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Tibet rules: Difference between revisions
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== Completing the journey to Riichi Mahjong == | == Completing the journey to Riichi Mahjong == | ||
At this point, players have learned all of the standard "Tibet Rules", and with ''chii'' and basic scoring, they're pretty much just playing actual mahjong. In order to get all the way to Riichi Mahjong, there are first a few more 'core' rules to learn that are found in most common variants of mahjong, followed by a number of rules that are specific to the full Riichi Mahjong ruleset. From this point in this article forward, specific details on teaching and instruction will be more brief, acting as an overview of the remaining facets of the game that have not yet been introduced. | |||
=== Common core mahjong rules === | === Common core mahjong rules === | ||
* '''[[Japanese mahjong setup|Wall building and breaking]]''': With all three numeric suits and the dragons, there will be 120 tiles on the table. This is enough tiles that | * '''[[Japanese mahjong setup|Wall building and breaking]]''': With all three numeric suits and the dragons, there will be 120 tiles on the table. This is enough tiles that drawing tiles from a pool of face-down tiles in the center of the table can feel a bit disorganized. So you can start going through the rituals of wall-building and breaking at this point. Without the wind tiles, each player should gather thirty tiles after shuffling, and build walls of fifteen tiles long, stacked two tiles high. Other than the number of tiles, the wall-breaking and starting hand draw procedure should apply as standard (no dead wall or ''dora'' indicator until those rules are introduced). A key point for new players: while turn order is counter-clockwise, tiles are drawn from the wall in clockwise order. | ||
* '''[[Kazehai|Wind tiles]]''': Like the dragon tiles, winds are honor tiles that cannot form sequences | * '''[[Kazehai|Wind tiles]]''': Like the dragon tiles, winds are honor tiles that cannot form sequences, only pairs and triplets. Unlike dragons, however, the value of a triplet of winds is conditional on your seat and the round of play. | ||
** '''Seat Wind Triplet''': [1 ''han''] A triplet of wind tiles that matches your seat. The dealer is always the East seat, and the winds advance in order of play to South, West, and North. Note that this does not reflect the compass directions when looking at the ground, but rather the celestial compass when looking up towards the sky. | |||
** '''Round Wind Triplet''': [1 ''han''] During each player's first dealership, this is called the East round; a triplet of East winds during this round is worth 1 ''han'' for any player. For the dealer, a triplet of East winds counts for both the Seat and Round wind scoring patterns for 2 ''han'' total. In games with two rounds of dealerships, the second round is the South round, and so those tiles form a value triplet for any player. (In Japanese Mahjong, games are usually only one or two rounds in length. But depending on rules, this pattern extends to the West and North rounds for the third and fourth rounds, respectively.) | |||
** Wind triplets that do not match your seat or the round wind can still be used to advance your hand towards completion, but are not inherently worth ''han''. They can also be used alongside dragons towards the Half Flush ''yaku''. | |||
{{ #mjt:1234z }} | {{ #mjt:1234z }} | ||
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* '''[[Wanpai|Dead wall]]''': With the full set of tiles, not only will the wall be seventeen stacks on a side, but there's enough tiles to introduce the dead wall concept. Now, rather than exhausting the walls entirely before a draw, a draw will end when there are only fourteen tiles left in the wall. | * '''[[Wanpai|Dead wall]]''': With the full set of tiles, not only will the wall be seventeen stacks on a side, but there's enough tiles to introduce the dead wall concept. Now, rather than exhausting the walls entirely before a draw, a draw will end when there are only fourteen tiles left in the wall. | ||
* '''[[Kan|Quads / kan]]''': It is possible to create sets consisting of four identical tiles, but they require additional handling. Since a ''kan'' requires one more tile than a normal set, after a ''kan'' has been declared (which includes if you want to set a quad where you've drawn all four tiles), a replacement tile must be drawn from the back (dead) end of the wall before a discard is declared. (The replacement tile can also complete the calling player's hand, which lets them call ''tsumo''.) Note that a draw is still declared when there are fourteen undrawn tiles left, so after a ''kan'', the last tile in the 'live' wall will become 'dead'. | * '''[[Kan|Quads / kan]]''': It is possible to create sets consisting of four identical tiles, but they require additional handling. Since a ''kan'' requires one more tile than a normal set, after a ''kan'' has been declared (which includes if you want to set a quad where you've drawn all four tiles), a replacement tile must be drawn from the back (dead) end of the wall before a discard is declared. (The replacement tile can also complete the calling player's hand, which lets them call ''tsumo''.) Note that a draw is still declared when there are fourteen undrawn tiles left, so after a ''kan'', the last tile in the 'live' wall will become 'dead'. There are three types of ''kan'': | ||
** '''Closed Kan''' (''ankan''): Reveal all four tiles from the player's hand. | |||
** '''Open Kan''' (''daiminkan''): When a player discards the fourth tile, call and reveal the other three matching tiles from your hand. | |||
** '''Added Kan''' (''shouminkan''): After having previously called ''pon'', draw the fourth tile, then call and reveal it to form the ''kan''. Note that you cannot call a discard of the fourth tile to create a ''kan'' on an opened triplet; a ''kan'' requires you having drawn at least three of the matching tiles yourself. | |||
=== Riichi-specific rules === | === Riichi-specific rules === | ||
* '''[[Riichi]]''': ''Riichi'' is the name of the game, and the most important ''yaku'' to understand. If your hand is in ''tenpai'' and does not have any open calls (no ''chii'' or ''pon'' calls, and any ''kan'' calls must have been from having all four tiles in | * '''[[Riichi]]''': ''Riichi'' is the name of the game, and the most important ''yaku'' to understand. If your hand is in ''tenpai'' and does not have any open calls (no ''chii'' or ''pon'' calls, and any ''kan'' calls must have been from having all four tiles in hand), then you can declare ''riichi'' when making a discard. The discarded tile is turned sideways to show that you have called ''riichi''; if that tile is called, your next discard should be turned sideways. Declaring ''riichi'' tells your opponents that you are ready to win, which can alert them to play more defensively to avoid dealing into you. Additionally, your hand is locked in: tiles that do not let you win must be discarded (exception: a ''kan'' can be declared using a drawn tile, if doing so doesn't change what you could win on). On the plus side, a hand won under the ''riichi'' status confers an additional [1 ''han''], which can represent a large point boost when stacked with other scoring patterns. | ||
** After introducing Riichi, Concealed Hand should no longer be allowed as a scoring pattern. If your hand is in ''tenpai'', but doesn't have any particular scoring pattern, you should declare ''riichi'' if you want to score more than just the baseline points! The full Riichi ruleset also has a 1-''han'' minimum value required to win a hand, so being able to declare ''riichi'' becomes even more important once you implement that requirement! | ** After introducing Riichi, the Concealed Hand ''yaku'' should no longer be allowed as a scoring pattern. If your hand is in ''tenpai'', but doesn't have any particular scoring pattern, you should declare ''riichi'' if you want to score more than just the baseline points! The full Riichi ruleset also has a 1-''han'' minimum value required to win a hand, so being able to declare ''riichi'' becomes even more important once you implement that requirement! | ||
** When starting out, declaring ''Riichi'' | ** When starting out, declaring ''Riichi'' has no point cost. Once you get more experience, ''riichi'' should also cost a 10-point bet to declare. If you win the hand, then you get to take back your bet. But if someone else wins, they get your points, even if they won via ''tsumo'' or ''ron'' off of another player. And if the hand goes to a draw, then your bet is set aside to be claimed by the next winner of a hand, whomever that might be. | ||
** Remember: you can't call ''riichi'' if you've made a ''chii'', ''pon'', or open ''kan'' call! Often, there's a tradeoff between whether you should keep your hand concealed to try and earn more points, or if you should make calls to speed it up at the cost of potential value. | ** Remember: you can't call ''riichi'' if you've made a ''chii'', ''pon'', or open ''kan'' call! Often, there's a tradeoff between whether you should keep your hand concealed to try and earn more points, or if you should make calls to speed it up at the cost of potential value. | ||
* '''[[Furiten]]''': If a player had discarded a tile that their current hand could've won with, they are in ''furiten''. A hand in ''furiten'' may not call ''ron'' by any means. Even if the player's discarded tile and the opponent's tile are different, you may not call ron. A hand in furiten may win from ''tsumo'' (self-draw) as normal, or change its wait so that it is no longer in ''furiten''. | * '''[[Furiten]]''': If a player had discarded a tile that their current hand could've won with, they are in ''furiten''. A hand in ''furiten'' may not call ''ron'' by any means. Even if the player's discarded tile and the opponent's tile are different, you may not call ron. A hand in furiten may win from ''tsumo'' (self-draw) as normal, or change its wait so that it is no longer in ''furiten''. | ||
** There is also a another form of ''furiten'' that comes from declining to win off another player's discard. If you decide not to call ''ron'' on another player's discard (or if you cannot due to a lack of ''yaku'' in the full ruleset), then you are locked out of declaring ''ron'' until after you draw your next tile. You can still call ''tsumo'' on your own draws, regardless. If you decline ''ron'' while in Riichi status, however, ''furiten'' is a permanent status since you have no option to change your hand, and can only win via ''tsumo''. | |||
* '''[[Dora]]''' | * '''[[Dora]]''' | ||
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* '''Common [[rule variations]] in Riichi Mahjong''' | * '''Common [[rule variations]] in Riichi Mahjong''' | ||
== External Links == | == External Links == | ||