EMA

Why People Get This Wrong

People often assume that East's special deal of fourteen tiles means he gets four from each of South, West, and North, plus two more from the top of the stacks, which leads to a total of 20 tiles for East instead of just twelve as stated in the official verdict. The misunderstanding stems from misinterpreting the sequence and number of tiles dealt to East during his special deal phase.

Why People Get This Wrong

People often assume that red fives are still valid in riichi mahjong under EMA rules simply because they're common in Japanese sets. However, the official verdict clearly states that red fives are explicitly excluded from being used in riichi mahjong under these specific EMA (East Asia Mahjong Association) guidelines, leading to misunderstandings and arguments about their validity.

Why People Get This Wrong

People often assume that East must draw from the wall on their first turn in Mahjong Riichi, thinking it's a mandatory move due to starting with 14 tiles. However, they misunderstand the rule which states that touching the wall to draw removes a player’s right to call the previous discard; thus, if East doesn't touch the wall, they don’t have to draw on their first turn.

Why People Get This Wrong

People often assume that the seating order is based on compass directions, which leads them to argue about whether East should be seated at a different angle from North or South. However, the official rule clearly states they are not aligned with compass directions, thus avoiding this confusion and ensuring everyone understands the starting player's position correctly.

Why People Get This Wrong

People often assume that declaring a win with the tile just drawn (tsumo) is only for situations where you have no melds at all, forgetting that even if you do have some tiles in hand, tsumo can still be called to claim a win by drawing the last needed tile. The confusion arises because they overlook the flexibility of when and how tsumo can be used within the rules.

Why People Get This Wrong

People often assume that winning more hands automatically means you win the game in Mahjong (Riichi), forgetting about points entirely. However, under the official rules, it's actually the player with the most points at the end of the south round who wins, not necessarily the one who won more games, leading to potential disputes over point distribution and ties.

Why People Get This Wrong

People often assume that the Winner Bonus applies only to the top three positions without considering ties, leading to disputes when players are tied for 1st place and need to split the bonus of +20,000 equally between them. They overlook the specific rule stating that if two or more players tie for a position, they pool their bonuses and share them evenly.

Why People Get This Wrong

People often assume that the seating order follows compass directions, thinking it's a simple rotation from East (the starting player) towards South, West, and North. However, they misunderstand that the counter-clockwise sequence—East-South-West-North—is not based on facing cardinal points but rather is an arbitrary arrangement for game flow and strategy.

Why People Get This Wrong

People often assume that declaring riichi requires all tiles in the wall to be used up before it can happen, which is a common misunderstanding of the "at least one tile remains in the wall" part of the rule. In reality, riichi can be declared even if some tiles are left in the wall, as long as at least one tile hasn't been discarded from it yet.

Why People Get This Wrong

People often assume that counting ura dora for riichi hands is a straightforward addition to han points, forgetting that it's only applicable in those specific situations. This leads to misunderstandings about when exactly to apply this scoring detail and can cause disputes over whether certain plays should have been counted as riichi at all.