This article is within the scope of the wikiproject japan, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of japanrelated articles on wikipedia. These yaku are the ones my japanese friends play with, and basically represent the commonly used japanese rule set. Instead, they are the main factor to determine hand values. It is essential to know the yaku for game strategy, since a player must have a minimum of one yaku in their hand in order to legally win a hand. Meaning of yaku in japanese romajidesu japanese dictionary. It is essential to know the yaku for game strategy, since. Japanese mahjong scoring rules are used for japanese mahjong, a game for four players common in japan. Yaku are specific hand patterns or conditions needed in order to score a hand. In addition, a complete hand must have at least one yaku double. A yaku is a certain pattern in a mahjong hand, or a special condition under which a win is declared. Pick up a junk mat if you dont have a safe surface to play on. Rarely seen in the united states, this game set is for the japanese version of mahjong. My japanese mahjong guides full pdf guide and primer for yakuza players hi gang. In that way, mahjong is similar to bingo, in that there are a number of different games.
Mahjong escape ancient japan is an additive and relaxing tile matching game using, as its name suggests, mahjong tiles. For this it might be good to know how to effectively achieve higher scores. This modern variant is commonly played in europe and used with the european mahjong association. D3 publishers mahjong game the mahjong is destined for the nintendo switch in japan.
As we can combine honitsu with many other yaku, in. The problem with riichi mahjong though is that all the rules use moonspeak terms. Japanese form of the game, and thus contained several references to that style as a. In order to go for the higherscoring hand, you must discard a dot or bamboo. When your hand is ready and fully concealed, you can call riichi. Mahjong culture, to improve the communication and development of the competitive mahjong game, and with the participation of mahjong organizations of countries all over the world, we have edited and translated mahjong competition rules. Essentially, text moved here temporarily, in order to focus the rules overview section to focus on the japanese style. A player must have a minimum of one yaku in their hand in order to legally win. While im here i figured i should share my guides to japanese mahjong. Japanese riichi yaku list hand composition yaku all simples tanyao 1 hand must not contain terminals, or 1s or 9s triplet of dragons, round wind. Im not familiar at all with other mahjong rules, including original chinese variants.
I remember seeing on here a great cheat sheet for riichi once. The dealer usually pays more upon losing but on the same token receives more when winning. It offers a real game of japanese mahjong against three other players led by the computer. Japanese riichi yaku list hand composition yaku all simples tanyao 1 hand must not contain terminals, or 1s or 9s triplet of dragons, round wind, or seat wind yakuhai 1 per triplet three color sequence sanshoku doujun 1 open, 2 closed same sequence in every suit two. Japanese mahjong, yaku is a specific combination of tiles that increases the value of the players hand. The idea is any tile drawn there is always a way to create four melds and one pair. So, just noting that rules noted under japanese elements have to be unique to japanese rules. Many yaku are patternbased yaku comparable to poker hands. Yet, unlike poker hands, yaku are worth specific han values. Its better to actually take the time and learn what the hell you are doing. A complete mahjong hand is composed of four sets and a pair.
Jordan and vanessa spent over 10 years working at leading london vfx house double negative. Yaku are a list of criteria that a hand can meet, from only using a specific set of tiles to declaring on a specific turn. This solitaire game was designed for windows and doesnt consume too much space, but it is really entertaining. The set comes with everything needed to play a game of mahjongriichi in a nice easy to carry case. After the dealer has 5 markers for having won 5 successive hands, the games minimum win requirement goes from 1 fan to 2 fan ryanhan shibari. The main mahjong article contains general terms, but only english and japanese terms are used here. But ive been able to reach rank 7 on tenhou without having to memorize as much and i can definately tell my mahjongg is improving so i just need to give it time and practice. Yaku are hand patterns andor luck situations in richi mahjong. Japanese riichi mahjong set, white tiles with black vinyl. These rules and regulations exist in both chinese and english editions. I know ive just been watching the saki series of mahjong anime and it seems like memorizing yaku and scoring are like the baseline for that level of competetive play. The publisher also announced that a physical version of the digital only title escape trick.
The mahjong and the physical edition of escape trick will come to japan on june 21st. This hand does not combine with chii toitsu, even though the hand can be. In addition, honroutou will combine with yakuhai very easily. Play sporcle s virtual live trivia to have fun, connect with people, and get your trivia on. Join a live hosted trivia game for your favorite pub trivia experience done virtually. Japanese mahjong is a multiplayer version of mahjong also known as riichi mahjong. This is a very loose page for describing game play, the hands, or yaku, in mah jong or mah jongg as it is sometimes spelled. When there are five counters out due to dealers consecutive wins or draws a minimum of two yaku are needed to go out.
Wow i didnt know about so many of the rule variations and optional yaku yakuman. Today we will take a look at a yaku connected to riichi. Originally, this file was created in an attempt to learn building pdf files with latex. Dora and red five tiles do not count towards the yaku minimum. Furiten in riichi mahjong is a state in which a player has discarded a tile that would have otherwise completed his hand. Japanese mahjong mahjong online free mahjong games. A player who has at least one yaku, can always declare mahjong, even if he is furiten. Japanese mahjong makes use of riichi scoring rules, and a unique tile called the dora tile which throws an element of luck and uncertainty into the game. My japanese mahjong guides full pdf guide and primer for. The rules were organized in the taisho to showa period as the game became popular. It now includes point tables, and many exceptions and extra rules. However, winning from a ron on an open hand does not increase the point value at all. A player who is furiten cannot win on an opponents discard, but can only win by selfdrawing the needed tile.
Get a mahjong set of your own the basic yellow japanese mahjong set is a solid place to start black tiles look cool, but the white dragons wear funny. If a virtual private party is more your thing, go here for details. At mahjong flash, youll find mostly mahjong solitaire games, yet let us not forget that the chinese traditional mahjong is played with four players and the same for many asian variations like japanese mahjong. What it will do is increase the fu count of your hand, but only if the hand is closed.
Write a usage hint or an example and help to improve our dictionary. This is the first mahjong set i have purchased from yellow mountain mahjong and i must say that i am very impressed. On the first day of yaku, my love gave to meriichi. The japanese game, like mahjong elsewhere, admits of a great deal of variety. In japanese mahjong, you need to have a yakua special scoring element, which could be a tile pattern or a special way of going out worth at least one fan minimum iihan shibari before you are permitted to declare a win. They are by no means entirely complete, but anyone with some exposure to mahjong terminology and yaku should be able to understand them. Jordan harboured dreams of making a table tennis game his childhood obsession. Learn chinese mahjong rules and you can play against other players 247. As a way to finish up the year, i am going to upload the yaku sheets that i have made in the last couple of years. Two yakuman earned when wait for a 19 tile called junsei chuuren poutou.
Some of the completion list requirements will have you go out with hands that have a set minimum of points. Get all your friends to play mahjong teach enough people how to play, and you can play live games. The chinese official rules are also referred to as the official. It had all the info about setup, gameplay, scoring, and the yaku except yakuman on one page in convenient pdf format. If your pdf reader software lacks that functionality it might instead let you open a link in a. So in early 2012 vanessa introduced jordan to james.
If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project, participate in relevant discussions, and see lists of open tasks. Hands yaku japanese mahjong riichi churen poto nine gates a hand composed of 1112345678999 of one suit plus one tile 19 of the same suit. Japanese mahjong is distinguished by certain features such as the riichi rule, and the methodical placement of discard tiles in a row one after the other in front of each player. The tiles are all very beautiful with only minor problems with paint that i noticed when very closely examining the tiles and dice. A yaku is a certain pattern in a mahjong hand, or a special. Words like yaku will probably not enter into ones mind quickly enough to understand whats going on. Unlike poker, yaku types do not supercede each other.