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

[Vaosu | 104]

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.

 

Absolutely, video teaches a good basics for it, as well as a lot of games that I had no clue how to play. I've never known a single thing about Riichi Mahjong before last night, so after I watched that video I then went to https://lite.mahjongtime.com/#/RCR/lobby/games (you can sign in as a guest) and tried out some 'School' matches against computer opponents, and I was actually beginning to understand a little bit more about what I was doing. Then after I learned the very basics of the game and gameplay, I read up a little bit on https://www.coololdgames.com/tile-games/mahjong/japanese-riichi/ to teach me a few more things.

I tried a match against some real players, and I didn't win, but I feel like I was understanding a little bit of strategy about what to discard, what to keep, what sequences (yaku) I was trying to make, and I feel I definitely held my own.

 

Typed this up as a structure to how I have learned Riichi Mahjong games are played. I hope maybe it can help:

 

Dealer passes out 13 tiles to all 4 players, then they begin the game by drawing a 14th tile. Since you can only have a maximum of 13 tiles, one must be discarded, and if no one calls the tile from discard to complete a sequence, the turn is then passed to the person to their right. The game always flows in Counterclockwise.

Begin Turn -> Draw a tile -> Discard a tile -> End Turn. While it is not your turn, watch what other players discard because you may need it!

At it's core, it's all about making yaku, or combinations. You can do this easy enough when another player discards a tile at the beginning of their turn by calling either a pon (completing a triplet when you already have a pair of that tile in your hand), a kan (same as a pon, but it's to complete a quad if you have a triplet in your hand already), and a chii (complete a straight, such as 4-5-6 of dots, or 2-3-4 of bamboo, but may ONLY be called upon the player to your left's discard). You may not grab a tile from another person's discard unless it is doing one of these things.

When you do grab a tile from another player's discard, you must place those tiles down next to your hand with the tile you called from the discard placed sideways so everyone else knows that that is the tile that you called. After you call a tile from discard, the turn order skips everyone else and it is immediately your turn.

• TIP: There are only four of each tile (four of '2 of Dots', four of 'North Wind', four of '7 of Symbols', etc.). If you have two of a certain tile, and are waiting to see if you draw a third, or one is discarded, take a look at what has already been discarded. One or two of them may have already been discarded earlier in the game! If so, you're not going to get quad, and a triplet may be very difficult and unlikely. But, one of the tiles could always be kept to make a straight or another yaku.

When you place a sequence down after calling it from discard (pon, kan, chii), that is now considered an Open Yaku, as it's now out in the open. You can never place a triplet/quad/straight down into an Open Yaku directly from your hand if you happened to start the game with it, or draw a tile you need. It will always be considered a Closed Yaku. If you happen to have this triplet in your hand, and someone discards the fourth tile you need in order to create a quad (also called a kong), you call kan, and it will then become an Open Yaku.

There are a LOT of rules and things to remember, but honestly the most complicated part is just remembering all of the different yaku, as some are really complicated. The easiest ones I focused on first were All Simples (4 triplets/straights and a pair, made up of a combination of dots, sticks/bamboo, and symbols/numbers suits), All Triplets (4 triplets and a pair, of any suits), and Seven Pair (7 pairs, of any suits, winds, or dragons).

There are a lot more rules than this even, but this is basically the entire core of gameplay. There are a few other rules that do not come up as frequently and are situational, but if you are looking to begin playing Riichi Mahjong at a beginner level and starting to learn yaku and strategies, this is a good start for you.

 

I found someone that posted a couple decent images online of some Yaku:  

Edited February 27, 2023 by Vaosu

[phart010 | 1,707]

@Vaosuthanks for your input. This game looks incredibly complicated.

Do they make mahjong as a deck of cards? Seems like it would be more convenient to transport around that way. 

[RH | 4,916]

9 hours ago, phart010 said:

@Vaosuthanks for your input. This game looks incredibly complicated.

Do they make mahjong as a deck of cards? Seems like it would be more convenient to transport around that way. 

I'm going to guess you can find a mahjong card deck out there, especially in the US, but tradition is a tough thing to break.  Ever played dominoes with cards or cardboard?  I have and it just doesn't feel right, even though dominoes isn't a game a lot of people play but we're familiar with.

Again, I'm guessing something out there and it's probably easy to find in the US, but I'd guess it's tougher to find something like that in the East.  @fcgamer showed off some cheap sets you could buy at a convenient store.  They don't look that big.  It'd be no different than taking a small board game (or a chess set) to a friends house.

So, from this thread I've learned that traditional "mahjong" is a game called Riichi.  Are there other games commonly played with these tiles in China/Japan?  The game we're most familiar with (originally branded as Shanghai) with the stacked tiles you eliminate was invented in the west for westerners.  I think these tiles are cool enough in their own right, and I'd also like to learn about other games, maybe if there are any that families play together (as in, that aren't based around gambling.)

[fcgamer | 4,729]

4 hours ago, RH said:

I'm going to guess you can find a mahjong card deck out there, especially in the US, but tradition is a tough thing to break.  Ever played dominoes with cards or cardboard?  I have and it just doesn't feel right, even though dominoes isn't a game a lot of people play but we're familiar with.

Again, I'm guessing something out there and it's probably easy to find in the US, but I'd guess it's tougher to find something like that in the East.  @fcgamer showed off some cheap sets you could buy at a convenient store.  They don't look that big.  It'd be no different than taking a small board game (or a chess set) to a friends house.

So, from this thread I've learned that traditional "mahjong" is a game called Riichi.  Are there other games commonly played with these tiles in China/Japan?  The game we're most familiar with (originally branded as Shanghai) with the stacked tiles you eliminate was invented in the west for westerners.  I think these tiles are cool enough in their own right, and I'd also like to learn about other games, maybe if there are any that families play together (as in, that aren't based around gambling.)

I'm gonna get you one, just been really busy. Want to show you a few more options 

[RH | 4,916]

2 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

I'm gonna get you one, just been really busy. Want to show you a few more options 

It's cool.  I know we all can be busy, and since you're offering at-cost as a favor, I'm not worried either way.

[AirVillain | 490]

I like the slow version...

https://www.freemahjong.com/games/mahjong-relax

[phart010 | 1,707]

Apparently there’s a Mario Mahjong game on DS. It’s called Yakuman DS

[Tanooki | 4,936]

Part of a franchise that goes back to one of the four Gameboy launch titles(and only we didn't see outside of Japan) for Gameboy in 1989.  As far as the US goes, a somewhat short of of first party franchise that never left there.