460,000, which waits for 50,000 in between, and 120,000, which waits for only 30,000 at the end. In general, there are many types of valid tiles on both sides, but the value left will change depending on the number of tiles visible in the field, yaku, dora, and safety level.
A pair of two identical tiles is also a meld candidate that grows into a triplet, and is also a pair candidate. When organizing your hand, divide it into completed melds, tarts, paired tiles, and isolated tiles. For more detailed counting methodmahjong's introduction to tile efficiencyYou can check the number of shanten and effective tiles in this order.
chi・pon・kan: When you cry, you become faster, but your hands are exposed.
The act of creating melds using discarded tiles from other families is collectively called ``mewl''. Chi is a declaration to create a sequence using the upper family's discarded tiles, pon is a declaration to create a triplet using anyone's discarded tiles, and Meiko is a declaration to create a quad of the same 4 tiles using someone's discarded tiles. There is also a dark game where you collect all four cards yourself, and a special game where you add a fourth card to the group that you hit.
When you cry, you can get the necessary tiles directly, which may shorten the number of steps required to win. Instead, the published pair cannot be returned to the hand and is no longer considered a closed hand. Closed hand limited riichi and closed hand Seijizokuwa cannot be used, and the number of han may decrease when playing three colors in order and mixed one colors. Calling where yaku disappears will cause you not to win even if the shape is completed.
chi
pon・yakuhai
calling procedure
- Immediately after the target discarded tile appears, announce "chi", "pon", and "kan" in an audible voice.
- Show the hand you want to use, take the discarded tiles, and make a set.
- Turn the tiles you received so that you can see who made the call and reveal them.
- Discard an unnecessary card from your hand. In Meikan, kan-specific procedures are followed, such as drawing the Minejo tile.
Details such as priority when pon and chi overlap on the same discard tile, dora display after kan, yari-ko, and shikai-ko are confirmed in the rules. It is safe for beginners to not rush to declare and knock down tiles, but to first express their intentions vocally and follow the progress of the table.
Understanding the declarations of riichi, tsumo, and ron
riichi is yaku who announces "closed hand hearing tiles"
riichi is a 1-han yaku that can be declared when you have a closed hand (chi, pon, meika, etc.) and are in a position to win with just one tile left. Generally, you place the discard tiles horizontally and deposit 1,000 point sticks. There are differences in the rules regarding whether or not you can participate when your starting points are less than 1,000 points or when there are few tiles left, so please check the acceptance rules.
After riichi, as a general rule, you cannot make a discard selection that changes the hand composition, and if the tile that you lost is not a winning tile, you must discard that tile. There are also detailed regulations regarding the conditions for allowing a dark spot where the waiting time does not change. Beginners should check the waiting tiles, the presence of yaku, the furiten of their discarded tiles, and the score status before playing riichi.
If you draw it yourself, tsumo, if it's someone else's discarded tile, ron.
tsumois a declaration that you will win with the tiles you drew from the pile. For closed hand, yaku is added, ``closed hand Seijizokuwa''. Even if you cry, you can win by tsumo if there is another yaku such as yakuhai or tanyao.ronis a declaration of winning with tiles discarded by other players. In ron, the person who made the deal-in pays, and in tsumo, as a general rule, everyone else pays according to the parent and child.
The two main reasons why you can't win are "furiten" and "no yaku"
You can't ron on furiten.
As a general rule, you cannot win if you have discarded any of your winning tiles. This is furiten by discarding tiles. For example, if you are waiting for Sanman and Rokuman, and there is Sanman in your river, you cannot ron even if Rokuman leaves another house. It is important to judge the entire wait as a set. However, it is possible to draw the winning tiles yourself.
There is also a temporary furiten where you can't win until the next time you win after you miss someone else's winning tile. If you miss a winning tile after riichi, the game becomes furiten after riichi, which you cannot win. Check your river before declaring, and if you are waiting for more than one, check all types. furiten is defensiveHow to think about genbutsu and safety tilesThis is an important rule that leads to
Even if the shape is completed, you can't win without Yaku.
It is not enough to complete four melds and one pair, at least one yaku is required. If you have a closed hand, it is easy to add yaku with riichi or closed hand Seijizokuwa, but you cannot use them after singing. Before deciding that "chi will be completed with just one more piece," check to see if there are any yaku that can be completed even after chirping, such as tanyao, yakuhai, and mixed isshiki.
dora is an additional element that adds to the number of han, and is not yaku itself. The same goes for red dora, ura dora, and kandora. A hand like dora3 without yaku cannot win. In the beginning, you can reduce the chance of failure by asking yourself, ``Can you explain this kind of yaku in one word?'' before making the cry.
5 yaku for beginners to learn first
Rather than memorizing all yaku in order of han number, it is more practical to memorize yaku from yaku, which is easy to appear and has a handmade policy. At first, I will prioritize the following five: riichi, closed hand Seizi Shuwa, yakuhai, tanyao, and pinfu. If you memorize the conditions for establishment and whether calling is possible, you can avoid the mistake of only creating a win form and no yaku.
| yaku | How to tell for beginners | calling | Caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| riichi | Listen to tiles with closed hand, play 1,000 point sticks and declare | Not possible | Check furiten and wait before declaring |
| closed hand | Draw a winning tile yourself with a closed hand | Not possible | Not attached to ron |
| yakuhai | Make a 3-disc set of white, red, medium, ba-kaze, or jikaze. | Possible | A guest-style triplet usually does not become yaku on its own. |
| tanyao | Make the entire hand with only a few tiles from 2 to 8 | Check rules | There are also regulations that do not allow kuitan. |
| Pinfu | closed hand, sequence 4 pairs, non-yakuhai pair, waiting for both sides | Not possible | Satisfy all configuration conditions without fu |
In exchange for making it difficult to change the contents of the hand, riichi secures yaku and has the possibility of Ura dora and one shot. Since yakuhai is valid even if you make a pon, it is an entry point for beginners to play and aim for a win. tanyao does not use 1, 9, or honor tiles, so it is easy to expand the shape, but we also check whether or not the bite tongue will be used. Although there are many conditions for pinfu, you can learn the basics of sequence and tile efficiency that leaves both sides intact.
After five yaku, we expand to ichisakaguchi, sanshiki doshu, mixed ichishiki, taiwa sum, shichi taiji, etc. Differences between similar yakus, such as number of hans per yaku, closed hand only, calling possible, and fallingriichi mahjong's yaku listIt is summarized in For local yaku and yakuman details, prioritize the yaku table of the matching ruleset.
Scores are determined by "han, fu, parent and child, rontsumo"
The basic point of common riichi mahjong is the sum of yaku and dorahan, it is attached to waiting and meld etc.fuFind it from Furthermore, the payment method changes depending on whether the winner is a parent or child, Ron or Tsumo. Mankan and above are handled in the upper limit according to the number of han, and there are rules for rounding up mankan and counting yakuman.
| win | person who pays | What beginners should look at first |
|---|---|---|
| child ron | One person who made a deal-in | Check child's ron points |
| parent ron | One person who made a deal-in | Same han/fu but higher than child |
| child's tsumo | one parent and two children | The amount paid by the parent and the amount paid by the child are different. |
| parent's tsumo | three children | three people pay the same amount each |
For example, even if you get 2 han with "riichi, dora1", if you don't know fu, parent and child, ron and tsumo, you won't be able to decide on one final score. If there is a riichi stick, it will be added to the payment, and if there is a riichi stick, the winning party will generally receive the deposit. Priority for doubling, stacking sticks, and deposits vary depending on the rules.
Point sticks movement is calculated by pairing "people who have increased" and "people who have decreased"
In the example where everyone starts with 25,000 points and child A wins 1,000 points from child B, person A will have 26,000 points, person B will have 24,000 points, and the other two will still have 25,000 points. The total of 100,000 points for 4 people remains unchanged. With tsumo, you can write down the three people paying separately and check if the amount is different for the parent and child. The deposited riichi sticks have already been reduced from the declarer's starting points and moved to the table, so we will avoid double deduction when the winner receives them.
If you use this method of leaving ``from whom, to whom, and how many moves'' on each line, you can find input errors from the totals even if you do not memorize the score sheet. In the real game or in a game with multiple wins, the basic win points, stacks, and deposits are placed on separate lines and added up at the end.
In the first match, you will say the yaku name, han number, parent and child, ron and tsumo out loud, and match the answers using the scoreboard and calculation function. Calculation order including fu, typical payment table, and examples of seven pairs and pinfu aremahjong score calculation guideYou can learn step by step.
The overall match ranking points and P are different from the win points.
Starting points/return points, uma, oka, etc. may be used when converting the starting points at the end of a match into a ranking after moving point sticks for each station. In addition, rates, tips, and table fees may be managed in units of P in records among friends. It is important not to mix win points and final points, but to separate the calculation stages. For more detailsmahjong's profit and loss calculation methodPlease refer to
Checklist for each round during the first round
There is no need to immediately search for the best move from the tiles. First, while sorting out the isolated honor tiles and scrap tiles, count the 2-disk sets that are connected to the completed meld. Then, check the yaku path suji, dora, parent and child, and riichi of other families. You can reduce the amount of information by repeating the following order every time.
- Without kan, hand is 14 cards:14 cards after tsumo, return to 13 cards after discard. Chi・Pon's public melds are also included in the count. The number of actual tiles increases by one for each pair of kan, so immediately after drawing the tile after kan, the number of actual tiles increases by that amount.
- Some completed melds:Enclose the sequence/triplet first and search for pair candidates and tarts.
- What yaku to aim for:If it is a closed hand, choose riichi, and if Sangen tiles, Ba Kaze, and Jifu are paired, choose yakuhai.
- What should I draw to move forward:Raise the valid tiles from both sides, mebari, hebari, and pair, and check the number of tiles that are visible.
- Doesn't the discarded tile break the yaku?Leave the necessary tiles such as 2 to 8 for tanyao, one color and honor tiles for mixed one color.
- Does it correspond to riichi?When the other house is riichi, check not only the progress of the hand but also the safety level of genbutsu etc.
- Are there any waiting tiles in your river?Check the furiten before the hearing tiles, riichi, and ron.
In the early stages, the width of the effective tiles becomes more important, in the middle and later stages, the emphasis is on hitting points and safety, and in the final stages, the importance of flow and ranking conditions increases. However, there is no one-size-fits-all threshold that you should always follow. Combine your shanten number, RBI, wait, parent and child, score status, and opponent's information. Rather than trying to perfect tile efficiency and defense at the same time, it will be easier to track your progress if you only look back at one aspect of each game.
10 mistakes that beginners often make
| failure | why do you wake up | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| trying to ron without yaku | I'm only looking at the finished product | Check if you can say one yaku name |
| I think you can win with just dora. | You are confusing dora with yaku | Look for yaku other than dora first |
| ron on furiten | I'm only looking at one side while I'm waiting | Compare the whole wait with your own river |
| I cry and can't do riichi anymore | I don't know the closed hand condition | Check the yaku that remains after crying |
| I think yaku was added to the customer style. | The distinction between field wind and own wind is ambiguous. | Check the station and your own wind in the center of the table |
| Proceed without discarding after chi/pon | I forgot to discard after taking in one card with calling. | Place a public meld and then discard one. |
| Breaking the order of discarded tiles | put the river in an empty place | Follow the format of the table, such as 6 cards from left to right. |
| Defeat hand first and get a false win | Yaku/Waiting/Insufficient confirmation of declaration | Declare it with your voice and then open it according to the steps. |
| Remember only the scores and forget the conditions | Mixing parent and child, rontsumo, and fu | Read the conditions first |
| Mix three-player mahjong and four-player mahjong results | Aggregate as the same "mahjong" | Record formats and rules separately |
A failed game can be used as a teaching material if you keep a short record of what you didn't know in addition to the results. Change the words to words you can confirm next time, such as ``I thought Minami was yakuhai and pon'', ``I overlooked Rokuman's self-cutting before riichi'', and ``I reversed the payment of my relative tsumo''. This is because even if you simply record that you were not good at something, it is difficult to change your behavior.
When a team is at a loss in defense, it is important not to treat the hands of other players that were not seen as confirmed information, even if they review the rivers and hands later. genbutsu, suji, and kabe also have scope. How to organize information for each person without deciding what is safe in a fixed mannermahjong push-fold and defenseIt is explained in.
Basic etiquette for face-to-face and online mahjong
When meeting face-to-face, give priority to voices and movements that indicate progress.
- tsumo, ron, riichi, chi, pon, and kan should be pronounced in a clear voice first.
- Distinguish the Tsumo tiles before mixing them into the hand, and do not break the piles or rivers of tiles until a win or confirmation is completed.
- Place the discard tiles in your own river in order and do not change them after releasing the discard.
- Don't give unnecessary advice or criticism to other players' hands or discards, and only give explanations to beginners after the game is over.
- If you are not confident in reporting your score, ask for confirmation by telling them yaku, han, fu, and parent and child. Do not move the point sticks while remaining vague.
- Follow the start times, breaks, eating and drinking, smartphones, and point sticks for each table.
Priority for declarations, handling of vocalizations, penalties for showing tiles, lower backs, wrong hands, fewer tiles, and more tiles vary depending on competition regulations and stores. Let them know before you start that you are a beginner, and if in doubt, ask the facilitator before moving any tiles. Precise movement that does not break the situation is more important than speed.
When online, read the time limit and table rules first.
In online matches, tsumo and discard progress automatically, and the screen also handles vocalization and point sticks exchange. Instead, check the time limit, handling when disconnected, automatic win/calling settings, three-player mahjong specific rules, etc. before entering the room. If you enable calling confirmation all the time, it will be easy to stop the progress, so be sure to keep in mind the tiles and yaku you need when setting.
Avoid insulting opponents, obsessively reacting to results, and intentional delays, even if there is chat or name display. Whether in person or online, other players are not your practice partners, but participants in the same game. Rather than looking solely at the opponent's style of play as the reason for the loss, look back on the information and choices you were able to observe.
Progress from first game to review in 7 days
Arrange the manzu, pinzu, souzu, and honor tiles and say out loud 1-9 and east-south-south-south-south-north-of-white. Red fives are treated as the same type as regular fives.
Mix sequence and triplet and put pair at the end. For exceptional forms such as seven pairs of children, just check the name.
Draw 1 card from 13 cards and discard 1 card, leaving the completed meld and tarts. Count the number of cards after each turn.
I will explain riichi, closed handtsumo, yakuhai, tanyao, and pinfu as a set, whether they are limited to closed hands or can be called.
In East-only games and practice tables, the goal is to follow the procedure rather than winning. When you lose a game, check the shape of the playing tiles.
Use the winning hand to check han, fu, parent and child, and rontsumo. In the scenes where I couldn't do it, I looked at my own river.
Look at the match results and notes and decide on one thing to check next time, such as comparing yaku after calling, comparing isolated tiles, and dealing with riichi.
The goal is not to be able to win in 7 days. It is sufficient to be able to confirm the terms and procedures yourself, and to turn any points you don't understand into more specific questions. After that, we will dig deeper into yaku, point calculation, tile efficiency, and defense one by one. Since results can fluctuate greatly in a short period of time, we do not decide on a learning method based only on the ranking of a few games, but instead accumulate records using the same format and rules.
mahjong beginners' frequently asked questions
Where should I start learning mahjong?
You will learn the four classifications of tiles, the procedure for drawing one and discarding one, four melds and one pair, the condition that yaku is required, and the difference between tsumo and ron. You can memorize the score sheet and all yaku later. For the first match, candidates are riichi, closed handtsumo, yakuhai, tanyao, and pinfu.
Can I match if I don't remember all yaku?
You don't need to remember everything. If you have a closed hand, aim for riichi, and if you have a triplet of Sanyuan tiles or Ba Kaze/Jifu, check yakuhai. If the bird crows, first check to see if the yaku remains after the crow. If you don't know the yaku, check the yaku list after the game.
Can I win if I have dora?
Dora alone cannot win. Dora is a tile that adds han number, but it is not yaku. At least one yaku is required, such as riichi, yakuhai, tanyao, etc. The same idea applies to red dora and ura dora.
Is it better to use chi/pon more actively?
If you cry, the hand may advance, but you will lose the closed hand limited riichi and closed handtsumo, and part of the hand will be revealed. Make a decision by checking whether yaku remains, which tile will win, and whether there are fewer tiles that can be used for defense. You don't have to squeal every time just because of the speed.
Can I use tsumo with furiten?
Even if you have a winning tile in your discarded tiles, you can still draw the winning tile yourself. As a general rule, it is ron that cannot be done. In multiple waits, even if you discard part of the wait yourself, the entire wait becomes furiten.
Is it better to use riichi for beginners?
riichi is an easy choice that allows you to secure Yaku, but as a general rule, you cannot change your hand after declaring, and you will have to deposit 1,000 point sticks. Check the wait, furiten, round, score situation, and other players' attacks and make a selection. It is not a rule that ``if you hear a tile, you must riichi.''
Should I memorize the score calculation?
At first, we recommend that you identify yaku and han numbers, parent and child, ron and tsumo, and check them using a score sheet or calculation function. Once you get used to it, you can start memorizing the frequent forms such as 30fu and 40fu. When calculating calculations that involve exceptions, it is easier to spot errors if you study each condition separately.
Is the same rule for three-player mahjong?
The basic meld and yaku have some things in common, but there are big differences in the tiles that are not used, the treatment of north, chi, tsumo payment, starting points, uma, etc. Furthermore, services and tables differ between three-player mahjongs. Please save the recruitment rules and do not mix them with the four-player mahjong records. For more detailsThree-player mahjong's profit and loss management methodYou can check it here.
How many shots do you need to hit to know that you've improved?
It cannot be determined based on the uniform number of matches. Average placement etc. can vary greatly with a small number of samples. We have the same format, rules, period, and competition conditions, and look back not only on the rankings but also on the types of mistakes and decision-making procedures. How to read the indicatorsmahjong average placement and performance metricsPlease refer to
References and scope of this article
- What is M League? (M League Organization General Incorporated Association): Check the M League recruitment regulations such as 4-player, tiles used, progress, scores and ranking points.
- WRC Rules（World Riichi Championship）: Entrance to riichi mahjong competition rules and current materials.
- Downloads / Materials for Players（World Riichi Championship）: Yaku list, score sheet, materials for players.
- Rules (Supreme Match Japan Professional Mahjong Association): Public regulations including the differences between the highest level battle rules and the Classic rules.
Each document is a named set of rules adopted by each organization/competition. This article paraphrases the common parts for beginners, but the regulations of a specific organization are not considered to be the only standards for the entire riichi mahjong. When making a match, please give priority to the table's rule list. The yaku table, score sheet, and explanatory text are not reproduced, but are rearranged independently according to the learning order. Document confirmation date: July 25, 2026.