Japanese Mahjong: A Comprehensive Guide
This guide details the rules of Japanese Mahjong. Tiles are selected by manipulating an on-screen slider; tapping the slider discards a tile. The objective is to complete four melds and one pair. A meld consists of three consecutive numbered tiles (e.g., [1, 2, 3]) or three identical tiles (e.g., [6, 6, 6]). A pair consists of two identical tiles (e.g., [4, 4]). An example hand is: [1, 2, 3][6, 6, 6][6, 7, 8][N, N, N][4, 4] (where 'N' represents a character tile).
Certain hand combinations are invalid after performing Chi (picking up a sequence from the discard pile), Pon (picking up three identical tiles from the discard pile), or Kan (picking up four identical tiles). Careful consideration is needed when using 1 and 9 tiles in Chi and Pon.
In Japanese Mahjong, a winning hand requires at least one meld. Players can improve their hand's value by paying 1000 points and declaring Reach (a special betting option). However, Reach is impossible after performing Chi, Pon, or Kan. Closed hands (those without any Chi, Pon, or Kan) earn higher points.
A "Lost Hand" occurs when a player is waiting for a winning tile but cannot win because they previously discarded that same tile. Even with a Lost Hand, self-drawn wins are still possible, but winning from another player's discard is impossible. Importantly, a player cannot win with a tile they themselves discarded. Strategic reasoning based on opponents' discards is key to victory.
Version 6.10.1 Update (October 12, 2024)
This update includes an updated external SDK.
