Anyone know of a good, Mahjong game that has a mode intended to teach Westerners how to play the game?

[RH | 4,916]

For those who have never looked much into the game "mahjong" in America is a puzzle-game where stacked Mahjong tiles are placed in specific patterns and you match pairs to take them off of the stack until you run out of options or tiles.

...but that's not the actual game of Mahjong.  Mahjong is suppose to be a complex, fast-pace game built on these tiles. I'm intrigued but instead of slogging through documents, I'd actually like to see if I can fin a Mahjong game that was actually made for the West and intended to teach American's how to play the game.

If anyone has found a game like this, I'd appreciate a recommendation.  Working through a game and tutorials works way better for me than trying to figure out the rules, especially without a set of tiles.

Thanks.

[fcgamer | 4,729]

I'd be interested in a game like this as well. For me, the issue is the game needs four or whatever number of players to play, so trying to find that many sympathetic players at once when you're learning is difficult, unlike something like chess where you just need one other player.

On a different note, I can get you a cheapie mahjong tile set here if you want one @RH

[RH | 4,916]

2 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

I'd be interested in a game like this as well. For me, the issue is the game needs four or whatever number of players to play, so trying to find that many sympathetic players at once when you're learning is difficult, unlike something like chess where you just need one other player.

On a different note, I can get you a cheapie mahjong tile set here if you want one @RH

PM me how much, shipped, to the states.  I've considered looking for one because why not. I already have a (useless) set of Hanafuda cards.  I'd like to have a similar set of Mahjong tiles too.

Thanks for offering that.  That's really cool.

[fcgamer | 4,729]

Just now, RH said:

PM me how much, shipped, to the states.  I've considered looking for one because why not. I already have a (useless) set of Hanafuda cards.  I'd like to have a similar set of Mahjong tiles too.

Thanks for offering that.  That's really cool.

They got em at the stationary shops. I'll snap some pics this weekend with prices, I can also get you the Chinese Chess game if you're interested. 

[RH | 4,916]

3 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

They got em at the stationary shops. I'll snap some pics this weekend with prices, I can also get you the Chinese Chess game if you're interested. 

Possibly.  I guess snap some photos and let me know how much each item will cost and shipping.  I could be interested in all of that.

[Tanooki | 4,936]

Add me to the want list on this if someone has a clue.

Last year if you recall when I contribute to the finds post some dude game into a game exchange, they refused to take some items, something I ended up with for $10 was 2 for $5 for F1-Race and Mahjong(CIB) for Famicom, then a damaged shell majora collectors cart too.  Surprised me.

Been trying to figure out how to play it and the faq file that exists blows, it's over my head.  I'd love to get some game that walks you through how to do it, how the groupings work, points are valued and the rest.  It looks like some serious thought out fun with a bit of luck given there is the random poker type gambling angle to what may or may not pop up on the tiles.

[fcgamer | 4,729]

Chinese Chess sets are cheap... about $3-4, some have paper boards inside, though the locals usually just take a piece of cardboard and make their own board.

Mahjong tiles, looks like about $15 for the set is the cheapest (excl shipping), a lot of variations such as tile size, etc, some are closer to $20-$25.

[RH | 4,916]

@fcgamer I think those are all pretty neat.  I'll PM you in a minute.

[Tanooki | 4,936]

Yeah those are interesting, and the circles are strange, but those classic tile sets do look fairly nice.  Problem though is still going back to having no clue how the hell to play it, cluster groupings, what the points are.

This is the cart I ended up with and can't figure out.  Cost me $2.50 CIB so it's not like I'm going to complain, but it would be nice to get it and play it.
https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Mahjong_(Famicom)

There is this guide, but it doesn't help since it's text only trying to line it all up and make sense of it still is an issue as the game is deep and complex enough it needs some hands on time to get it down I believe.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/578219-mahjong/faqs/45452

and a video...

 

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

On 2/10/2023 at 7:49 AM, Tanooki said:

Yeah those are interesting, and the circles are strange, but those classic tile sets do look fairly nice.  Problem though is still going back to having no clue how the hell to play it, cluster groupings, what the points are.

This is the cart I ended up with and can't figure out.  Cost me $2.50 CIB so it's not like I'm going to complain, but it would be nice to get it and play it.
https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Mahjong_(Famicom)

There is this guide, but it doesn't help since it's text only trying to line it all up and make sense of it still is an issue as the game is deep and complex enough it needs some hands on time to get it down I believe.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/578219-mahjong/faqs/45452

and a video...

 

There's a translation patch on Romhacking.net so the text will be in English.  It doesn't teach the game, but at least you don't have to learn Japanese as well.  It's also a super cheap repro to make, as its a simple NROM game, if you wanna go that route.

[Tanooki | 4,936]

13 hours ago, the_wizard_666 said:

There's a translation patch on Romhacking.net so the text will be in English.  It doesn't teach the game, but at least you don't have to learn Japanese as well.  It's also a super cheap repro to make, as its a simple NROM game, if you wanna go that route.

Not really, I already own the game, seems cost ineffective.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

18 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

Not really, I already own the game, seems cost ineffective.

That's fair. Just throwing it out there.  It's easy enough to download the patch and apply it to a ROM anyway.

[koifish | 556]

I don't know that there is a good riichi tutorial game. Almost certainly it won't exist in English. I tried doing some cursory Japanese search but could not find anything (this could be my bad as well, I'm only at a basic level in Japanese). I would recommend just watching the videos online of people explaining riichi in english and then just try playing online. Tenhou.net is the best option IMO. It's free and is very good, online-enabled, and well-loved by serious players. It has an AI-only practice mode and you can also play it on almost anything made in the last decade. Everybody who knows riichi should know about this game. Here's a direct link to the windows browser version: https://tenhou.net/3/ Click the top-right button on the title screen to switch the language.

Otherwise I'm not sure what to tell you. It's a "simple" game that is absurdly complex to master. Scoring is itself a pain in the ass, and it's a plateau that I have not yet bothered to climb (I let the computer do it for me ). Good luck learning, though, because gripes aside, it is a really fun game.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

Pick up Judgment for your preferred gaming console.   You can go in and play Mahjong in some of the casinos, and you learn a lot while playing it.

I tried to learn some of the other games like Shogi but couldn't quite get it.   Mahjong reminds me of Gin Rummy.

[Tanooki | 4,936]

That website looks as it could be useful, but I can't find the practice mode.  It dumped me into what looks like a live game and has no option to quit even closing the browser tab.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

3 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

That website looks as it could be useful, but I can't find the practice mode.  It dumped me into what looks like a live game and has no option to quit even closing the browser tab.

If closing the tab or even the whole browser doesn't do it, go into the "privacy" settings of your browser, look for that specific website under cookies, clear them, then reload.  That should take care of it if nothing else does.

[Tanooki | 4,936]

True enough.  If I knew the rules I'd stay on that site and play away as the english interface is great.  I just didn't see a practice option to try and brute force my way through figuring out the scoring and grouping of tiles to clear/score off of them.  I think it's a fascinating game to watch but trying to learn it with no physical help or a good instruction set to figure out is a big barrier.

There is that partial kind of guide for the FC release of the game but it's confusing as all get out since it's text with no way to figure out what tile matches up to what piece of text.

[koifish | 556]

2 hours ago, Tanooki said:

That website looks as it could be useful, but I can't find the practice mode.  It dumped me into what looks like a live game and has no option to quit even closing the browser tab.

 

My bad. I thought posting the web app link would just let you go directly to the start screen, but instead it goes into the game menus automatically (at least for me).

Try this link instead. It goes to the page where you can either launch the web version or download the desktop version. https://tenhou.net/0/

Click on the middle hyperlink that says "Webで開く" and it will launch the web version (alternatively, the link on the left will launch the web 4K mode version, and the right link will let you download the desktop version which may run better for you).

You should be able to see the English mode from there.

 

Maybe an english Riichi tutorial game would be a good game to develop...it would make an amusing homebrew at least!

[Tanooki | 4,936]

Yes that worked.  Thanks.

 

Tried a couple rounds, got 2 PON and 1 KAN over those which is something.  Damned if I know what that is, other than I had +points over the other two CPUs.  I think you're onto it, someone should make like a homebrew or whatever that can instruct people how to play, spelling what tiles to lay out when, what matches are, what are ways to lose and gain points, and so on.  I was just clicking on patterns trying to line up a progressive counter or a match of 2+ tiles in a row.

[DefaultGen | 5,413]

I'm surprised something like this doesn't exist considering how crazy popular Mahjong is (in Asia anyway). My in laws from HK taught me the Hong Kong rules and I picked up most of the riichi rules from manga (Akagi, so good).

It's definitely worth learning IMO. It has a strategy and opponent-reading element similar to poker, but with more complex scoring rules and a lot more information to process about your opponents hand rather than bets. It's one of those games with a seemingly unlimited skill ceiling. The more I play, the less I feel I know about the depth of possible strategies.

[Vaosu | 104]

Clubhouse Games for Nintendo Switch has many games (full list on wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clubhouse_Games:_51_Worldwide_Classics ), including Riichi Mahjong, with tutorials:

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Vaosu

[fox | 1,668]

On 2/23/2023 at 7:51 PM, captmorgandrinker said:

Pick up Judgment for your preferred gaming console.   You can go in and play Mahjong in some of the casinos, and you learn a lot while playing it.

I tried to learn some of the other games like Shogi but couldn't quite get it.   Mahjong reminds me of Gin Rummy.

Like A Dragon Ishin has Mahjong in the gambling den too

[koifish | 556]

Most of the Yakuza games have riichi in them, if I remember correctly. Friends of mine in college talked about FAQs for the games in which they only taught you how to unlock the riichi mode and then said "ok now you don't have to play the real game anymore"

Very interesting to see that the clubhouse games has a tutorial. The inclusion of roman characters on the tiles is also a nice crutch given most people probably don't know how to quickly read tiles (especially the chinese character ones)

[RH | 4,916]

18 hours ago, Vaosu said:

Clubhouse Games for Nintendo Switch has many games (full list on wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clubhouse_Games:_51_Worldwide_Classics ), including Riichi Mahjong, with tutorials:

 

I know you posted a video (which I assume is the tutorial since I don't have time at the moment to watch it), but if it's integrated into game play, this is exactly what I'm looking for.  If so, I'll have to pick up a copy.  I'd never buy a title like this for a console, but if it properly teaches Riichi, then it'd be worth it to me.

[Tanooki | 4,936]

2 hours ago, RH said:

I know you posted a video (which I assume is the tutorial since I don't have time at the moment to watch it), but if it's integrated into game play, this is exactly what I'm looking for.  If so, I'll have to pick up a copy.  I'd never buy a title like this for a console, but if it properly teaches Riichi, then it'd be worth it to me.

It is I watched about 2/3 of the clip and it does walk you through the scoring, groupings, images of what each tile is and the order they go, etc.  It also will pop up any situation where you'd go PON, ZON, etc and how to snatch tiles from other players to make your sets.  IT's easily easily followed, at least in that game.