Japanese mahjong, also known as riichi mahjong, is a variation of mahjong. While the basic rules to the game are retained, the variation features a unique set of rules such as riichi (declaring you are one tile away from winning) and the use of dora (bonus tiles). This variant is one of a few styles where discarded tiles are ordered rather than placed in a disorganized pile. This is primarily due to the sacred discard (furiten) rule, which takes player discards into account. The variant has grown tremendously in popularity due to anime, manga, and online platforms.
Riichi mahjong can seem fairly complex game for beginners to pick up, but the key aspects and basics are easy to learn. Keep in mind this is not a comprehensive guide to all the rules and edge-cases that exist in the game.
The Tiles
Japanese Riichi mahjong is typically played using the 144-tile standard mahjong set (Characters/Cracks, Bamboos/Bams, Dots, Dragons, Winds, and Flowers), but it should be noted that the flowers are unused for Riichi Mahjong. Alternatively, an American set (152 tiles) can be used, but the eight joker tiles should be removed.
An optional rule is that one five from each suit being replaced with a red five tile.
Basic Rules of Japanese Riichi Mahjong
Every turn goes the same way:
- Draw a tile from the wall or by take the tile that somebody just discarded
- Try to make a winning hand! The goal is to arrange your tiles into four sets of three (meld) and one pair. If you can't, go to step 3.
- Discard a tile in the center of the table, officially ending your turn.
- Immediately after a tile is discarded, someone else can take it to form a meld or to complete their winning hand. If nobody takes the discarded tile, that tile is out of play for the rest of the game and the next player draws from the wall.
By default, the next player is the player to the right (counterclockwise). Even if it is not your turn yet, this is not a time to sit idle. Although the next person is the player to the right by default, there are certain circumstances that allow somebody to jump ahead to call a discarded tile. Also, even if you are unable to call the tile, it is important for you to know what is thrown and what is out of play, so that you are not waiting for it in vain later on.
Playing
Like most variants of mahjong, Japanese mahjong is intended for four players. Rules and customs for dealing the tiles out vary from version to version and table to table.
Setting up the Wall
The first step is shuffling the tiles and building the wall. Turn the tiles face side down and give them a good shuffle or “wash”.
Then, each player should build their segment of the wall, which should be 17 tiles long and 2 tiles high (34 tiles total). Maneuver the wall segments to form a closed square.
Determining The Dealer
The next step is to determine the dealer. At the start of the first game, shuffle one each of the wind tiles face-down, then have each player turn one up and take the respective seat. After each game, the next person to the right (counterclockwise) becomes the dealer. The round wind always starts at East. After each hand, the dealer changes. After 4 hands, one complete rotation of dealers, the round wind changes in order of East, South, West, and North.
Breaking the Wall
Once the dealer has been selected, the dealer rolls the dice to determine the starting wall. Let’s say you are the dealer and you roll a seven.
Starting with your own wall, count the walls in front of each player, moving counterclockwise around the table: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. You should now be pointing at the wall of the player to your left. Fun fact: if you roll a multiple of 4, you will land on the wall in front of you.
The next step is to determine where to break the wall.
Use the same number from determining the starting wall. Starting on the end of the wall segment closest to you, count out seven tiles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Pick up that seventh tile (since you rolled a seven) because it counts from the indicated player's right to his left (not players but tiles this time) the total sum of the rolls. The tiles immediately after become the draw wall.
The wall is basically like a long deck of cards wrapping around the table in a square. The draw wall is like the top of the deck where the tiles will be dealt from and where the players will draw tiles from during gameplay. The dead wall is like the bottom of the deck, from which players only occasionally draw in order to replace tiles for kan (four-of-a-kind melds). The wall must be broken in order to separate the ends of the draw wall and the dead wall. The dora indicator is the third tile from left where it was cut from the draw wall. Flip over that tile and the dora will be the next tile. e.g. 3 Bamboo indicator means 4 Bamboo Dora
Dealing the Hand
The next step is dealing the tiles. Starting from the draw wall, deal yourself four tiles (2 stacks). Whoever is sitting in front of the draw wall should help out with this. Continuing to the right (counterclockwise), deal each player four tiles in the same manner. Repeat this for one more round until all players have a total of 12 tiles. After grabbing 12 tiles, each player grabs 1 more tile for a total of 13 tiles. As the dealer, you should grab a 14th tile from the draw wall as your first draw, because you will be the first to discard.
Getting and Calling Tiles
The main way to get a tile is to draw it from the draw wall.
You can also call on a tile when somebody discards it if it completes a a valid combination of three or four tiles, also known as a meld, or a winning hand. The called tile must be displayed face up with the completed meld. This open meld cannot be altered for the rest of the game. The discarded tile must be called immediately or else the tile becomes dead and will remain in the discarded tile area for the rest of the game.
When a player discards the tile, other players may call it if it completes a set or their entire hand. There are four different types of calls for discarded tiles:
- Chii: This is the call to complete a sequence. The chii call can only be used for discards from the player immediately to the left of the player calling
- Pon: This is the call to complete a triplet. The pon call can be used for discards by any player
- Kan: This is the call to complete a kan. The kan call can be used for discards by any player. This call is also used when the player has four of the same tile in their hand and wishes to declare it as a kan, or has a previously melded pon and then draw the fourth tile, allowing them to upgrade it to a kan.
- Ron: This is the call when a player is in tenpai (i.e. only needs one more tile to win) and another player discards the last tile required to complete their winning hand. Ron can be called from any player.
After a set has been called, the tiles are placed face-up to the right of the player who called them. The called tile is rotated so that it is sideways, and is positioned to indicate which player discarded it, e.g. if the right tile is turned sideways then it indicates the player to the right discarded it. For example, the sequence meld below indicates that the player to the left discarded the 6 bamboo tile in a 567 set.
FAQ: What Happens If Two People Want to Call a Discarded Tile?
In general, priority is given based on what the tile is being called for: winning takes precedence over pons and kans. If more than one player needs the discarded tile for ron/mahjong, it goes to whoever is closer in turn after the person who discarded the tile.
Arranging Your Tiles
Remember, the goal of mahjong is to have all of your tiles arranged into four melds and one pair. After getting a tile, you should arrange your tiles and attempt to incorporate your new tile into your hand.
As discussed above, kong is a four-of-a-kind, which may be formed from a discarded tile. Related to kan is a concealed kan when you have four-of-a-kind that’s hidden in your own hand, which means that you drew it yourself and did not complete it using a discarded tile. In this case, because it’s concealed, the identity of the tile is valuable information and should not be displayed. But because it is a four-tile meld, you must declare it and get a tile from the dead wall. Turn the outside tiles facedown to mark it as a concealed kan. Just like with open meld, your secret tiles will be out of play the rest of the game with no changes permitted.
Another related concept is open melded kan. Open melded kans are generally locked in and cannot be changed. If you created a pon from a discarded tile, and later on, somebody throws the fourth matching tile, you will not be able to kong the discarded tile, because your pon was already open. However, there is a special exception: if it’s your turn and the tile that you draw from the wall happens to be the fourth matching tile, then you can add it to your completed pon. Declare the open melded kan and set the matching tile on top of the middle tile of the pon. Since this is now a four-tile meld, you must draw a replacement tile from the dead wall.
Discarding a Tile
Generally you want to discard tiles that do not go with any of the other tiles in your hand to help you form appropriate melds. If you can figure out what other players need, you should try to avoid discarding those tiles.
Arranging Your Discards and Called Tiles
Discards are arranged on the floor in front of their respective discarded in rows of six, placed from left to right.
Tiles claimed are rotated 90 degrees within the set to show which player had discarded it.
Winning
A winning hand consists of 14 tiles (excluding kans), which will almost always be four sets plus one pair. A crucial condition for the player is that the winning hand must contain a yaku. A yaku is a special pattern in the hand which increases its value and points. This is a key difference to Chinese mahjong and serves to stop players from winning quickly with extremely cheap hands, meaning that higher scoring hands are more plausible, increasing the strategy and excitement in the game. For beginners, the easiest to remember yakus to aim for are:
- Triplet of players own wind, wind of round, or dragon (Yakuhai)
- No 1s or 9s tiles, winds, or dragons in hand (Tanyao)
- Hand is consists of only sequences. Pair is not the player’s own wind, wind of round, or dragon. Hand is closed. Winning tile wait is two sided for a sequence (Pinfu)
- Same sequence twice, hand is closed (Iipeikou)
- Hand that has 1, 9, wind, or dragon in each meld and the pair ( Chanta)
- Hand is fully concealed and player makes Riichi bet, see below (Riichi)
- Hand is closed and win is by self-draw (Menzen Tsumo)
- Hand is all triplets plus a pair (Toitoi)
- Hand uses only a single suit plus honor tiles (Honitsu)
It’s quite important for a player to become familiar with the more common win conditions (yaku), and it can be extremely useful to have a list of win conditions (yaku) in hand to consult during the game until the player is more experienced similar to the NMJL Card for American Mahjong.
Each win condition (yaku) will add a multiplier to the value of the hand, known as han (or fan), which doubles the value. Some yaku are worth multiple han, and therefore can increase the hand value by 4 or 8 times.
A player can either win by the call win/mahjong (ron) or by self-draw (tsumo). Ron is the call when the winning tile is discarded by another player. This winning tile can be called regardless of which player discards it, and regardless of whether it forms a meld or completes the player’s pair. Tsumo is the call when the player draws the tile themselves out of the wall at the start of their turn.
Open & Closed
Hands and sets can both be described as in either an open state, or a closed state.
A player’s hand is referred to as ‘closed’ if they have not made any pon, chii or open kan calls from other players. There are several win conditions (yaku) which are worth more if the hand is closed compared to open, and in the case of all sequences (pinfu) and two identical sequences (iipeikou), they are only a valid yaku if the hand is closed. A ron call does not cause a closed hand to become open for the purposes of scoring yaku. A closed hand which is won by tsumo will have one extra yaku (self-draw / menzen tsumo) than the same hand won by ron.
Typically it is recommended that new players try and keep their hand closed where possible, and only call tiles when they have a clear yaku to win with. Although opening the hand by calling tiles can progress the hand more quickly, it usually restricts the player’s ability to defend and lowers the potential value of the hand, in particular as you lose the ability to riichi.
In contrast to the hand, sets are considered open if any tile within that set was not self-drawn by the player. For example the yaku Sanankou (three closed triplets) is only valid if all three triplets were entirely drawn by the player – a ron call on the last triplet will count that triplet as open and it cannot be considered for the yaku.
Riichi
Riichi is the most distinguishing aspect of riichi mahjong from other variants, hence the name. If a player has an entirely closed hand (they have not called any tiles from other players), and is in tenpai (can win with just one more tile), then they have the option to declare riichi. To call riichi, the player must call it right before they discard a tile, place a 1000 points stick out in front of their hand, and turn the tile they discard sideways to indicate when riichi was called. From this point onward they are essentially playing on autopilot, and they cannot change their hand in any way. The player picks up a tile on his turn, and if it is not his winning tile, he must discard it. The only exception to this is that the player can turn any closed triplet into a closed kan, providing it does not change the tile(s) they are waiting on to win.
A player who has called riichi can only call ron (a win from an opponent) on their first opportunity otherwise they will entered a locked discard state (furiten). They cannot wait for their winning tiles to be discarded by specific players if they have already been discarded by somebody else (see furiten below).
Advantages of calling riichi:
- Riichi is one yaku, increasing the value of the hand and allowing the player to win even though his hand would otherwise not contain a yaku.
- It is potentially a second yaku, One-Shot (ippatsu), if the player wins within one turn of declaring riichi, provided nothing else is called during that turn.
- The player has the opportunity to increase the value of the hand even more with reverse bonus (dora) (see below) and the potential One-Shot (ippatsu) yaku.
- Riichi can pressure other players into folding, therefore reducing the likelihood that someone else might win
Disadvantages of calling riichi:
- It alerts the other players that the player is just one more tile away from winning (tenpai)
- It means the player cannot advance the hand any further if they draw the right tiles.
- The player loses the 1000 points they bet while calling if they do not win.
- The player is forced to deal dangerous tiles if they cannot win with them.
While the disadvantages of riichi can seem worse than the advantages, the additional yaku and reverse dora are generally far more valuable, and it is usually more beneficial for the player to call riichi than to not, unless they have a hand which would be worth a lot regardless, or another player may have a high-value hand which would be bad to deal into.
Dora
The final main difference between riichi mahjong and other variants is the presence of dora. The dora is indicated by a face-up tile in the dead wall, which will mark the next tile in the suit as the dora. For example, if the face up tile is 3 sou, then 4 sou is the dora tile. A 9 tile indicates the 1 tile of the same suit, so 9 pin would indicate 1 pin as the dora. Winds are East, then South, then West, then North, and back to East while the Dragons are coincidentally in alphabetical order of Green, then Red, then White, and then back to Green)
If a tile is a bonus (dora), it retains the exact same behavior during the game as it would otherwise. However, after a player has won, each dora tile contained in their hand will give the player one han. Importantly however, dora do not count towards a hand being allowed to win – they do not count as yaku because they are bonus tiles.
Some variants of mahjong have red fives in play. One 5 bamboos, one 5 craks, and one 5 dots will be colored entirely red, and these red fives are one dora. Some times this is only one red 5 dots or two red 5 dots depending on the set. Again, they do not count as yaku, and only make a difference after the hand has won.
After the hands have been dealt, the dora indicator is flipped over. Extra tiles can be dora during the game if people declare kans, which cause a second additional indicator to be flipped over. If both indicators are the same, then each indicated tile would be be two dora instead of one. If the dora is a five, then any red five would be two dora – both the red dora and the indicated dora.
If a player wins after declaring riichi, then the tiles in the wall under any displayed dora indicators also become indicators themselves (called ura-dora), doubling the number of possible dora for the winning player. This is one of the main advantages of declaring riichi.
Locked Discard/Sacred Discard (Furiten)
A key aspect of strategy in mahjong is the locked discard/sacred discard (furiten) rule. If a player is in furiten they may not call a ron (ie. win) from another player’s discard. However, they may still win by tiles they draw themselves.
There are three ways a player can be in furiten:
- They have previously discarded any potential winning tiles in the current hand, indicated either by the tile being in their discard rows, or as called tiles in other players’ open melds
- One of the potential winning tiles has been discarded since the player declared riichi.
- One of the potential winning tiles has been discarded since their last turn, and they did not call it. This is a temporary furiten until the player next discards a tile.
It is worth noting that furiten is a state applied to the player, not to a specific tile. If a player is in a furiten state, they cannot win on any tile, even if the tile that places the player in furiten is not the tile they would like to win on. For example if a player is waiting on a 3 or 6 sou to complete their hand, and have previously discarded a 3 sou, then they are in furiten and cannot make ron calls on either the 3 sou ‘or’ the 6 sou.
Furiten allows players greater defense against dealing into winning hands, as they can be sure that any tile which the player has previously discarded is safe from being that player’s winning tile (though other players can still win with it!).
Furiten only affects the ron call. Tiles which have previously been discarded can still be used for chii, pon and tsumo calls as usual. Calling ron with a hand that is in furiten is penalized with a penalty (chombo) (or, for online mahjong clients, the game usually just won’t let you win). Chombo penalties are handled differently depending on the specific rules being played to.
It is also worth noting that tiles which have been discarded and called by another player still count towards furiten discards. For this reason called tiles are typically rotated and placed to indicate the seating of the player that discarded them (left tile is rotated for player to the left, right tile to the right, middle tile for opposing player).
Scoring
Scoring is a complicated aspect of the game, and unless playing with physical tiles, the computer will do it for you. Guides already exist on how to score in detail.
Typically hands won by the dealer are typically worth 50% more than hands won by a non-dealer player. If the player wins by ron, then the points for the winning hand are paid by the player who discarded the final tile (this penalty places a high emphasis in riichi mahjong for not discarding other players’ winning tiles!). If the player draws his winning tile himself, and wins by tsumo, then the score is shared by the other three players. These payments are split equally if the dealer wins, and not equally if a non-dealer wins, with the dealer paying half of the value and the two other non-dealer players each paying one quarter.
Winning in Riichi Mahjong
A player can declare a win by forming a valid hand with at least one yaku and they have completed four complete sets and one pair. Doras do not count as Yakus.
Hand End Scenarios
A player can win the hand, the tiles can run out, or a few "abortive draws" force the game to be restarted. Afterwards, the tiles are reshuffled to setup the next hand, or renchan.
Winning a hand
Ideally, players seek to win hands. Once again, a winning hand is a tenpai hand that gains its winning tile. A player must actively declare the win (ron or tsumo). In a few niche cases, you may want to decline winning (e.g. when you'd bankrupt a player).
It is most important to note: winning a hand requires a minimum of one yaku. Failure to meet this requirement may be subject to a penalty.
Depending on the rules, multiple players may win at the same time. This event, known as double ron or even triplet ron, occurs when multiple players wait on the same tile, and that tile is discarded. Some rules allow double ron but not triple ron. Some rules allow triple ron. Other rulesets apply the head bump rule (atamahane), where only one player wins the hand. When atamahane is used, the player closest in turn order to the next player claims the win.
Exhaustive draw
Exhaustive draw (Ryuukyoku) occurs when all the tiles (except the dead wall) run out. The player(s) in a Ready State (tenpai) receive points from those in Not Ready (noten), but do not win the hand.
Abortive draw
Various conditions may allow players to abort the hand and cause an Abortive Draw (Tochuu ryuukyoku). In other words, a mahjong hand may end prematurely before anyone claims a win or before all the tiles are drawn and discarded. In these events, no points are exchanged; and no penalties are enforced. Instead, the hand ends, and the tiles are reshuffled.
Game Restarting Penalty (Chombo) Situations
A chombo is a penalty for an illegal procedure. Chombo are often awarded when a player does something that would prevent the game from continuing normally, e.g. knocking off an entire wall of tiles. In these cases, the hand restarts.
In the event of penalties (chombo), the player must pay out a penalty of points, usually mangan. In casual settings, chombo may be ignored. In serious settings, it may be increased. Often, the chombo penalty is done after the game ends, in order to not waste time during the game.
Points and Payouts in Japanese Mahjong
Points are calculated based on yaku, dora, and specific tile combinations. Each player starts with 25000 points, and payouts are determined by the point calculation value.
How Points Are Determined in Riichi Mahjong
This is arguably the hardest part of Riichi Mahjong
Calculating basic points
The payment to the winner of a hand is calculated as follows:
- 1. Counting han (飜) from your yaku, dora, and uradora
2. If it is five han or more, it is mangan (満貫) or more and the calculation of basic points is omitted
3. Counting fu (符) mini-points)
4. If it is clear that the han and fu yield more than mangan, the calculation of basic points is omitted
5. Calculating the basic points based on the fu and han
6. Multiplying the basic points depending on whether the winner is the dealer or non-dealer, and whether the hand is won by tsumo or ron
7. Adding bonuses based on the number of counters
(8. Adjusting the payment by the wareme rule)
In the case of a draw, points are transferred according to the nō-ten bappu rule. In the event of a penalty, such as claiming a win with an illegal hand, then points are transferred via the chombo rule.
Counting han
The total number of han (飜) of all the kinds of yaku (役; winning hand) in the hand is summed up. Each dora (ドラ) increases the han value of a hand. Dora are not regarded as yaku, and no hand can be won without a yaku even if there are some dora tiles.
If there is more than one way to arrange the winning hand, the arrangement with the highest han is used. For example, a hand could be either ryanpeikou (二盃口) or chītoitsu (七対子), but since ryanpeikou is three han where chītoitsu is two han, ryanpeikou should prevail. Some yaku have their han value reduced by one if the hand is not closed.
If a hand has five han or more, it is always counted by mangan (満貫) as a unit and it is not necessary to calculate fu (符) or basic points.
Counting fu
Fu (符) is counted in the order below and then rounded up to the tens. There may be variations of rules for counting it.
[Three han with 70 fu or more] and [four han with 40 fu or more] yield more than mangan and there is no need to calculate basic points.
- A winning hand is automatically awarded 20 fu. This is called fūtei (副底).
- Ten fu are added if one wins by claiming a discarded tile with a closed hand. This is called menzen-kafu (門前加符).
- Add fu of the melds and the pair. (See the list below.)
- Add fu according to how the waiting was. (See the list below.)
- Add two fu if one wins by self-draw. This way of winning is called tsumo (自摸, or ツモ). However, if the winning hand includes a yaku of no-points hand (pinfu, 平和), in most rules the two fu are not awarded and the hand is counted as a total of 20 fu.
- Winning with yaku which include seven pairs (chītoitsu, 七対子) is counted as 25 fu altogether. The value is not rounded up to the tens. Some rules say seven pairs has 50 fu and one han, especially in the Kansai region.
- As an exception, if one wins by claiming a discard with an open hand with melds and waits to which no fu is awarded, the hand is not 20 fu but counted as a total of 30 fu. This is the fu for an open pinfu.
Fu (Minipoints) of melds
| Type of Set | simple tiles | terminal or honor tiles |
| Open triplet ( minkō (明刻), or min-kōtsu (明刻子)) |
2 fu | 4 fu |
| Closed triplet ( ankō (暗刻), or an-kōtsu (暗刻子)) |
4 fu | 8 fu |
| Open Quad ( minkan (明槓), or min-kantsu (明槓子)) |
8 fu | 16 fu |
| Closed Quad ( ankan (暗槓), or an-kantsu (暗槓子)) |
16 fu | 32 fu |
| Sequence Set (shuntsu (順子)) | 0 fu | |
| Pair (toitsu (対子)) | 2 fu for seat wind tiles, prevailing wind tiles or dragon tiles. 4 fu (or 2 fu in some rules) when the seat wind and prevailing wind match. 0 fu for other tiles | |
Fu Minipoints of Types of Waits
| Type | Description | fu |
|
Open Two-Sided Wait (ryanmen-machi (両門待ち)) |
the wait for either side of two simple tiles (e.g. 1 or 4 for 23; similarly, 34/45/56/67/78) made into a shuntsu | 0 fu |
| Middle Tile Wait (kanchan-machi (嵌張待ち)) | the wait for the middle of two simple tiles (e.g. 2 for 13; similarly, 24/35/46/57/68/79) made into a shuntsu | 2 fu (waiting for one kind of tile) |
| One Tile Outer Wait (penchan-machi (辺張待ち)) | the wait for the inner side of outermost two simple tiles (i.e. 3 for 12 or 7 for 89) made into a shuntsu | |
| Single Wait (tanki-machi (単騎待ち)) | the wait for another single tile (e.g. 1 for single 1, East for single East) made into a toitsu | |
| Double Pair Wait (shanpon-machi (双碰待ち)) | the wait for either tile in two toitsu (e.g. 1 or 2 for 1122) made into a kōtsu | 0 fu (fu of wait is 0 fu itself, however, fu of melds (2, 4 or 8 fu) for the new kōtsu is still valid.) |
Calculating basic points
The basic points of a hand is calculated as follows:
- [ basic points = fu × 2(2+han) ]
- When a non-dealer (ko, 子: child) goes out by self-draw, the dealer (oya, 親: parent) pays the winner 2 × basic points, and the other two non-dealers pay the winner 1 × basic points.
- When a non-dealer goes out by discard, the discarding player pays the winner 4 × basic points.
- When the dealer goes out by self-drawn, all the three non-dealers pay the winner 2 × basic points.
- When the dealer goes out by discard, the discarding non-dealer pays the winner 6 × basic points.
The actual points given are rounded up to the nearest 100. Even if the values of han and fu are the same, the points received for self-draw wins often slightly deviate from those received for discard wins because of rounding.
Payout Table
| Dealer | Han/Fu | Non-dealer | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 han | 3 han | 2 han | 1 han | 1 han | 2 han | 3 han | 4 han | |
| N/A (2600) |
N/A (1300) |
N/A (700) |
N/A | 20 fu | N/A | N/A (400/700) |
N/A (700/1300) |
N/A (1300/2600) |
| 9600 (3200) |
4800 (1600) |
2400 (N/A) |
N/A | 25 fu | N/A | 1600 (N/A) |
3200 (800/1600) |
6400 (1600/3200) |
| 11600 (3900) |
5800 (2000) |
2900 (1000) |
1500 (500) |
30 fu | 1000 (300/500) |
2000 (500/1000) |
3900 (1000/2000) |
7700 (2000/3900) |
| Mangan | 7700 (2600) |
3900 (1300) |
2000 (700) |
40 fu | 1300 (400/700) |
2600 (700/1300) |
5200 (1300/2600) |
Mangan |
| Mangan | 9600 (3200) |
4800 (1600) |
2400 (800) |
50 fu | 1600 (400/800) |
3200 (800/1600) |
6400 (1600/3200) |
Mangan |
| Mangan | 11600 (3900) |
5800 (2000) |
2900 (1000) |
60 fu | 2000 (500/1000) |
3900 (1000/2000) |
7700 (2000/3900) |
Mangan |
| Mangan | Mangan | 6800 (2300) |
3400 (1200) |
70 fu | 2300 (600/1200) |
4500 (1200/2300) |
Mangan | Mangan |
| Mangan | Mangan | 7700 (2600) |
3900 (1300) |
80 fu | 2600 (700/1300) |
5200 (1300/2600) |
Mangan | Mangan |
| Mangan | Mangan | 8700 (2900) |
4400 (1500) |
90 fu | 2900 (800/1500) |
5800 (1500/2900) |
Mangan | Mangan |
| Mangan | Mangan | 9600 (3200) |
4800 (1600) |
100 fu | 3200 (800/1600) |
6400 (1600/3200) |
Mangan | Mangan |
| Mangan | Mangan | 10600 (3600) |
5300 (1800) |
110 fu | 3600 (900/1800) |
7100 (1800/3600) |
Mangan | Mangan |
Mangan and Above
When it is clear that a hand reaches basic points of more than 2,000, it is limited to full basic points of 2,000 and called mangan (満貫). A hand of five han or more is always counted as a multiple of mangan. In those cases, there is no need to calculate basic points.
One han cannot reach mangan because 110 fu × 2(2+1) = 880 < 2,000. (With one han, 110 fu is the maximum.)
Two han cannot reach mangan because 110 fu × 2(2+2) = 1,760 < 2,000. (With two han, 110 fu is also the maximum.)
When a hand has 120 fu or more, it always has some yaku of three han or more.
| Name | Han value | Point value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mangan | 3 han, 70 fu or more; 4 han, 40 fu or more; 5 han |
1 × mangan | 12,000 (dealer) 8,000 (non-dealer) |
| [Three han with 70 fu or more] is mangan as 70 × 2(2+3) = 2,240 > 2,000. The basic points become 2,000.
[Four han with 40 fu or more] is mangan as 40 × 2(2+4) = 2,560 > 2,000. (In some rules [four han with 30 fu] is regarded as mangan because 30 × 2(2+4) = 1,920 is close to 2,000. [Three han with 60 fu] is the same.) Five han is automatically mangan irrespective of fu since 20 fu × 2(2+5) = 2,560 > 2,000. |
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| Haneman | 6 or 7 han | 1.5 × mangan | 18,000 (dealer) 12,000 (non-dealer) |
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A 6 or 7 han hand is considered haneman (跳満, or hane-mangan 跳満貫) and the basic points are 3,000. |
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| Baiman | 8−10 han | 2 × mangan | 24,000 (dealer) 16,000 (non-dealer) |
| An 8−10 han hand is considered baiman (倍満, or bai-mangan 倍満貫) and the basic points are 4,000. | |||
| Sanbaiman | 11 or 12 han | 3 × mangan | 36,000 (dealer) 24,000 (non-dealer) |
| An 11 or 12 han hand is considered sanbaiman (三倍満, or sanbai-mangan 三倍満貫) and the basic points are 6,000. | |||
| Kazoe-yakuman | 13 or more han | 4 × mangan | 48,000 (dealer) 32,000 (non-dealer) |
| In most rules, a hand with 13 han or above is considered kazoe-yakuman (数え役満; counted yakuman). It has the same scoring as yakuman (役満). | |||
| Yakuman | Limit | 4 × mangan | 48,000 (dealer) 32,000 (non-dealer) |
| A yakuman (役満, or yaku-mangan 役満貫) is awarded to some rare hands which are particularly hard to achieve, like kokushi-musō (国士無双; thirteen orphans) or sū-ankō (四暗刻; four closed melds of the same three tiles). The basic points are 8,000. | |||
| Multiple yakuman | Multiple limit | NA | Multiplied yakuman value |
| If the winning hand can be interpreted as combined forms of rare hands, multiple yakuman points are awarded. For example, a hand consisting of four closed quads of wind tiles plus a pair of dragon tiles would be worth six yakuman. | |||
Yaku and Hand Pattern Table
| Yaku Name | Reading | Abbreviation | Conditions & Downgrades | Other Names / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Han | ||||
| Riichi | リーチ | -- | Only with closed hand (門前) | "Men" in "Men-tan-pin" refers to closed hand (門前), which includes Riichi. |
| Ippatsu | イッパツ | -- | Only during Riichi | Also called "Soku." May not be adopted in competitive Mahjong. |
| Menzen Tsumo | メンゼンツモ | Tsumo | Only with closed hand (no Chi, Pon, or Kan) | -- |
| Tanyao | タンヤオ | Tanyao | -- | In some rules, exposed Tanyao is not allowed. |
| Pinfu | ピンフ | -- | Only with closed hand | In some local rules, Pinfu is invalidated if Tsumo is used to win. |
| Iipeiko | イーペーコー | Iipei | Only with closed hand | Formerly called "Isshoku Nijun" or "Isshoku Dojun." |
| Yakuhai | ヤクハイ | -- | 1 Han for each set of Honor tiles | If seat wind and round wind match, 2 Han are awarded for the pair. |
| Rinshan Kaihou | リンシャンカイホウ | Rinshan | Draw from dead wall after Kan | Occurs even without other Yaku. An accidental Yaku. |
| Chankan | チャンカン | -- | Win on another player's Kan | Cannot win using one’s own discarded Kan. |
| Haitei Raoyue | ハイテイモーユエ | Haitei | Winning with the last tile drawn from the wall | Also known as "Haitei Ron" or "Haitei Tsumo" depending on the win. |
| Houtei Raoyui | ホウテイラオユイ | Houtei | Win with the last discarded tile | Also called "Haitei Ron." |
| 2 Han | ||||
| Sanshoku Doujun | サンショクドウジュン | Sanshoku | Downgraded to 1 Han if open hand | -- |
| Ittsu (Ikkitsuukan) | イッキツウカン | Ittsu | Downgraded to 1 Han if open hand | -- |
| Honchantai Yaochu | ホンチャンタイヤオチュー | Chanta | Downgraded to 1 Han if open hand | Also called "Chanta" without "Hon." |
| Chiitoitsu | チートイツ | Chiitoi | Only with closed hand | Formerly 50 Fu, 1 Han in older rules. |
| Toitoi | トイトイホー | Toitoi | -- | -- |
| San Ankou | サンアンコー | San An | -- | Requires 3 concealed triplets. |
| Honroutou | ホンロウトー | Honroutou | -- | Always combined with Toitoi or Chiitoitsu. |
| Sanshoku Doukou | サンショクドーコー | Sanshoku Doukou | -- | Also called "Sanshoku Doupon." |
| San Kantsu | サンカンツ | -- | -- | Extremely rare Yaku, often as difficult as Yakuman. |
| Shou San Gen | ショウサンゲン | Shou San | -- | Requires 2 Yakuhai triplets and a pair of dragon tiles. |
| Double Riichi | ダブルリーチ | Double Riichi | Only with closed hand | Cannot be combined with regular Riichi. |
| 3 Han | ||||
| Honitsu | ホンイーソー | Honitsu | Downgraded to 2 Han if open hand | Also called "Honichi" in the past. |
| Junchan | ジュンチャンタイヤオチュー | Junchan | Downgraded to 2 Han if open hand | Cannot combine with Honchantai Yaochu. |
| Ryanpeiko | リャンペーコー | Ryanpei | Only with closed hand | High-scoring variant of Iipeiko. |
| 6 Han | ||||
| Chinitsu | チンイーソー | Chinitsu | Downgraded to 5 Han if open hand | Also called "Chinichi" in the past. |
| Yakuman | ||||
| Kokushi Musou | コクシムソウ | Kokushi | Only with closed hand | Also called "Thirteen Orphans" or "Shisan Yaochu." |
| Su Ankou | スーアンコー | Su An | Only with closed hand | Known as "Su An" in slang. Sometimes treated as a double Yakuman with a single wait. |
| Dai San Gen | ダイサンゲン | -- | -- | One of the easier Yakuman hands. Involves responsibility payment. |
| Tsuu Iisou | ツーイーソー | -- | -- | Known as "All Honors." Includes seven pairs as "Great Seven Stars." |
| Shou Suushii | ショウスーシー | Shou Suushii | -- | Includes 3 pungs and a pair of wind tiles. |
| Dai Suushii | ダイスーシー | -- | -- | One of the highest Yakuman hands. |
| Ryu Iisou | リューイーソー | -- | -- | Also called "All Green." Only uses green tiles. |
| Chinroutou | チンロートー | Chinrou | -- | Occurs as a variation of Jun-chan or Honroutou. |
| Suukantsu | スーカンツ | -- | -- | Winning with 4 Kongs is considered extremely rare. |
| Chuuren Poutou | チューレンポウトー | Chuuren | Only with closed hand | Known as "Nine Gates." A highly difficult hand to win with. |
| Tian Hu | テンホウ | -- | Only possible for the dealer with the initial hand | One of the rarest Yakuman hands. Probability is 1 in 330,000. |
| Chi Hou | チーホウ | -- | Only possible for non-dealers with the initial draw | Rarely occurs due to restrictions. |
Who Pays Out?
The player who discards the winning tile pays the points to the winner. If a player wins by self-draw, all other players pay the winning points.
Ending The Game
A game typically finishes under one of two conditions:
- The final round of South (or, optionally, just East) is played
- One of the players goes below 0 points
A fairly common but optional rule is that if no players are over 30,000 points by the end of South, then the game will continue into West round, and keeps going until any player gets above 30,000 points.
It is worth noting that the conditions for ending the game will depend on the exact rules being played to. For example EMA Tournament rules will allow players to continue with negative points, and the game ends at the end of South round regardless of the score situation.
