Riichi Mahjong: Rules and How to Play
Riichi Mahjong is a tile game for 3 to 4 players that takes about 25 minutes. Draw and discard until your hand is complete — scoring is done for you. Free. In-browser. No account.
Setup
- Three or four players. The set has 136 tiles; 14 of them stay unused in the dead wall all game.
- A dealer is chosen first, and the other players are given their own seat wind.
- Everyone, including the dealer, is dealt 13 tiles. Starting scores are 25,000 in a 4-player game and 35,000 with 3 players.
- Before play starts, a party can choose the red-fives count (0, 3 or 4 with 4 players; 0 or 2 with 3), and the game length: one hand, east-only, or a full half-game.
How to play
- Starting with the dealer, whoever's turn it is draws one tile to hold 14, then discards one tile to the discard row.
- Any player can call pon, chi or kan on a discard if they hold the matching tiles (chi is not available in a 3-player game). Calling reveals the set, and play continues from that caller.
- Once your hand is one tile from complete (tenpai), the screen shows which discard keeps you tenpai and how many of the winning tile are still unseen.
- With a fully concealed hand in tenpai and at least 1,000 points, you may declare riichi. After that you simply discard whatever you draw each turn.
- Passing up a tile you could have called ron on puts you in furiten — you cannot ron on your own until it clears — and the screen marks it for you.
- If the wall runs out before anyone wins, the hand ends in a draw and players who are tenpai collect points from those who are not.
Winning and scoring
- A hand is complete once it forms four sets and a pair (or seven pairs, or the rare thirteen orphans) with at least one yaku. Fu and han are counted automatically, so the score appears without you working it out.
- Winning off your own draw is tsumo; winning off another player's discard is ron, and more than one player can ron the same discard at once.
- Any leftover riichi sticks and honba counters go to the winner sitting closest, counter-clockwise, to the player who dealt into them.
- Once the chosen length is finished (half-game by default: East 1 through South 4), the game ends. Scores are converted to points with a fixed bonus for finishing position, and the highest total wins.
- A 3-player game removes the 2 through 8 of characters (108 tiles total) and has no chi, but on your turn you may instead set aside a north tile — each one you set aside is worth an extra han of dora, and you draw a replacement tile for it.
- A 3-player game starts everyone at 35,000 points, and the target score and finishing bonus are set slightly differently from the 4-player game (see “3-player rules” below).
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 3–4 players (set automatically by the party size) |
| Turn time limit | None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds) |
| If someone drops mid-game | Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place. |
| Draws | For games that allow a draw, ratings do not change. |
| Source of the rules | Based on the standard reference rules |
Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)
House rules
Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game length | Choose a single hand, an east-only game, or a full half-game. | Half-game | Yes |
| Red fives | Each red tile is worth an extra han. A 3-player game uses 0 or 2 instead. | 3 | Yes |
| Open tanyao | Allow winning on an all-simples hand even after calling. | On | Yes |
| Minimum han | The fewest han (not counting dora) a hand needs to win. | 1 | Yes |
Terms
- Riichi
- A declaration made with a concealed, tenpai hand and at least 1,000 points. After it you discard whatever you draw.
- Pon
- Calling another player's discard to complete a set of three matching tiles.
- Kan
- A set of four matching tiles — made privately (concealed kan) or by calling (open or added kan).
- Dora
- A bonus tile worth one extra han each. It is the tile after whichever indicator is shown face up.
- Furiten
- The state of having passed up a winning tile. While it applies, you cannot call ron on your own, even on a different winning tile.
FAQ
What yaku are there?
The common ones — riichi, tanyao, pinfu, toitoi, honitsu, chinitsu and more — plus the rare yakuman hands such as thirteen orphans and big three dragons.
What is fu?
The base points a hand is built from, decided by its sets and wait. This site counts it for you, so you never need to add it up by hand.
What does riichi require?
A fully concealed hand that is tenpai, at least 1,000 points to spare, and at least one more draw left to come to you.
What is furiten?
Having passed up a tile you could have won on. While it applies you cannot call ron on your own, though you can still win by drawing the tile yourself.
What happens on a draw?
If the wall runs out with nobody winning, players who are tenpai collect points (3,000 total) from those who are not. If everyone or nobody is tenpai, no points change hands.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-14 · Run by Qdan, Inc.