A Comprehensive and 100% Accurate Guide to Riichi Mahjong
Riichi Mahjong, the Japanese variation of the classic game, is a captivating blend of skill, strategy, and high-stakes betting. It’s a game of building a standard winning hand, but with unique rules that add layers of strategic depth. This guide will walk you through every essential detail, from the tiles and setup to the core mechanics that define Riichi.
1. The Tiles: Your Riichi Mahjong Set
A standard Riichi Mahjong set contains 136 core tiles. While many sets also include 8 bonus tiles (Flowers and Seasons), these are typically not used in standard Riichi play.
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Suit Tiles (108 tiles):
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Pinzu (ピンズ - Pinzu): Tiles with circles from 1 to 9. Four of each.
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Souzu (ソーズ - Sōzu): Tiles with bamboo sticks from 1 to 9. Four of each.
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Manzu (マンズ - Manzu): Tiles with a Chinese character on top and a numeral below, from 1 to 9. Four of each.
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Red Fives (赤ドラ - Akadora): Most sets include one or more "red five" tiles (one for each suit). These are special versions of the number 5 tile that count as a bonus Dora tile.
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Honor Tiles (28 tiles):
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Winds (風牌 - Kazehai): East (東), South (南), West (西), and North (北). Four of each.
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Dragons (三元牌 - Sangenpai): White (白), Green (發), and Red (中). Four of each.
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2. The Goal: A Winning Hand with a Yaku
The ultimate objective of Riichi Mahjong is to be the first to form a winning hand of four sets of three tiles and a single pair, for a total of 14 tiles.
However, simply forming the structure is not enough. Your winning hand must also contain at least one scoring element, known as a Yaku (役). If a hand has no Yaku, it is considered invalid and cannot win.
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Chow (チー - Chī): A sequence of three tiles from the same suit (e.g., 5, 6, 7 of Dots).
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Pung (ポン - Pon): A set of three identical tiles (e.g., three Red Dragons).
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Kan (カン - Kan): A set of four identical tiles. A Kan is functionally a bonus Pung that also awards extra points and triggers a new Dora tile.
3. Gameplay Flow: From Start to Finish
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Building the Walls: All 136 tiles are mixed face down. Each player builds a wall of 17 stacks, with each stack being two tiles high. The four walls are pushed together to form a square.
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The Deal: The dealer is determined by a dice roll. The dealer then deals tiles to all players until everyone has 13 tiles in their hand. The dealer (East) then draws one additional tile to begin the game, starting their first turn with 14 tiles.
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Drawing & Discarding: The dealer discards a tile to begin play. The turn proceeds counter-clockwise.
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On your turn, you draw a tile from the wall.
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Then, you must discard one tile from your hand.
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This cycle continues until a player declares a win.
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4. Calling for Tiles: Open vs. Closed Hands
You can claim a tile discarded by another player to form a set, but this has significant strategic implications.
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Chow (チー): You can only call a discarded tile for a Chow from the player to your immediate left.
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Pung (ポン): You can call a discarded tile for a Pung from any player.
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Kan (カン): You can call a discarded tile for a Kan from any player. When you form a Kan, you must immediately draw a replacement tile from the end of the wall.
Forming a set by calling a discard creates an "Open Hand" (副露 - Fūro). If you do not call any discards, your hand remains a "Closed Hand" (門前 - Menzen).
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Closed Hand Advantage: A closed hand is essential for declaring Riichi and is required for many high-scoring Yaku.
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Open Hand Disadvantage: An open hand cannot declare Riichi and often scores fewer points.
5. The "Riichi" Call: The Game's Signature Move
This is the most critical and famous rule in Riichi Mahjong.
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Condition: You can declare Riichi only when your hand is closed (no called sets) and you are one tile away from winning (tenpai).
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The Action: To declare Riichi, you must bet 1,000 points by placing a stick (often a 1,000-point stick) on the table. You then turn your final discard sideways to signal that you are in Riichi.
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The Gamble: Once you declare Riichi, your hand is locked. You cannot change any tiles, and any tile you draw that is not a winning tile must be discarded.
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The Payoff: If you win with a hand you declared Riichi on, you get a bonus Yaku (the Riichi Yaku) and a chance at extra points from the Ura-Dora.
6. Winning & Scoring
A hand wins by completing the four-sets-and-a-pair structure with a Yaku. There are two ways to win:
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Self-Draw (Tsumo - 自摸): You draw the winning tile yourself from the wall. In this case, all three other players pay you.
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Discard (Ron - ロン): You claim the winning tile from a discard made by another player. In this case, only the player who discarded the winning tile pays you.
The scoring system is complex but based on two key values:
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Han (翻): The number of Yaku in your hand.
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Fu (符): Points based on the complexity of your sets (e.g., Pungs are worth more than Chows).
The most important part of scoring is Dora (ドラ). Dora are bonus tiles that increase your Han value. The Dora are determined by the Dora Indicator Tile, which is revealed from the wall after the initial deal. Every tile that matches the Dora Indicator's "next" tile is a Dora. Red Fives are a simple type of Dora that always count.
7. Key Strategy for Beginners
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Aim for a Closed Hand: Try to build your hand without calling discards to keep your options open for the powerful Riichi call.
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Know Your Yaku: Learn the common Yaku early on, such as Pinfu (平和 - all Chows, closed hand) and Tanyao (断么九 - no terminals or honors).
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Defense is Key: As a game progresses, it's crucial to watch what other players are discarding, especially if someone has declared Riichi. Avoid discarding "dangerous" tiles that could complete an opponent's hand.
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The "Final Discard": If you are one tile away from a winning hand and are considering declaring Riichi, think carefully about the tile you will discard. Make sure it isn't likely to be an opponent's winning tile.
