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🏛️Official — EMA
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There are 34 basic tile types. A full set contains four identical tiles of each type, giving 136 tiles in play (1, 1.3); Three suits — circles (pinzu), bamboo (sōzu) and characters (manzu) — each numbered one to nine (1.1); The ones and nines of each suit are called terminals (1.1)
Why people argue about this
People often assume that the 136 tiles in play refer only to the basic tile types without considering additional elements like the wind markers (dora), which can bring the total number of tiles in play much higher, leading to misunderstandings about how many actual tiles are used during a game.
Four players, each associated with a seat wind. East is the starting player; South sits at East's right, West across from East, North at East's left (2.1); The counter-clockwise order east-south-west-north does not correspond to compass directions (2.1); Over a full game each player is East at le...
Why people argue about this
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.
A full game is two rounds — the east round and the south round — each of at least four hands, during which each player is East in turn (3.1); A hand ends when a player declares a win or an exhaustive draw occurs (3.1, 3.4); A turn begins when a player draws from the wall or claims a set, and ends...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that a hand ends only when one player declares victory, overlooking the possibility of an exhaustive draw ending it prematurely. The confusion arises because they misinterpret how both scenarios contribute to the end of a hand in Mahjong Riichi, not realizing that either can cause play to shift to the next turn or round.
All players are responsible for each hand being scored correctly and to the maximum; each player counts their own han and minipoints and others must correct mistakes (4.1); Count han first — the yaku (at least one) plus dora, kan dora, and ura dora. Ura dora count only for a riichi hand, and a ti...
— section 8
Why people argue about this
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.
Riichi is one of several mahjong rule families and is clearly distinct from the others, though all share the same core: build four sets and a pair from tiles; Mahjong Competition Rules (MCR) is the other major competitive rule set. Its current text is the World Mahjong Organization's 2014 English...
Tiles are shuffled face-down; each player builds a wall seventeen tiles long and two tiles high, and the four walls are pushed together into a square (2.4); East rolls two dice and counts that number of players counter-clockwise, starting with themselves; that player's wall is broken, counting fr...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that breaking the wall happens immediately after it's built, without considering the East player's roll first. This leads to misunderstandings about who actually breaks their wall and when, causing confusion in game play.
Red fives — widely used in Japan, where each red five gives one han. Not used in EMA riichi (1.3); Flower, season and joker tiles are set aside; they belong to other mahjong variants (1.3)
Why people argue about this
People often argue that since red fives are commonly used in Japan for scoring han (a measure of skill), they should be allowed in EMA riichi as well. However, the official verdict clarifies that this is a specific variant rule and not part of EMA's standard gameplay, where red fives are indeed set aside due to their frequent use elsewhere.
Tsumo — winning on the tile just drawn, by clearly calling "tsumo". A furiten player may still call tsumo (3.3.11); Ron — winning on the most recently discarded tile, by clearly calling "ron", unless furiten (3.3.12); Robbing a quad — the tile added to an extended quad may be claimed for a win wi...
Why people argue about this
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.
The game ends when the south round ends; the player with the most points wins, regardless of how many hands they won. Ties may occur (3.7); Riichi bets left on the table go to the winner, split on a tie with decimals rounded down (3.7); There is no bankruptcy rule (3.7, 4.1.4)
Why people argue about this
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.
Seven honour tile types: four winds and three dragons (1.2); The winds are ordered east-south-west-north; the dragons are ordered white-green-red (1.2); The white dragon's design varies between sets — usually blank, or decorated with a blue frame (1.2)
Why people argue about this
People often assume that the white dragon's design is always blank, forgetting that it can also be framed with a blue border, leading to disputes over its visual representation in different sets of Mahjong tiles.
A marker for the round wind, and point sticks worth 100, 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000; a stick of a different colour may serve as 500 (1.4); Point sticks double as counters and riichi bets (1.4); Players begin with 30,000 points each (1.4)
Han and minipoints do not by themselves give the payment. The value of the hand is read from the scoring tables in section 8 of the official rules; this summary gives the procedure, not the tables (4.1, 4.1.3); Each counter on the table adds 100 points to a win by self-draw or 300 to a win by dis...
— section 8
Why people argue about this
People often assume that simply counting Han and minipoints automatically determines payment in Mahjong Riichi, which is incorrect. The official rules actually state that you must refer to scoring tables in section 8 of the official rulebook for a complete calculation of win values, not just add up your points from Han and minipoints alone.
A player with a concealed tenpai hand may declare riichi in three steps: clearly call "riichi", discard a tile rotated sideways, and place a 1,000-point stick as the riichi bet (3.3.10); Riichi may be declared only if at least one tile remains in the wall (3.3.10); After declaring, drawn tiles mu...
Why people argue about this
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.
Riichi is one of several mahjong rule families and is clearly distinct from the others, though all share the same core: build four sets and a pair from tiles; Mahjong Competition Rules (MCR) is the other major competitive rule set. Its current text is the World Mahjong Organization's 2014 English...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that Riichi is just another name for Mahjong itself, forgetting it's a distinct competitive variant with its own rules set by MCR. In reality, they're conflating Riichi, which adds bidding and betting elements to the game, with the broader concept of Mahjong as a pastime or even an abstract strategy game.
Four players, each associated with a seat wind. East is the starting player; South sits at East's right, West across from East, North at East's left (2.1); The counter-clockwise order east-south-west-north does not correspond to compass directions (2.1); Over a full game each player is East at le...
Why people argue about this
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.
A full game is two rounds — the east round and the south round — each of at least four hands, during which each player is East in turn (3.1); A hand ends when a player declares a win or an exhaustive draw occurs (3.1, 3.4); A turn begins when a player draws from the wall or claims a set, and ends...
The first seven tile stacks counter-clockwise from the break form the dead wall — fourteen tiles (2.6); The four tiles closest to the break are replacement tiles; the next ten are the dora indicator, the kan dora indicators and the ura dora indicators (2.6); The dora indicator is revealed by coun...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that the dora indicators are revealed all at once when they hear about the dead wall, forgetting that these tiles are actually revealed piece by piece as needed throughout gameplay, which can lead to confusion and disputes over exactly what is considered a "dora indicator" versus just any remaining tile.
East draws the first four tiles after the break, then South, West and North take four each, repeating until every player holds twelve tiles (2.8); East then takes two tiles (the top tiles of the first and third stacks) and the others one each, so East starts with fourteen tiles and everyone else ...
Why people argue about this
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.
There are 34 basic tile types. A full set contains four identical tiles of each type, giving 136 tiles in play (1, 1.3); Three suits — circles (pinzu), bamboo (sōzu) and characters (manzu) — each numbered one to nine (1.1); The ones and nines of each suit are called terminals (1.1)
Why people argue about this
People often assume that all Mahjong tiles are equally valuable just because they're terminals (ones and nines). However, in Riichi Mahjong, these terminal tiles are actually less valuable than other basic tile types, as they can only be used for specific bonuses rather than to complete sets on their own.
Sets may include flower, season or joker tiles. These are not used in riichi mahjong (1.3); Japanese sets often include red fives, each normally worth one han. Red fives are not used under EMA riichi rules (1.3)
Why people argue about this
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.
Sessions may be time-limited; a hand is treated as beginning immediately after the previous one ends (3.1, 7.4); Organisers may supply an all-last sheet for tracking scores during the final hand (3.6); A chombo (major penalty) during the last hands of a timed session counts as one hand, to protec...
East begins and play proceeds counter-clockwise. East does not draw on their first turn, having started with fourteen tiles (3.3); Touching the wall to draw removes a player's right to call the previous discard (3.3)
Why people argue about this
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.
All players are responsible for each hand being scored correctly and to the maximum; each player counts their own han and minipoints and others must correct mistakes (4.1); Count han first — the yaku (at least one) plus dora, kan dora, and ura dora. Ura dora count only for a riichi hand, and a ti...
Why people argue about this
People often assume that counting ura dora for riichi hands is optional, which leads to misunderstandings about when and how to apply these points correctly. The confusion arises because the official verdict clearly states that ura dora should only be counted in a riichi hand scenario, not affecting other types of hands like kansu or doukan.
A delayed call for a triplet or quad no longer takes priority over a preceding call for a sequence (3.3.1); Riichi may now be declared with at least one tile left in the wall (3.3.10); Yaku are classified by their closed han value and lose value in open hands (4.2)
A complete hand is four sets and a pair. A set is a sequence, triplet or quad (3.2); A sequence is three consecutive tiles of the same suit — never dragons or winds, and it does not wrap: 8-9-1 and 9-1-2 are not sequences (3.2); A triplet is three identical tiles, a quad four, a pair two (3.2)
Why people argue about this
People often assume that sequences can wrap around the ends of suits (like 9-1-2 for a sequence of Hei tiles), which is incorrect according to the official rules. The confusion arises because they misinterpret the rule stating "A sequence is three consecutive tiles of the same suit — never dragons or winds, and it does not wrap.
Final scores are adjusted by uma: 1st +15,000, 2nd +5,000, 3rd -5,000, 4th -15,000 (3.7.1); Players tied for a position pool the relevant bonuses and split them evenly — two players tying for 1st share +20,000, taking +10,000 each (3.7.1)
Why people argue about this
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.