Riichi Mahjong — A Compact Guide & Beginner’s FAQ

After going through the learning process of riichi mahjong I thought it would be nice to have a compact, low-ink, single-page FAQ and guide that curious players could print out for reference or that you could hand out to new players. Perhaps it’s trying to do too much for a single page, but I figured I’d put it out to the world.

What is riichi mahjong?

Maybe you’ve heard about it in an article, or saw it played in a movie or an anime. It’s kind of like gin rummy and poker, but with tiles instead of cards. Four players compete to create winning hands. It’s the Japanese version of mahjong, and it’s a bit different from the Chinese or American game you might have seen before. Any mahjong set could work for playing riichi, as it uses the 136 basic tiles (though riichi sets often include special all-red 5 tiles).

Players always start with 13 tiles. Every turn you draw 1 and discard 1, building toward a winning hand. When your last tile completes your hand of 14 tiles, you don’t discard. You need four sets of three — either three in a row of the same suit (like 4-5-6) or a triplet of the same tile — plus a matching pair. Suits can never be mixed within a set. The first person to complete their hand wins the round and scores points based on how valuable the hand was to make.

Where’s the big pyramid stack of tiles?

That’s Mahjong Solitaire — a tile-matching game that is played with mahjong tiles and often gets called “mahjong.” The actual game is a four-player match that combines luck and strategy.

Do I need to pay to play? Do I have to buy a card?

No. Usually not. You can find meetups or mahjong clubs in most urban areas, and they’ll gladly welcome new players. Many will set up teaching sessions for beginners, so just ask. Low-cost beginner classes through community centers are common and worth taking.

Once you know how to play, look for open game sessions at community centers, libraries, bars, coffee shops, and restaurants. (If it’s one of the latter they might ask for a seat reservation — also buy some snacks and tip the staff!)

As for needing a special card: that’s unique to American mahjong. Each year the National Mahjong League (NMJL) publishes an official card of standard hands. Riichi hands — called yaku — do not change, and there are almost 40 of them.

What about the other tiles — flowers, jokers, birds, and boxes?

The 1 tile of bamboo always features a bird. (Remember: birds sit on trees, and bamboo is like a tree.) The rectangular box is the white dragon — but in standard riichi sets, the white dragon is just blank.

The other tiles are a standard part of Chinese, Hong Kong, or American sets. Jokers are only part of American mahjong. The tiles that look like flowers are flower tiles, and there are also season tiles (typically flowery or nature-themed) used in some mahjong variations.

Can I play riichi online to learn the game?

The most popular online way to play is Mahjong Soul, which is free. You can learn the game, practice, and compete in ranked matches. One thing to know: while the game is free, it will try to sell you special characters, outfits, add-ons, and loot boxes (it’s what’s commonly known as a gacha game). Just ignore all that.

• Mahjong Soul — learn, practice, play ranked
• riichiadvanced.com — if you already know how to play, play the computer or friends
• Mahjong Efficiency Trainer — learn tile efficiency (what to discard)

Any other good riichi resources?

• Color yaku reference sheet — a lot of players print and laminate this
• Riichi Mahjong Getting Started zine — a fun printable guide
• Riichi Mahjong: The Ony Way To Play — written by the first American in the Japan Pro Mahjong League
• 136 Ready-To-Use Mahjong Strategies & Tactics — bite-sized tips from a top Riichi player and vTuber
• Riichi Book 1 — free, recommended once you really understand the game and the yaku. (There is no Book 2.)
• Twin Cities Riichi Discord — if you’re local in Minnesota, come play with us

I want to buy my own set of tiles. Where do I go?

First question: do you want a “universal” set for playing other types of mahjong, or just riichi? American mahjong tiles are thinner, since each player uses a tile rack. Chinese and Japanese tiles are thicker — they don’t use racks and stand up on their own.

Many riichi players recommend the AMOS Masters or AMOS Complete Gear set of standard 28mm tiles, which includes everything except a “junk mat” for the table. Note that a riichi-specific set won’t include flowers, seasons, or jokers, so it cannot be used for other forms of mahjong. It usually also has no arabic numerals, so you’ll have to learn the traditional characters. Most riichi sets use very dark colors, so tiles with green on them read closer to black.

Yellow Mountain Imports makes all kinds of sets. Besides their riichi-specific ones, the Chinese “small” set is 30mm tall and numbered, and works great for riichi — but note it doesn’t come with red fives (you’d have to paint them yourself, which you can do with some red nail polish and a careful hand). The symbol colors are bright and clearly engraved. Note: they are also ‘slipperier’ than AMOS tiles so stacking a whole wall row is more challenging.

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How a game works

Riichi (Japanese) mahjong is a 4-player tile game where players compete to create a winning hand. A standard winning hand is 14 tiles in 5 blocks: 4 sets + 1 pair (e.g., 123, 456, 777, EEE + 99).

1. Players shuffle tiles, then each builds a wall of face-down tiles, 17 tiles long and 2 tiles high.
2. The dealer rolls 2 dice to determine which wall to break, and where to split it, creating the dead wall.
3. The dealer takes the first four stacked tiles, then each other player does the same, until everyone has 12.
4. The dealer then takes the next 1st + 3rd tiles; others take 1.
5. The dealer starts the game by discarding their extra tile. (Players hold 13 tiles until completing a winning hand.)

Tile types

There are 136 tiles (4 of each) across 3 suits plus the honor tiles.

• Manzu / Characters — numbered 1–9 (written 1m, 2m, 3m … 9m). You will memorize them, don’t worry.
• Souzu / Bamboo — numbered 1–9 (written 1s … 9s). The 1 tile always has a bird on it.
• Pinzu / Dots — numbered 1–9 (written 1p … 9p)
• Wind tiles — East, South, West, North (E, S, W, N)
• Dragon tiles — White, Green, Red

Three terms worth knowing: simples are the number tiles 2–8 of any suit. Terminals are the 1s and 9s. Honors are the wind and dragon tiles.

Round and seat winds

The round (prevailing) wind: games are typically 1 round (East only) or 2 full rounds (East and South). The seat wind: each player also has one — East, South, West, or North.

The East player is always dealer. Play moves counter-clockwise until each player has been East dealer in both rounds. Matching round or seat winds in your hand are worth bonus points.

And yes — it really does go East, South, West, North (look up at the stars and it makes sense).

Calling discarded tiles: chii, pon, and kan

• Chii — call a tile from the player on your left to complete a sequence (e.g., 4-5 + call 6)
• Pon — call a tile from any player to complete a triplet (e.g., 7-7 + call 7)
• Kan — call a tile to make a quad (4 identical tiles); draw a replacement from the dead wall and reveal +1 dora

Note that opening your hand prevents riichi, but allows faster completion.

Basic yaku (winning patterns)

You need at least one yaku to win — dora alone doesn’t count. There are almost 40 in total; these are the ones to learn first.

Yaku	Han	What it is
Riichi	1	Declare ready with any concealed hand; pay 1000 points to the table; you cannot change the hand afterward
Yakuhai	1	A triplet of dragons, or your seat wind, or the round wind. +1 for each such set
Tanyao	1	All tiles are simples (2–8) — no honors, no terminals (1, 9)
Toitoi	2	All sets are triplets — no sequences
Honitsu	2	One suit plus honors only (+1 if concealed)

Dora (bonus tiles)

The dora indicator — the 3rd top tile in the dead wall — is revealed at the start. The next tile in sequence is the bonus dora tile. For example, if the indicator shows 6 manzu, then 7 manzu is dora.

Red 5 tiles are also dora (common, but optional). Each dora in your hand adds +1 han, making the hand worth more points.

Important: dora is not a yaku. You can’t win on dora alone.

Dora sequences cycle around:

• Numbers: 1→2→3→4→5→6→7→8→9→1
• Winds: East→South→West→North→East
• Dragons: Green→Red→White→Green (alphabetical)

How to win: ron and tsumo

• Ron — win by taking another player’s discard. They pay you.
• Tsumo — win by drawing the winning tile yourself. All players pay you.

Key rules worth knowing early

• Your discarded tiles go face-up in front of you, 6 tiles per row.
• You need at least 1 yaku to win. Dora alone doesn’t count.
• Each player draws (or calls) 1 tile, then discards 1, each turn — unless the new tile completes their hand.
• Furiten: if the tile(s) you’re waiting on are already in your own discard pile, you must self-draw to win. You cannot call another player’s discard.
• Dead wall: the last 7 stacks (14 tiles) are never drawn, except for kan replacements. So hands can end in a draw.
• Tenpai: a ready hand needing one final tile. If a round ends in an exhaustive draw and you’re in tenpai, you still score some points.
• Scoring: it can take many games to learn. Be patient and ask experienced players. Points are calculated from han (yaku + dora) and fu (hand composition) and are paid with tenbou (scoring sticks).

This is a deliberately simplified guide. Consult full rules for the complete yaku list, intermediate and advanced play, and scoring.

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Starting advice

It may seem like you should pick up discards when they are tossed, but as a beginner you should resist the temptation and try to keep your hand closed. You’ll get a better feel for the game and the hands and you can always riichi any closed hand.

Next: drill the yaku with flashcards

The hard part of riichi isn’t the rules — it’s that the culture expects you to learn the Japanese terms and hand names too. No easy translations. I built a free riichi mahjong flashcard page to drill the terminology and yaku names. Maybe you’ll find it useful.

I drew all of this while learning the game

As a break from video editing, I’ve been leaning back into illustration — and everything ended up mahjong. There are archival art prints, greeting cards, stickers, and shirts over on the mahjong page if you want some of it on your wall or your laptop.