Riichi Mahjong Rules Guide

What This Mode Is

Riichi is the most tactical of the four beginner routes because it cares deeply about what your hand is worth, when you commit, and whether the table has become dangerous.

A first-time Riichi player needs two habits immediately: always ask what the yaku is, and never assume bonus value is the same as win legality.

• A complete hand still needs at least one yaku to win.
• Dora is helpful, but dora alone does not make the hand live.
• Riichi is a powerful declaration, not a button you press automatically.
• Defense becomes a real skill much earlier in this mode.

Why This Mode Feels Different

Riichi punishes vague thinking. A hand can look beautiful, hold several bonus tiles, and still be dead if it has no yaku. It can also be one tile from victory and still be a bad riichi because the wait is poor and the table is dangerous.

That is why Riichi feels more precise than the other modes. You are not only building a hand. You are choosing a legal scoring route and timing your commitment.

• Yaku decides whether the hand can win at all.
• Han and fu shape the final payout after the hand is already legal.
• Riichi locks the hand shape after declaration.
• Furiten means your own discard history can shut off ron.

Before You Start

You can learn Riichi from zero, but it helps to carry over one stable base idea from the earlier modes: a normal winning hand is still usually four groups and one pair.

What changes here is the extra rules language. Learn these four terms early: yaku, han, dora, and fu.

• Yaku is the scoring pattern that makes the hand winnable.
• Han is the value you count after the hand already has a yaku.
• Dora is bonus han. It boosts a legal hand, but it never creates legality.
• Fu is the structure-based value used in the final point calculation.

Tiles and Table Setup

Riichi uses the 136-tile set with suits and honors only. There are no flowers, but the table does show dora indicators from the dead wall.

Those indicators matter because they point to bonus tiles. They do not, however, change the basic legality rule: the hand still needs a yaku first.

• Players start with the standard 13 tiles, with the dealer holding 14 before the first discard.
• Dora indicators are public and affect bonus value only.
• Kans can create additional indicators and change the table value picture.
• No flower replacement flow exists in Riichi.

How a Turn Works in This Mode

The ordinary draw-discard loop is still here, but every draw should also be checked against your yaku plan and the danger level at the table.

As the hand gets closer, you may reach tenpai, which means the hand is one tile away from winning. If the hand is closed and the other conditions are right, that is where the riichi decision enters.

1. Draw one tile and ask whether it improves your yaku route, your wait quality, or your safety.
2. Discard the tile that hurts those goals the least.
3. When the hand reaches a legal ready state, decide whether riichi is actually good here.
4. After riichi, the hand shape is locked and the focus shifts to live tiles and danger.
5. The hand ends by ron, tsumo, or exhaustive draw settlement.

Claims and Call Priority

Claims still work through chi, pon, kan, ron, and tsumo, but Riichi makes claims more delicate because opening the hand can remove important yaku options.

A beginner should assume that an open call needs a clear reason. If you do not know what yaku survives after the call, treat the call as suspicious.

• Chi is left-player only, while Pon and Kan can come from any player when legal.
• Ron can be blocked by furiten even if the hand looks complete.
• Open calls can remove some easy closed-hand plans, including riichi itself.
• Use open calls only when they clearly preserve a legal yaku route.

How to Build a Hand

The cleanest beginner Riichi hands start from a simple yaku plan. Tanyao, Yakuhai, or a straightforward riichi route are much easier to manage than a hand with no named plan at all.

As the hand develops, keep asking which tiles preserve a legal route and which tiles only preserve dora or pretty shape.

• Choose one likely yaku route by the early-middle turns.
• Keep the hand closed when your easiest route depends on riichi.
• Treat dora as a value amplifier after the yaku is secure.
• Good waits matter because weak waits make both riichi and late pushes worse.

How to Tell If You Can Win

Riichi requires a complete hand plus at least one yaku. That is the core legality test. Dora does not replace yaku, and furiten can still stop ron even when the hand is otherwise complete.

This is the section to slow down on. Most early Riichi mistakes come from confusing bonus value with legal value or forgetting that furiten changes the claim options.

• First confirm the hand is structurally complete.
• Then name the active yaku out loud or mentally.
• If you cannot name a yaku, the hand cannot win yet.
• Check furiten before ron. If furiten applies, ron is blocked and you must pivot.

How Scoring Works in This Mode

Riichi scoring has four layers that matter to beginners: yaku makes the hand legal, han measures value, fu shapes the final calculation, and dora adds bonus han after legality is already settled.

You do not need to master every final point calculation on day one. You do need to understand which layer answers which question.

• Yaku answers: can this hand win at all?
• Han answers: how much value does the hand have once it is legal?
• Fu answers: how does the hand structure affect the final payout?
• Dora answers: how much bonus value gets added after the hand is already live?

Your First Hand in This Mode

The safest first Riichi hand is one where you pick a simple yaku route early and refuse to be distracted by dora until the route is real.

Do not try to play like an expert immediately. Your first goal is not perfect aggression. It is correct legality checks and sane riichi timing.

1. Turn 1: Sort the hand into likely yaku routes, connected shapes, and isolated leftovers.
2. Turn 2: Decide whether the hand looks more like a closed riichi route, a tanyao route, or a yakuhai route.
3. Turn 3: Keep tiles that support that route and discard tiles that only look nice without helping legality.
4. Turn 4: If the hand is still flexible, keep it closed and clean rather than forcing an early open call.

Beginner Strategy Playbook

Strong beginner Riichi play comes from discipline, not bravery. Pick a legal route, keep the hand honest, and avoid confusing pressure with strength.

• Commit to one likely yaku route by the early middle of the hand.
• Keep the hand closed when riichi is your easiest path.
• Treat dora as extra value after legality is secure.
• Declare riichi selectively, not automatically.
• If the hand is weak and the table is hot, fold early rather than late.

Defense and Risk Management

Riichi rewards defense more than the earlier modes. A player who keeps pushing without a good wait or a clean legal route will donate points quickly.

The hardest beginner lesson is often learning that folding is not failure. It is correct play when the attack is weak.

• When someone is in riichi, re-evaluate every discard as a danger choice.
• Use visible discards and table rhythm to find safer exits.
• If your hand is not clearly live, stop paying for it with dangerous tiles.
• Weak waits and weak legality are both reasons to step back.