Riichi rule options

Two rule profiles

MyMahjong's riichi tables will follow a competition profile by default, based on the World Riichi Championship (WRC) rules, with a relaxed profile as an option.

The competition profile in short

• Open tan'yao and after-attaching are allowed. Making a call and then immediately discarding a tile that the call could have made again (kuikae) is forbidden.
• Dora, ura dora, kan dora and kan ura dora are all used. There are no red fives.
• Players start with 30,000 points and the break-even point is also 30,000, so there is no oka.
• The ranking bonus (uma) is +15 / +5 / -5 / -15 points for first to fourth place.
• Only one player wins a discard. If several players could win, the one nearest after the discarder in turn order wins.
• No abortive draws. A hand ends only by a win or by the wall running out.
• Riichi is allowed even with fewer than four tiles left in the wall, with fewer than 1,000 points, and when furiten.
• A hand of 4 han 30 fu or 3 han 60 fu or more counts as mangan, and 13 han or more is worth a yakuman-sized yonbaiman.
• Every counter is worth 300 points. The noten payment is 3,000 points in total.
• The game ends after the South round. There is no West round and no bankruptcy: scores can go below zero.

Optional rules groups use

Casual groups often change a few of these. Whatever you choose, agree it before the first hand.

• Red fives: one 5 of each suit is red and counts as a dora. Because hands become bigger, a larger uma is common.
• Initial dora only: no ura dora and no kan dora. Hands stay smaller, so a smaller uma suits it.
• Oka: players start with 25,000 but the goal is 30,000, and the 20,000-point gap goes to the winner as a bonus.
• Yakitori: a player who finishes the game without having won a hand pays a fixed amount.
• Two-han minimum (ryanhan shibari): a hand needs at least two han, counting dora, to win.
• Abortive draws: special draws such as nine different terminals in the starting hand, with their own handling.
• Nagashi mangan: a player who discards only terminals and honours, with none of them called, scores a mangan at an exhaustive draw.
• Revealed riichi: a player declares riichi with the hand face up for a higher value.

A note on changes

The more a table changes, the more likely players disagree about small points. Rules that rarely matter, such as how to round mangan or break ties, are better left at their default.

Checklist before the first hand

• Starting points, uma and oka
• Red fives: yes or no
• Open tan'yao and kuikae
• Which dora are used
• Abortive draws
• Minimum han to win
• What happens when a score goes below zero

Keep learning

• Riichi yaku list
• Scoring: han, fu and payments
• Glossary

Based on World Riichi Championship (WRC) rules. MyMahjong follows the WRC rules for its competition profile. The explanations, tables, examples and tile pictures on this site are our own. MyMahjong is independent and is not published or endorsed by the WRC.