[vc_row inner_container=”true” no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” parallax=”true” bg_video=”” class=”” style=”” bg_image=”5″][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][vc_row_inner inner_container=”true” no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” bg_video=”” class=”” style=””][vc_column_inner fade=”true” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″ id=”” class=”” style=””][custom_headline level=”h3″ looks_like=”h3″ id=”” class=”” style=””]Introduction to 4 Player Japanese Mahjong[/custom_headline][custom_headline level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ id=”” class=”” style=””]A Crash Course in Japanese Mahjong[/custom_headline][text_output]This document does not describe the basics of mahjong and is designed to help a player familiar with basic mahjong to pickup the most important features of Japanese mahjong.  If you are not familiar with basic game play, it is recommended for you to take a look at our basic mahjong tutorial.[/text_output][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner inner_container=”true” no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” bg_video=”” class=”” style=””][vc_column_inner fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-left” fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/2″ id=”” class=”” style=””][custom_headline level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ id=”” class=”” style=””]Basic Information[/custom_headline][text_output]

  • Japanese mahjong is played with a set of 136 tiles and does not use the flower tiles.
  • Japanese mahjong has a dead wall which is a part of the wall from which no tiles are drawn.
  • A chow or a sequence is called a Chii and Pong or a set of 3 identical tiles is called a Pon. A k0ng (set of 4 identical tiles) is called a Kan.
  • A win on self-draw is called a Tsumo and a win on a discard is called a Ron.
  • You can only declare a Ron or Tsumo if your hand meets a minimum requirements of one Yaku.
  • There are special tiles called doras that reward an extra fan to the winning hand. There might be more than one dora i a single hand. A dora is indicated by a dora indicator.
  • You are said to be Tenpai if your are a single tile away from a complete hand. Note that you can be Tenpai regardless of number of potential Yakus in your hand.
  • You can not go out with a discarded tile you have previously discarded. Your hand is said to be furiten. A player might also become Temporary Furiten. When Furiten you can still go out in a self drawn tile.
  • A game will terminate if no tiles are left, all players declare riichi, all players discard the same wind on the first uninterrupted go-around or 4 total of kans are declared by the same player. The game is said to go to washout.

[/text_output][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-right” fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/2″ id=”” class=”” style=””][custom_headline level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ id=”Yaku” class=”” style=””]Yaku[/custom_headline][text_output]The objective of each hand is to collect tiles to get a minimum of one Yaku. A list of yakus is provided in a separate document.[/text_output][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner inner_container=”true” no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” bg_video=”” class=”” style=””][vc_column_inner fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-left” fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/2″ id=”” class=”” style=””][custom_headline level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ id=”Dora” class=”” style=””]The Dora Indicator[/custom_headline][text_output]After the setup of the wall,  the third tile of the dead wall is turned over. This tile is called the dora indicator, and points out which tile is dora during this hand. The dora is a bonus tile, and awards the winner with one extra fan. A fan has the same value as a yaku, but doesn’t make it possible to go out. If the dora indicator is a suit tile, the dora will be the next higher tile in the same suit; the number wraps around so if the dora indicator is a nine, the dora will be a one in the same suit. If the dora indicator is a wind tile, the dora is the next wind in the sequence: east, south, west, north. If the dora indicator is a dragon, the dora is the next dragon in the sequence: red, white, green.
It is a common question for beginners to question why the Japanese do not consider the dora indicator as the dora tile. The reason is possibly to make sure there is a higher chance of having 4 dora tiles in the game.
In additional to the first dora indicated by the dora indicator in the begining, additional doras might come into play. These might be the kan dora or the ura dora.[/text_output][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-right” fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/2″ id=”” class=”” style=””][custom_headline level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ id=”Riichi” class=”” style=””]Riichi[/custom_headline][text_output]If you are Tenpai (one tile from a complete hand) with a concealed hand, you can declare Riichi, which will award you one yaku if you manage to go out.

You declare riichi by saying “Riichi!” and discarding a tile that leaves you with a waiting hand. The discarded tile is placed sideways and you have to put a 1000-point stick at the table. After you have declared riichi, you may no longer change your hand. Each tile you draw must immediately be discarded until you go mahjong.

Note! If an opponent claims your Riichi discard for a Ron, your riichi declaration will be considered invalid.[/text_output][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner inner_container=”true” no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” bg_video=”” class=”” style=””][vc_column_inner fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-left” fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/2″ id=”” class=”” style=””][custom_headline level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ id=”Ura Dora” class=”” style=””]Ura Dora[/custom_headline][text_output]Besides the Yaku you gain from having declared Riichi, you will also be rewarded with additional Dora tiles, called Ura-Dora. Each of the tiles beneath a Dora or Kan-Dora tile in the dead wall, will be revealed after you’ve gone out, and for each of the tiles in your hand pointed out by these Ura-Dora indicators you will receive another fan.[/text_output][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-right” fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/2″ id=”” class=”” style=””][custom_headline level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ id=”Kan Dora” class=”” style=””]Kan Dora[/custom_headline][text_output]Each time a player declares a Kan, an additional dora indicator is turned over in the dead wall. These extra dora are called kan dora.[/text_output][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner inner_container=”true” no_margin=”true” padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px” bg_video=”” class=”” style=””][vc_column_inner fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-left” fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/2″ id=”” class=”” style=””][custom_headline level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ id=”Furiten” class=”” style=””]Furiten[/custom_headline][text_output]If your tenpi. you may not go mahjong on a discard from another player, if you have earlier discarded a tile in your waiting pattern. The only ways to go mahjong when you are Furiten is to either go out on self-draw from the wall, or change your hand so that your waiting pattern no longer includes any of your discards.

There is also a related concept called Temporary Furiten, which states that if a player discards a tile that would complete your hand pattern (regardless of yaku), and you can not or choose not to, you are temporary furiten. This means that you can not declare ron your next turn.

After you have declared riichi, the rule of temporary furiten works a bit differently. Since you can no longer change your hand, you will stay “temporary” furiten for the rest of the hand if you decline a discard that lets you ron.[/text_output][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-right” fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/2″ id=”” class=”” style=””][custom_headline level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″ id=”Washout” class=”” style=””]Washout[/custom_headline][text_output]A hand is terminated without the winner if:

  • No more tiles are left in the wall. In an exhaustive draw, each player who is tenpai receives an portion  of 3000 points paid by the other players.
  • A total Four kans have been declared, by more than one player and no one can go win on the discard of the the fourth kan. The player sitting east puts a 100 point repeat counter on the table.
  • All players discard the same wind tile in the first uninterrupted go-around. The player sitting east puts a 100 point repeat counter on the table.
  • All players have declared riichi. The player sitting east puts a 100 point repeat counter on the table.

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