The short answer: Riichi mahjong is Japan’s 4-player version, played with 136 tiles — no flowers, no jokers. To win you need a completed hand worth at least 1 yaku, a recognized scoring pattern. You can declare riichi on a closed hand by paying 1,000 points, after which your hand is locked. Dora tiles add bonus points.
Riichi mahjong is the game behind every anime tournament arc. It’s tense, precise, the closest mahjong gets to chess. The basic hand shape is the same as elsewhere; the rules on top make it special.
What do you need to win a riichi hand?
- At least 1 yaku. A yaku is a recognized pattern — riichi itself, all simples, three closed triplets, or a dragon triplet. No yaku, no win.
- A complete shape. Four sets plus a pair — 14 tiles total. Sets can be sequences or triplets.
- Watch the dora. Dora are bonus tiles revealed in the wall. They add points but don’t count as yaku.
- Mind furiten. If a tile you’ve discarded could complete your hand, you can’t win from someone else’s discard — only by drawing it yourself.
How does a riichi game actually flow?
- Deal 13 tiles each; the dealer starts with 14 and discards first. Every turn is draw one, discard one.
- You may call a discard to form a triplet or sequence — but every call opens your hand and costs you yaku opportunities.
- When your hand is closed and one tile from winning, declare riichi: put a 1,000-point stick on the table. Your discards lock in.
- Complete your hand with a 14th tile from a draw or a discard. Furiten may force you to wait for your own draw.
Riichi is a competition game — every choice is a bet on what everyone else holds. The fastest way to feel it: start with the how-to-play-mahjong guide, then read the full rules before you sit down.
Related Questions
What does riichi mean in mahjong?
It means “ready” in Japanese. Declaring it tells the table your hand is closed and one tile from winning — and it counts as one yaku.
What is dora in riichi mahjong?
Dora are bonus tiles marked by the indicator flipped in the wall. Each adds a point multiplier — but dora never satisfy the 1-yaku minimum.
What is furiten in riichi mahjong?
Furiten bars winning on discards. If any tile you threw could complete your hand, the winning tile must come from your own draw.
How many yaku do you need to win?
One minimum. Most hands carry two or three, and more means bigger payouts. Riichi itself is a yaku, which is why closed hands are strong.