How to play riichi mahjong

Short answer: four players each try to complete a 14-tile hand of four sets and a pair that contains at least one yaku, by tsumo or ron, and the highest score after the last round wins.

Riichi mahjong is a four-player game played with 136 tiles. Each player builds a fourteen-tile hand; the first to complete a valid one wins the points. The rules are genuinely simple — what makes riichi deep is when you commit. This course teaches the rules in eight short lessons, each illustrated. Read them in order; each builds on the last.

The course

• 1 · The tiles

  All 136 tiles: three suits, winds, dragons, and the red fives.

• 2 · The shape of a hand

  Four sets and a pair — sequences, triplets, and what “tenpai” means.

• 3 · Setup and the wall

  Seats and winds, building the wall, the deal, and the dora indicator.

• 4 · Turns, discards, and calls

  The draw-discard loop, and when chii, pon, and kan interrupt it — at a price.

• 5 · Riichi

  The declaration that names the game: when you can call it and what it buys you.

• 6 · Winning a hand

  Ron, tsumo — and the rule that surprises everyone: you need a yaku.

• 7 · Furiten

  The rule beginners hit hardest, explained until it feels fair.

• 8 · Your first game

  Rounds, dealer rotation, and what actually happens over an east-only game.

• Extra · Riichi vs other mahjong

  Coming from Chinese, Hong Kong, or American mahjong? What changes.

• Extra · From poker to riichi

  Reading riichi through hands, position, and pot odds.

The game in one paragraph

Everyone starts with thirteen tiles. On your turn you draw one and discard one, keeping thirteen. You are trying to reach a fourteen-tile shape of four sets (sequences like 4-5-6 or triplets like 8-8-8) plus one pair — and the hand must contain at least one yaku, a recognized scoring pattern. When you are one tile away, you may declare riichi, betting 1,000 points that you will finish. Complete the hand by drawing the last tile yourself (tsumo) or by claiming an opponent's discard (ron), and the scoring system prices your win. Hands repeat, the deal rotates, and the highest score after the final round wins the game.

Worked example: one hand from tenpai to payout

You started with thirteen tiles and spent a few turns drawing one and discarding one. Now the hand is 234m, 567m, 456p, a 99p pair, and 67s: tenpai, waiting on 5s or 8s. It is closed, so you declare riichi and put out a 1,000-point stick. Two turns later you draw the 8s yourself and call tsumo.

The count: riichi 1 han, menzen tsumo 1 han, pinfu 1 han — 3 han 20 fu. As a non-dealer you collect 700 from each non-dealer and 1,300 from the dealer, 2,700 in total, plus your riichi stick back. The score calculator will do this sum for you.

Common beginner mistakes

• A complete hand with no yaku. It cannot win. See winning a hand.
• Calling ron while furiten. If a tile of your wait is in your own discards, only tsumo wins — see furiten.
• Calling chii from the wrong player. Chii takes only the discard of the player before you; pon and ron work from anyone. See turns and calls.
• Calling, then trying to riichi. Riichi needs a closed hand; one chii or pon rules it out for the hand.

What you need

Nothing, to learn: the diagrams here are the tiles. To play online, the major free clients (Mahjong Soul, Tenhou, Riichi City) all follow the rules taught here. To play in person you need a riichi set — Japanese sets use smaller tiles than Chinese sets and include red fives — and scoring sticks. If your group plays regularly, an automatic table shuffles the tiles and builds the walls for you; that is what ALBAN builds, and it is exactly the kind of thing to try at a club before buying.