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Riichi Mahjong online — rules, facts, and a live table

Riichi mahjong is the Japanese four-player form. A winning hand needs at least one yaku. Declaring riichi bets 1,000 points and locks your hand while you wait on a winning tile. Starting score is 25,000 points.

Play Riichi Mahjong Show me gently

Animated how-to for riichi mahjong: same tiles as mahjong — throw one away each turn, take a matching tile or pass, win with four groups and a pair. — Watch once — it loops. The words underneath are if you want them.

Good to know

Players start at 25,000 points in a standard four-player hanchan.
Declaring riichi costs 1,000 points, requires a closed hand, and freezes further concealed changes except the winning tile.
A hand must contain at least one yaku to win. Tilehaus currently treats riichi itself as a yaku and still requires a standard 4-meld-and-a-pair shape.
The World Riichi Championship and European Mahjong Association publish the most widely used international rule sets.
Dora indicators, ura-dora, and red fives appear in many Japanese sets; the Tilehaus teaching table focuses on shape, discards, and the riichi declaration.

What you are looking at

Same ivory tiles as Chinese mahjong, with yellow riichi sticks, a quieter table, and a scoreboard instead of small change. Discards stay neatly in rows so furiten is visible.

Origin

Riichi Mahjong It is associated with Japan. Dating: Japanese mahjong rules coalesced in the 20th century; riichi as a modern yaku is 20th-century Japanese table practice.

Equipment

136 tiles, 4 riichi sticks, scoring sticks, and optional red fives in some sets

Players: 4. Typical duration: 60–90 minutes for an East-South hanchan.

Questions

What does riichi mean?

Riichi (reach) is a declaration that your closed hand is one tile from winning. You place a 1,000-point stick and stop changing the hand.

Is riichi the same as Chinese mahjong?

No. Both use the 136-tile set, but riichi requires yaku, uses point sticks, and treats riichi, dora, and furiten as core rules.