Tenhou (天鳳, tenhou.net) is the one of the most popular online mahjong service in Japan. It is also the platform of choice for the English-speaking community.
Tenhou.net is a Japanese site. So, anyone, who is not familiar with navigating Japanense sites, may have some difficulty.
Game lobby
Game interface
Riichi
Chii
Pon
Kan
Ron
Tsumo
リーチ
チー
ポン
カン
ロン
ツモ
During the game, most of the clickable options are near the bottom of the screen. The rest is dedicated towards other players' hands (unrevealed of course) and the discard piles in the center. Also in the center, a square display shows players' point standings, names, and rank. In addition, the current wind round is indicated in the center square as well as the number of honba as well as the number of riichi points on the table.
Individual player statistics
Players with registered IDs have various statistics tracked by Tenhou.net. These numbers can be read on the right side of the lobby window.
Replays
Tenhou.net replay links shown.
Every replay is accessible via a "replay game link". It is accessible via the drop down menu labled: 「メニュー」 (menu). The first item is labled 「牌譜の管理」. A sub-window, as shown on the right, pops up. The replay links are available here. While they're stored under three tabs, the latter two display the exact game links.
Only a certain number of links are available at the time. Usually, the most recent 30 games played are accessible, as they are stored within a queue. It is possible to save and retain older game links by copy-pasting them elsewhere. This Wiki itself is full of old replay links. Users of the Windows client do not need to worry about losing game links.
Spectating
Players may use the interface to spectate "live games". However, they're not exactly live games, as they are actually delayed by 3-5 minutes. This is to eliminate any sort of cheating via simultaneous replay viewing, while in game.
In the main 0000 lobby, players may spectate games from either the Houou lobby. As such, any player may be able to watch and see the game play of the highest ranked players, currently in-game.
Game rooms
Romaji
Kanji
Rank qualification
Ippan
一般
四段 R1800 (or lower)
Joukyuu
上級
1新
Tokujou
特上
四段 R1800
Houou
鳳凰
七段 R2000
Main 0000 lobby, with the tabs for the four rooms indicated by a red box.
For Tenhou ranking, the game lobby is divided into four sub-rooms, with specific qualification standards.
Ippan
General lobby area. All lowest ranked players, unranked players, and new players begin playing here.
Joukyuu
Lower "dan" lobby.
Tokujou
Upper "dan" lobby.
Houou
Reserved for only the highest ranked players in Tenhou.net.
Tenhou.net offers users the ability to play in custom rooms. Here, players may play unranked casual games, without any worry about their Tenhou.net ranking.
The site specifies a number of specific rules. While many general rules and procedures still apply, a number of rules for the game overall may be deemed as "optional"; and they may not apply elsewhere.
