Riichi Mahjong Rules for Beginners

Riichi mahjong rules combine the familiar four-groups-and-a-pair structure with a crucial extra test: the hand needs at least one yaku. Riichi declarations, furiten, dora indicators, a 14-tile dead wall, and detailed discard rows make Japanese mahjong strategically distinct from Chinese and American forms.

Riichi rules at a glance

Riichi Mahjong Rules for Beginners: Term, Beginner meaning

Term	Beginner meaning
Yaku	A recognized pattern that permits a win and gives han
Dora	Bonus han added after the hand already has yaku
Riichi	A declaration made with a closed hand in tenpai
Furiten	A restriction that prevents a ron win
Ron	Win on another player’s discard
Tsumo	Win on a self-drawn tile
Tenpai	One tile away from a valid hand shape

Learn these words before attempting the full han-and-fu calculation.

Tiles, wall, and round structure

Riichi uses 136 tiles: four copies of each tile across three numbered suits, four winds, and three dragons. Flowers and jokers are not used. Some tables use red fives; the WRC 2025 tournament rules do not, showing that optional rules still need agreement.

Players build a square wall. The final 14 tiles form the dead wall, which provides dora indicators and replacement tiles for quads. East starts with 14 tiles and discards. Turns continue East, South, West, North.

A full hanchan commonly contains East and South rounds. Seat winds rotate during the game, while the round wind changes after a cycle.

Build a valid hand with yaku

A standard shape contains four groups and a pair. Seven Pairs and Thirteen Orphans are special shapes. A valid shape is not automatically a winning hand: it needs yaku.

Useful beginner yaku include:

• Riichi: declare tenpai with a closed hand.
• Menzen tsumo: win by self-draw with a closed hand.
• Tanyao: use only tiles numbered two through eight, subject to the table’s open-tanyao rule.
• Yakuhai: make a triplet or quad of dragons, your seat wind, or the round wind.
• Pinfu: a closed all-sequence hand with specific pair and wait conditions.

Start with the mahjong yaku guide and confirm which yaku remain available after opening the hand.

Calls and the cost of opening

Chi claims a sequence from the previous player’s discard. Pon claims a triplet. Kan declares a quad and triggers a replacement draw plus an additional dora indicator under standard procedure.

Calls can improve speed, but an open hand cannot declare riichi and loses access to closed-only yaku. Before calling, identify at least one yaku that will remain. “I have four groups and a pair” is not enough.

How to declare riichi

Riichi requires a closed hand in tenpai. The player announces riichi, places the declaration discard sideways, and commits a 1,000-point deposit according to the rules. After the declaration is established, the hand is largely locked: drawn tiles are normally discarded unless they complete the hand or qualify for a tightly restricted concealed kan.

Riichi creates access to riichi yaku, ippatsu when uninterrupted, and ura-dora after a win. It also removes flexibility, so confirm the wait and remaining tiles before declaring.

Dora are bonuses, not yaku

A dora indicator points to the actual bonus tile according to a sequence: suits advance numerically, winds cycle, and dragons cycle. Red fives are dora when the optional red-tile rule is used.

Count dora only after finding a yaku. A hand with three dora and no yaku is still unable to win. The dora guide includes indicator examples.

Furiten and safe discards

Furiten prevents ron. The most familiar form occurs when one of the tiles that could complete your current hand appears in your own discard pool. Passing on a winning discard can also create temporary or riichi-related furiten.

Furiten applies to the wait, not merely the one tile you discarded. You may still win by tsumo. This rule is why opponents’ discard rows provide defensive information; begin with the furiten guide before studying advanced defense.

Score after the win

When a player calls ron or tsumo, keep the winning tile separate and identify:

1. Every yaku and its han.
2. Dora, ura-dora, and kan-dora that apply.
3. Fu from the hand, wait, groups, pair, and win method.
4. Dealer status, honba, and riichi deposits.

Use a scoring table or calculator while learning. The goal is to understand why the result was reached, not to perform every multiplication from memory.

Rules references

• The World Riichi Championship rules page publishes the current rules, clarifications, optional rules, and scoring table.
• The WRC Rules 2025 PDF defines yaku, dora, furiten, calls, the dead wall, and tournament-specific options used as the baseline here.
• Continue with tile efficiency and defense only after the legal-win rules are comfortable.

Riichi rule: before every call, name the yaku that will let the open hand win.