So you want to play Mahjong

Well, Mahjong is a very complicated science

The suits
Japanese (also known as Riichi) Mahjong is made up of 136 tiles which are as follows. There is four of each tile.

Pin Zu. Pin [Dots];

Sou Zu. Sou [Bamboos];

Whats important to remember is that the 1-sou is typically a bird or chicken.

Man Zu. Wan [Characters];

The numbers can be tricky at irst. The use o mnemonics !ill make them easier to learn.

Kaze [Winds];

"espectively #ast $Ton%, &outh $'an%, West $&ha%, 'orth $(ei%. )gain, youre just gonna have to get used to these.

Sangenpai [Dragons];

"espectively, "ed $*hun%, +reen $,atsu%, White $,aku%. These are easy, though, o ten in "iichi Mahjong, the ,aku !ill not be a bo-, but rather a blank tile. Theyll try to trick you !ith this.

Game procedure
Mahjong is pla ed with four pla ers (though two and three pla er !ariants e"ist). # comple" s stem ou don$t care a%out in!ol!ing dice and &inds decides who sits where and who gets to %e the dealer. The 136 tiles are pushed randoml around the centre of the ta%le for a while' then each pla er constructs a (wall). This wall is two tiles tall and se!enteen tiles wide' o%!iousl all the tiles in the wall are face down. These four walls are then pushed into a s*uare in the centre of the ta%le' and more rolling decides from where the tiles are drawn. +n e!er game' there is a ,ead &all (Rin -han) of fourteen tiles' which will ne!er %e drawn into the hand of a pla er. The dealer (.ast) is then dealt fourteen tiles' /' then /' then /' then 0. .ach other pla er' starting at 1outh' is dealt 13' /' then /' then / then 1. .ast then discards' and the game proceeds as normal. .ach pla er' when it is their turn' will draw one tile from the rele!ant part of the wall and discard one tile from their 1/. The discards are placed in front of ou' left to right' and a new line is %egun2 whene!er ou want reall . To win' our hand must contain four sets (Mentsu) of three tiles (or four in the case of 3an) and a pair

(#tama). The sets can %e three of a kind' such as

' or a run of three' such as

# t pical winning hand might look like this4

5%!iousl ' this hand has fourteen tiles. #s ou can onl hold 13 at an gi!en time when it is not our turn' this fourteenth tile must %e drawn % ourself (Tsumo) on our turn' allowing ou to declare a fourteen tile hand' or ou can claim an tile foolishl discarded % another pla er to complete our hand (Ron). # hand which is in a position to win upon an single discard is known as %eing in Tenpai.

+f ou win % Tsumo' the cost is di!ided among the pla ers' if ou win % Ron' the discarder pa s the full cost. +f a game ends with no one winning' the dealership will %e retained if the dealer is in Tenpai (see 6lossar ). +f not' the dealer passes to the ne"t wind. There are ad!antages as well as disad!antages to holding dealership' primaril 7 ou will earn 89: more points for an hand ou can complete. -on!ersel ' howe!er' ou will ha!e to pa twice our compatriots in the case of someone else$s Tsumo win. The game starts in .ast round. This means that .ast counts as a ;aku <ai (later) for all pla ers' and counts as two <an for .ast. 5nce e!er one has %een .ast' the round will change to 1outh' and .ast will %ecome another trash wind for e!er one e"cept the dealer' while 1outh will %ecome a ;aku <ai. +n a <an -han' the game ends when 1outh Round is finished' unless no pla er is a%o!e 39'999 points' in which case &est and =orth are pla ed until someone goes a%o!e 39'999.

Calling tiles
#s another pla er discards' if ou want the tile the just had' and can immediatel attach it to a set' ou can call it from them. PON! This is declared when ou ha!e a pair of tiles and wish to upgrade it to a 3>of>a>kind. ;ou take the tile from our opponent$s discard line and put it %eside our pair' e"posed' on the side of the ta%le. ;ou then discard and the game continues from the pla er who would take the draw directl after our own in regular pla . ?or e"ample' sa ou were 1outh and had this hand4

#nd our friend across from ou just discarded a <atsu. ;ou would call @on and e"pose our <atsu tiles' then discard' and &est would take the ne"t turn. +f ou called off the pla er to our right' it is e"posed like this4

+f ou called off the pla er across from ou' it is e"posed like this4

#nd if ou called from the pla er to our left' it is e"posed like this4

This helps to keep track of what e!er one has discarded. +n this scenario' our hand would %ecome this4

&ith one tile left to discard' and the <atsu !isi%le to e!er pla er.

K N! This is called when ou ha!e a concealed 3>of>a>kind in our hand and wish to make into what is known as a 3an' or four>of>a>kind' either % calling or % drawing the fourth tile. ;ou can also upgrade a called 3>of>a>kind to a 3an if ou draw the fourth tile. + shouldn$t need to illustrate another e"ample. <owe!er' interesting rules come into pla when this happens. @rimaril ' rather than simpl discarding' as 3an are one tile larger than the usual set siAe of three' ou must take another draw. <owe!er' this draw does not come from the con!entional wall' %ut rather from the dead wall' as in this diagram.

The %lue section is the dead wall of fourteen tiles (%ear in mind that it will not alwa s %e segregated like that). #s the tiles were dealt along the red line' draws from the dead wall are taken along the green line. # new ,ora is also flipped' which + will mo!e onto later. &hat is important to remem%er is that the dead wall must %e fourteen tiles. #s a ma"imum of three 3an can %e declared in a li!e game (the fourth ends in the game in a draw e"cept in the case of a 1uu 3an Tsu' later)' the pink tiles in the otherwise li!e wall can become dead. C!"! # run of three tiles can also %e called off another pla er$s discard' which is known as a -hi. <owe!er' ou can onl call a -hi off the pla er to our immediate left. #s such' all -his are e"posed as this' regardless of numerical se*uence7

# @on or 3an will alwa s take precedence o!er a -hi.

The #a$u
The fundamental rule of Japanese Mahjong is that e!er hand must possess at least one ;aku' or (<an). %asic !an Tsumo (1 Han) [Self Draw] # completel concealed hand which is won on our own draw. Riichi (1 Han) [Reach, but no one calls it that] # completel concealed hand with a declared Riichi. &hen a Riichi is declared' the pla er must discard e!er tile the draw unless it is their winning tile. 1ets can no longer %e declared. The tile used to go into Riichi is alwa s discarded sidewa s. # 1'999 point stick is also thrown into the centre of the ta%le' which the winner of that round gets. +f the game ends in the stalemate' the 1'999 point stick is added to a pot and won % the ne"t !ictorious pla er. Riichi also allows Re!erse ,ora (later). Daburii (1 a itional Han) [Double Riichi] +f ou are a%le to declare a Riichi with our initial starting hand %efore an set is declared (including concealed 3ans)' it is called a ,ou%le Riichi (,a%urii)' and is worth two <an. !pen Riichi (1 a itional Han) [!pen Reach" # on$t %now] #n optional' %ut not alwa s included dimension of this ;aku is the 5pen Riichi. &ith this' a pla er e"poses their entire hand' making the tile the need to win o%!ious. This is again worth two <an. #ppatsu (1 a itional Han) [!ne Shot] +f ou win within one turn of our Riichi discard (%efore or with our ne"t draw)' ou get an additional <an. This is nullified if an calls are made at all' e!en concealed 3ans. &infu (1 Han) '()*u if Ron, +)*u if Tsumo, [&ointless] # completel concealed hand comprised entirel of runs' and waiting on two separate tiles' such as this7

+n this case' the pla er is waiting for a four or se!en @in to complete the 8>6 -hi. The pair in this hand cannot %e a &ind or ,ragon tile that would gi!e the pla er a <an in a set (see ;aku <ai). Tan -ao (1 Han) [.ll Simples] # hand comprised entirel of the numerical tiles %etween two and eight' e"cluding completel all &inds' ,ragons' 1s and Bs. This hand can %e e"posed in most rules.

-a%u Hai (1 Han) [-a%u Tile] # hand with a ,ragon' pla er$s &ind or &ind of the Round in a three>of>a>kind set. This ;aku is fulfilled purel % that set7 the rest of the hand can %e an thing.

Toi Toi (+ Han) [.ll &on] # hand consisting entirel of 3s and /s of a kind. This hand can' and almost certainl must %e e"posed.

Hon #tsu (( Han conceale , + Han with an/ e0pose mel ) [Single suit an honours] # hand consisting entirel of one suit and &indC,ragon tiles. This hand loses one <an if an part of it e"posed' howe!er' the hand still counts as concealed if it is !on on another pla er$s discard.

1hin #tsu (2 Han conceale , 3 Han with an/ e0pose mel ) [Single suit] 1imilar to the -hin +tsu' %ut without &indC,ragon tiles.

Moderately more ad&anced !an Sansho%u Do4un (+ Han conceale , 1 Han e0pose ) [Three 1olour Straight] # hand featuring the same num%er se*uence run in all three suits.

#%%i Tsu%an (+ Han conceale , 1 Han e0pose ) [!ne 1olour Straight] # hand featuring a 1>B run in one suit.

#i &ei 5ou (1 Han conceale , worthless in an e0pose han ) [Double Run] # hand with the same -hi repeated. The entire hand must %e concealed to get a <an from this ;aku.

R/an &ei 5ou (( Han conceale , worthless in an e0pose han ) [+0 Double Run] # hand with two separate .i (ei /ou. #gain' the entire hand must %e concealed.

1hanta (+ Han61 Han e0pose ) [7n in e8er/ mel ] # hand of which all the sets feature a terminal (1 or B) or &indC,ragon tile' with -his of 1>0>3 andCor D> E>B present. The pair of this hand must also %e terminal or a &indC,ragon tile.

9un 1han (( Han conceale , + Han e0pose ) [Terminal in e8er/ mel ] 1imilar to a -hanta' %ut without &indC,ragon tiles.

Honroutou (3 Han stac%e with Toi Toi) [70clusi8el/ Terminals an Honours] This hand is also similar to a -hantaCJun -han' %ut does not ha!e -his of 1>0>3 or D>E>B. + should point out that a hand consisting entirely of terminals' or one entirely of &indC,ragon tiles would %e a ;aku Man (13 <an)' though this is !er rare. This hand will almost certainl need to %e called.

1hii Toitsu (+ Han) [Se8en &air Han ] This hand is irregular' %ut still *uite a common occurrence. Rather than %eing a hand of four sets and a pair' this hand contains se!en paired tiles. The Tenpai of this hand (see 6lossar ) consists of si" pairs and a single tile which is %eing waited on. This ;aku can stack with incidental %onuses like <onroutou or -hin +tsu' %ut not from Meld %onuses like 1anshoku ,ojun or +i @ei 3ou.

Sansho%u Dou 5ou (+ Han) [Three 1olour Three:of:a:5in ] # hand with three @ons or 3ans of the same num%er (in different suits' naturall ' as it would %e *uite difficult otherwise).

San Ren 5ou (+ Han) [Three 1onsecuti8e &ons or Three # entical 1his] # hand with three consecuti!e threes>of>a>kind of the same suit' or three identical -his.

San .n 5ou (+ Han) [Three 1onceale &ons] # hand with three concealed threes>of>a>kind. The final set can %e called' howe!er' the three @ons must %e nati!e to the hand. +f ou complete the third @on off another pla er' ou do not get this %onus' e!en in a Ron scenario.

San 5an Tsu (+ Han) [Three 5ans] # hand with three 3ans' called or otherwise.

Shou San ;en (< Han when stac%e with two -a%u Hai) [=ittle Three Dragons] # hand with two @ons or 3ans of two dragon tiles' and the final one completing the pair of the hand. + should mention that this hand is somewhat of a consolation priAe for the 0ai &an +en' another ;aku Man monster.

Conditional !an'
These <an are almost alwa s luck %ased *uirks of the game' and unreliant on tiles. Remem%er that these <an can satisf the 1 <an criterion for a hand (as in #kagi' episode 13)' though aiming for them is an unusual and difficult a!enue. Hai Tei (1 Han) [=ast Tile] &inning on the !er last tile of the game' either if it is our own draw or someone else$s discard. #s long as it is the tile of which the discarding will lea!e 1/ tiles in the wall' it is <ai Tei. Rin 1han 5ai Hou (1 Han) [Dea >all >in] &inning on a draw taken from the dead wall after the declaration of a 3an. The person who dealt into the 3an pa s the full pa ment for the win. 1han%an (1 Han) [5an Steal] This one is irregular. +f someone has a @on declared in their hand' as ou know' if the draw the fourth tile' the can promote it to a 3an. +f the tr and promote a @on of our winning tile' ou can claim that tile as a Ron. ?agashi @an ;an (3 Han) +f the game ends in a stalemate' and our entire discard pile is 5nes' =ines' &inds and ,ragons' ou automaticall win that round with a Man 6an hand' regardless of our actual hand. <owe!er' this necessitates that no one calls an of our discards' and that ou do not call an discards ourself. &hile + do not remem%er the name for it' .ast$s eighth consecuti!e win is a ;aku Man. 1ome !ariations end the game at this point' while others allow .ast to continue' winning a ;aku Man e!er hand henceforth.

#a$u Man hands'

These are the true monsters of the Mahjong <and world. &ith 13 <an' the are limit hands' and cannot score an higher regardless of e"tra <an. <owe!er' these hands are all highl unlikel to materialise. &hile the thrill ou will feel with them will %e unmatched' don$t tr to form one of these monsters e!er game. +f the possi%ilit appears to %e closing' chasing the transient glor will merel disa%le ou. Tenhou [Alessing of Hea8en] # dealer>onl hand. +f ou draw a hand that ou can declare a Tsumo on %efore a single tile has %een dealt' regardless of how worthless it ma %e7 it is a ;aku Man. 1hiihou [Alessing of 7arth] The non>dealer e*ui!alent of Tenhou. +f ou win on our first draw' our hand %ecomes a ;aku Man. This hand %ecomes null if an tile is called %efore our turn' including concealed 3ans. Renhou [Alessing of @an] # hand won off one of the first four discards of a game. #gain' this hand %ecomes null if an tile is called %efore our winning tile is dealt. 1ome !ariants ha!e this hand as a Man 6an or Fai Man instead of ;aku Man. 5o%ushi @usou [Thirteen !rphans] The second irregular hand7 this one consisting of one of e!er terminal' &ind and ,ragon' as well as a pair of an of the preceding tiles. +f ou are a%le to compose our hand with one of e!er thirteen with no pairs and no terminal' &ind or ,ragon discards (so as to pre!ent ?uri Ten' later)' ou will %e waiting on the thirteen separate tiles to complete the pair' though this is highl unlikel . &hat will usuall happen is that ou will draw a pair of one the tiles and wait on the missing one. &ith the following hand' the pla er had a pair of the 1>@in and was waiting on the Red ,ragon.

1huuren &outou [?ine ;ates6Terminal ;ates] # hand consisting of 1>1>1>0>3>/>8>6>D>E>B>B>B of an single suit' as well as an other tile from the suit. #s with the 3okushi Musou' this hand has the capa%ilit to get into a huge wait' %ut is unlikel to. &hile it ma %e difficult to imagine' the 1>1>1>0>3>/>8>6>D>E>B>B>B setup is waiting on nine tiles (as illustrated % this .gif http4CCupload.wikimedia.orgCwikipediaCenCeCe9C=ine>6ates>anim.gif). &hat is more likel to happen is a setup such as 111>00>3>/ 6>D>E>BBB' which will wait on a fi!e of the suit. &hile the former is prefera%le' the latter is also a ;aku Man.

Suu .n 5ou [*our 1onceale &ons] # hand consisting of four concealed threes>of>a>kind. #%solutel no part of this hand can %e called' o%!iousl . #gain' this hand has two setups which allow separate circumstances of winning. +f ou ha!e four in hand threes>of>a>kind and are waiting to complete a pair' ou can win % Ron. <owe!er' if ou ha!e a 1an #n 3ou (three concealed @ons) and two pairs' and are waiting for a tile to complete one of the pairs' a Ron !ictor will not count as a 1uu #n 3ou' %ut merel a 1an #n 3ou Toi Toi. To win with this latter setup' ou must make a Tsumo for the hand to classif as ;aku Man.

Suu 5an Tsu [*our 5ans] # hand with four declared 3ans. This hand is *uite irregular' as the fourth 3an usuall ends the game. +n some rules' the hand is won whene!er the last 3an is declared' in others' the a%orti!e draw is ignored if onl one person holds all the 3ans' and is postponed until the declaration of the fifth 3an' at which point all the pla ers will promptl shuffle their tiles properl .

Dai San ;en [Aig Three Dragons] # hand with all three dragons in a three or four>of>a>kind set.

Dai Suushi [Aig *our >in s] # hand with all of the winds in a three or four>of>a>kind set. This is also one step awa from a Tsu .i &ou.

Shou Suushi [=ittle *our >in s] # hand with three of the winds in a three or four>of>a>kind set' and the last forming the pair.

R/uu #i Sou [.ll ;reen] Flame the #mericans. This is a hand made entirel of the 1ou tiles without red or %lue paint and' optionall ' the green dragon. The tile designs + am using came from &ikipedia' which failed to take this hand into account. ?rom these images' it is the 1ou tiles without red paint' namel 0' 3' /' 6 and E.

Tsu #i Sou [.ll Honours] # hand consisting entirel of &ind or ,ragon three or four>of>a>kind melds. The pair must also %e a &ind or ,ragon.

1hinroutouB [.ll Terminals] # hand consisting entirel of one or nine three or four>of>a>kind melds' again' the pair must also %e terminal.

Dai Sharin [;reat >heel] # se!en>pair hand of which all components are consecuti!e num%ers from the same suit. 5ccasionall ' onl the @in Gu suit is allowed for this hand.

Suu Ren 5ou [1onsecuti8e &ons] ?our consecuti!e threes>of>a>kind of the same suit. The pair ma or ma not ha!e to %e consecuti!e depending on the rules.

#sho%u -on4un [< # entical 1his] ?our identical -hi se*uences.

Shi San &uuta [1( Cnrelate Tiles] # hand consisting of tiles through which no single -hi could %e formed' and just one pair. This can onl %e called on our first turn' %arring calls and concealed 3ans as alwa s.

(ou)le #a$uman
1ome rules allow certain ;aku Man to %e worth twice as much' such as a the thirteen and nine sided wait !ariants of the 3okushi Musou and -huuren @outou hands respecti!el ' though this is uncommon.

,ora #nother pi!otal s stem of Riichi Mahjong is that of ,ora. The tile on the top row two o!er from the side from whence the tiles were dealt is flipped' and additional <an will %e gi!en to tiles corresponding to it. This screenshot shows the ,ora tile in 1aik o no Mahjong 3,. The sketchil pink %ordered tile is the current ,ora' while the %lue %ordered tiles will become ,ora one>% >one upon the declaration of 3an. The green tile is the current acti!e Hra ,ora' while the green tiles will %ecome Hra ,ora upon 3an declaration.

<ere$s a screenshot of two acti!e ,ora for reference. 5ne tile has also %een drawn from the ,ead &all' as is clear in the picture. The %onus <an tile (referred to as the ,ora tile' while the tile in the dead wall is the ,ora +ndicator I,ora < ouji <aiJ) is as follows7

?or numerical tile assignments' the ,ora are eas to remem%er7 it is simpl the tile one num%er a%o!e the +ndicator. # Three Man indicator would make the ?our Man the ,ora tile' a 1e!en 1ou indicator would make an .ight 1ou ,ora' and so forth. +f the num%er is a nine' the one of that suit %ecomes ,ora. ?or ,ragon and &ind tiles' the ,ora assignments are as follows4

-> Hatsu -> Chun

-> -> Haku

-> Ton -> Nan

-> -> Sha

-> -> Pei

+t is !ital to note that ,ora do not ul ill the 1ne ,an minimum or hands. The are merel additional score for an alread legitimate hand. 5an Dora .!er time a 3an is declared' a new ,ora tile is flipped. +f the 3an is concealed' the ,ora tile is flipped %efore the ,ead &all draw and discard. +f the 3an is called' or promoted' the ,ora is flipped after the discard. Cra Dora [Re8erse Dora] +f a person who is in Riichi wins' the tiles belo! the ,ora indicators in the dead wall also count towards their hand as legitimate ,ora. <owe!er' onl Hra ,ora indicators %elow acti!e ,ora indicators are e!er used. This is one of the man ad!antages of Riichi. .%ahai [Re Tiles6Re *i8es] This is an optional rule used *uite often among harder core pla ers. .ssentiall ' one of each of the fi!es from each suit will ha!e red markings rather than the t pical colours. These count as ,ora' regardless of the actual ,ora' and can stack with it. The screenshot %elow shows a red ?i!e Man. #gain' this does not satisf the one <an criterion.

Ta%i [?orth >a/throwing] +$!e onl e!er seen this rule on Tenhou.net three pla er games. .ssentiall ' e!er =orth that is drawn is put to the side and replaced % a new tile from the e"tended ,ead &all. This adds an e"tra <an to an hand' and is put under (,ora) in the final scoring. +t$s %een a while since +$!e pla ed' %ut + %elie!e the te"t reads (Taki) when this happens. + could %e wrong. The 5aDoe -a%u @an [1ounte -a%u @an] &ith (or e!en without) ,ora' there is another ;aku Man path open. +f ou are a%le to amass 13 <an through legitimate hand %uilding and luck' ou can still get our outrageous points.

Tenpai and No Ten )appu

#t the end of e!er stalemated game' those in Tenpai get paid 3'999 points as a group % those in =o Ten as a group (6lossar ). +f one person is in Tenpai' he recei!es 1'999 from each pla er. +f one person is in =o Ten' he will pa 1'999 to each pla er. +f it is an e!en 0C0 split' each Tenpai pla er will recei!e 1'899 from a =o Ten pla er. This %onus makes stri!ing for Tenpai at the end of the game a priorit if ou cannot win' and in certain circumstances it ma %e %etter to a!oid declaring a win if the Tenpai Fappu is likel to %e worth more. Fear in mind that e!en if our Tenpai lacks a <an' ou will still get the %onus. ?or each time there is a stalemate' whether the dealer is in Tenpai or not' 199 points are thrown into a kind of pot % each of the pla ers. These coins will accumulate' and are taken % the winner. These points stack with loose Riichi deposits and Ren -han counters.

*en Chan
+f the dealer wins his first game' 199 points are thrown in % each pla er as a pot. The ne"t !ictorious pla er will take these. <owe!er' if the dealer wins again' he will take the pot and the wager for the ne"t game increases to 099. This stacks indefinitel ' and can turn an innocent hand into a monster.

+uri Ten
This is a crucial rule in Japanese Mahjong. +f the tile ou need to win is in our dealt tiles' ou cannot declare a "on. ;ou can onl make a Tsumo. This' howe!er' can reach across melds. +f ou ha!e a

as our last' incomplete set' and were waiting on a or ' ou !ould not be able to declare a "on on the 2our (in i a &even (in !as among your dealt tiles. +f an tile to complete our Tenpai is in our pond' an other tile is %locked automaticall % ?uri Ten.

tama !ane
#n uncommon rule regarding two pla ers calling the same tile for a Ron. &ith the <ead Fump s stem' the pla er closest anticlockwise (he who would take the ne"t chronological draw) gets to complete their hand while the other person fails to win. +n most s stems' howe!er' %oth pla ers will win off the discard' and the unluck soul who dealt it will ha!e to pa for %oth hands.

#%orti!e ,raws -ertain circumstances will automaticall end the game. 5ccasionall ' this will %e done deli%eratel to a!oid danger. 5/uushu -auchuhai Touhai +f a pla er draws nine or more distinct 1s' Bs' &ind or ,ragon tiles in their opening hand' the can force the game to %e redealt out of sheer misfortune. This can onl happen on their turn' and is nullified % an calls' including concealed 3ans. #lso' this hand would %e an ideal shape to go for a 3okushi Musou' %ut the decision is our own. San 1ha Hou +f three pla ers call the same tile for a Ron on the same discard' the round is automaticall drawn. Suu +ontsu *enda +f all four pla ers discard the same wind tile on their first turn' without the declaration of concealed 3ans' the round is drawn. Suu 1ha Riichi +f all four pla ers declare a Riichi' the round is drawn. Suu 5an Sanra +f a fourth 3an is declared' the round is drawn' e"cept if all four ha!e %een declared % one person' in which case it is a 1uu 3an Tsu situation.

%rie, Glossary
Tenpai Feing one tile from a complete hand' such as this7

&hich is (waiting) on a

or

to complete one of two @ons.

?o Ten Feing in a position in which ou will not %e a%le to declare a win on an tile. Most of the game will usuall %e spent in this state. Shan Ten This is the num%er of ideal tiles from Tenpai ou are. +f ou onl need one tile to get into Tenpai' ou are in (1 1han Ten). +f ou need two tiles' ou are in (0 1han Ten). >ait The tile ou need to win' categorised as follows7 Type Open wait Closed wait &dge wait Single wait Dual Pon wait Description Chi waiting for a tile to either end, i e !-" needs # or $ Chi waiting for a tile in the %iddle, i e !-$ needs " Chi waiting for a tile in only one possi'le end, i e #-! tai (-) Single tile waiting for another for pair *aiting on tiles to co%plete one of two pairs

Scoring
+u This is the point !alue counted %efore <an. ?u is calculated as follows7 Points #+ $ ! ! (0$ $0! "!0#3 #30( ! Description ,ully closed hand -.on is accepted 'ut no called %elds/ Own and round wind pair Colour, round wind or own wind pair Tsu%o &1ery closed0open Pon of &nds -#, ), *inds, Colours/ &1ery closed0open Pon of 2iddles -!-( of Suits/ &1ery closed0open 4an of &nds &1ery closed0open 4an of 2iddles Closed, &dge or Single wait

<owe!er' a regular hand$s minimum ?u !alue will %e 39. # -hii Toitsu will ha!e 08?u' while a @in ?u Tsumo will ha!e a mere 09. ?u is also rounded up to the nearest ten. Han "-5 -with sufficient ,u/ 3, 7 (, ), #+ ##, #! #" Na%e 2an 6an Hane 2an 8ai 2an San 8ai 2an 9aku 2an

There is a chart to calculate ?u against <an included o!erleaf. The columns are ?u' while the rows are <an. The top chart is for non>dealer wins' in which the first %racketed num%er is what the dealer pa s' and the second what the others pa in the e!ent of a Tsumo. The lower chart is for dealer wins' in which the num%er is the flat pa ment for e!er one in case of a Tsumo.

#a$u Chart
#s with all the other ta%les in this guide' this was stolen from the #kagiKMahjongK1coringK-harts fellow on Rapidshare. + apologise. The penalt column is the penalt incurred for ha!ing an aspect of the hand open. Na%e 2en Tsu%o .iichi Open .iichi Tupla-.iichi <ppatsu Chankan .in Shan 4ai Hou Haidei Tsu%o Haidei .on Tenhou0Chiihou 1 1 1 1 Pinfu <ipeikou .yanpeikou <tsuu Sanshoku 0 0 Toitoi Sanshokudoukou San >n 4ou San 4an Tsu Suu >n 4ou 0 0 =oN =o " : closed Pons and0or 4ans " : 4an @on M 3an 0 0 >1 >1 =o =o -hi 1 1 1L0 =o =o Self-draw win fro% 4an e:tra tile Self-draw win fro% the last tile .on fro% last discard Tsu%o0.on fro% first draw0disc Hand consists only of Chis ; pair, open wait, pair %ust not 'e &nds ! : identical Chis ! : ! identical Chis #!"$537() of sa%e suit " : sa%e nu%' Chis fro% " suits Only Pons and0or 4ans ; pair " : sa%e nu%'er Pon =a0tai 4an 0 1 1 =o =o =o .iichi on first discard To win within # round fro% .iichi .on fro% a tile wanted for 4an Type &inning Han 1 1 0 =o =o Penalty Short e:planation Closed hand ; self-draw Special, see a'o1e .iichi ; showing your whole hand

Suu 4an Tsu

1 1

=oN 1 =o =o

$ : closed Pons and0or 4ans $ : 4an, Tsu%o fro% 4an e:tra tile, 'ecause ga%e ends in draw No &nds &nd in e1ery %eld 7 pairs consisting of &nds only

Tan 9ao Chanta Honroutou -7 pairs/ Honroutou ?un Chan Chinroutou 9aku Hai Tsu <isou Shou San 6en Dai San 6en Shou Suushi Dai Suushi

.nds (1' B' colours and winds)

1 0 0L0 0L3

=o >1 1 =o 1 =o 1 1 1 >1 >1

&nds only Ter%inal in e1ery %eld Ter%inals only Pon04an of colours, own or round wind &le%ents only -7 pairs also/ ! : Pon and0or 4an ; pair of col " : Pon and0or 4an of colours " : Pon and0or 4an ; pair of winds $ : Pon and0or 4an of winds One Suit ; &le%ents only One Suit only 7 Pairs, no dou'les allowed

Terminals (1' B) .lements (colours and winds)

1L0 1 1 1 0L0 1 1 1

Hon <tsu Chin <tsu Chiitoitsu .yuu <isou Chuuren Pootoo 4okushi 2usou

1uits (1ou' Man' @in) 1pecial

3 3L3 0 1

@>ll green@A Only colour green ; !, ", $, 3 and ( of Sou allowed ###!"$537())) ; any tile of the sa%e suit One of e1ery &nd ; one sa%e tile

1 1

-here to get sweet .M/0

Sai$yo no Mahjong 1( +f ou$re just starting out' ou$ll appreciate %eing a%le to take as long as ou want with our decisions. #+ are also a fair degree easier than human opponents. (http4CCrapidshare.comCfilesCD1B/3111C1aik oKnoK3,KMahjong>J@.rar) works as of 01.91.099E. ?ailing' just Rapidsearch (1aik o). Running the program is fairl straightforward. The uppermost option is to start a game ( %eing es and %eing no is good life knowledge in general' and will come in hand ' + guarantee it). -lick ;es' then =o after selecting opponents (the old gu is pro%a%l the toughest)' select a tile' click repeatedl and ou$re read to pla . Felow is a %asic translation of the interface.

Tenhou www.tenhou.net This is a Japanese' flash>%ased Mahjong site. Feing a%le to pla against real people is a definite %oon to the thrill of winning' the soul>o%literation of losing' and e!er state in %etween. =a!igate to the page and click the large @O#; %utton (or the %utton %elow to open in the same window). &ait for the loading to finish and click . &ait for the loading to finish again and input a name' then click 53. ;ou$ll %e presented with this7

One *ound 5nl the .ast round is pla ed. Two Roun s # regular <an -han game with .ast and 1outh rounds. ?ashi # more restricti!e ruleset. .ri # looser ruleset' the one + ha!e taught ou. .ri ERe #ri pla ed with the #kahai. .ri E*ast #ri pla ed with much less decision time. ( &la/er # three pla er !ariant of the game +f ou wish to create our own' pri!ate lo%% for a game with friends' simpl use this HRO (http4CCwww.tenhou.netCmakeKlo%% .html)' and take the h perlink closest to the top of the page. The actual pla ing interface is a fairl straightforward if ou$re used to the s m%ols.