1st North American Riichi Open

This is a tournament scheduled for June 13-14, 2015 to take place in Montreal (Quebec), Canada.

Name

As the name implies, it purports to be the first open ([fr] omnium) tournament in North America for riichi mahjong. The criteria for this are:

1. Open access to anyone.
2. Three-month advance notice.
3. Related to Japanese mahjong.

There have been many things called "tournaments" in North America: it is not the organizer's goal to mock previous events but to propose a better standard, similar to what is occuring in Europe at this time.

Location

The tournament will take place at the Collège de Maisonneuve (3800 Sherbrooke East) in the South wing (Room E-3313). Presence is required Saturday and Sunday from 09:00 until 17:30. Please use the door located at 2700 de Bourbonnière to enter the premises: if walking from Pie-IX station, it is the one you will see walking west on Pierre de Coubertin street.

How to get to Montreal

• By air: Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport (codes YUL / CYUL). From there, the 747 bus brings people downtown, and despite costing 10$ for the bus pass, it is good for 24 hours from activation in the whole city.
• By train: Via Rail for Canadians, Amtrak from New York City's Penn Station (NYP to MTR).
• By car: From Detroit, it's 9 hours up Highway 401 and Autoroute 20. I-81 leads to the 401, 2.5 hours from Montreal. I-87, I-89, I-91 and I-93 lead north to Autoroutes 10 or 15. Please check maps for your specfic routes.

How to move around Montreal

Assuming you are in town without a car, the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) is a service that provides both bus and metro service on all of Montreal Island, with the exception of inter-city rail (which barely operates) and connections to inter-city buses, run generally by the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT).

• A single fare with a 2-hour validity period is 3.25 CAD. This includes riding on any bus in any direction, or using the metro once, with two exceptions: Using the metro once allows you to transfer inside (no extra gates) but will not allow you back in once out, and going to Longueuil or Laval is possible, but their fares are required to return.
• A day pass is 10 CAD that gives a 24-hour period of access from first activation (as opposed to calendar day only). A weekend pass from 18:00 Friday to 05:00 Monday is 13 CAD. Keep your receipts and do not bend the keycards provided.

Accommodations in Montreal

Montreal is a city that can fit almost every budget: reviewing every option for potential visitors would be an exhaustive process. The hotel and hostel industries are fairly competititve, and the North American Riichi Open isn't held during the Formula 1 Grand Prix. We heartily suggest if your plans are to spend more time in Montreal than the weekend to not come the weekend before due to increased traffic and cost. Should you have a question about a specific hotel, I could make the trip to verify both its existence and its general vibe.

Please note that no accommodations are generally available near the venue, due to its location in a residential/industrial area of town. Most accommodations available "downtown" are close to the green line: Pie-IX station is 9 minutes from Berri-UQAM and 15 minutes from Guy-Concordia. The venue itself is a 4 minute walk directly west from Pie-IX station.

Food and drink in Montreal

We love food: from the cheap to the expensive. The cheapest options tend to be most spud shops, serving hot-dogs, hamburgers, fries and poutine. We also love to drink socially: restaurants and bars can be found pretty much everywhere catering to everyone's tastes. However, most restaurants and bars will tend to only serve one company's beer. Some places serve the real good stuff though.

• Alcohol: Dépanneurs can only sell between 08:00 and 23:00. Most dépanneurs shut down at this time for that reason, and the ones that do not (Couche-Tard and gas stations mainly) lock the booze at this time. Restaurants usually serve until they close: legally, it's 03:00 or 04:00 that they have to stop.
• Alcohol restrictions: open carry is not allowed anywhere (not walking, still, in a park or outside a restaurant's premises/terrasse), although the rules are easily flaunted and bagged or transposed booze is subject to less scrutiny. Drunk driving is a serious crime.
• Sales taxes: 14.975%, for pretty much everything you will ever see. Prices in Canada do not include sales taxes like in Europe.
• Tips/gratuities: "15% to 20%", to which I say 15% plus round to the next quarter. Usually not included in service, except in AYCE buffets with 6+ people (18% on the bill). What you see as tax (TPS + TVQ) on your bill is about the amount the tip should be.
• Bar tips: Same range, except if it's a Molson or Labatt-only drinking hole. The rule then is an absolute minimum of $1 per 341 mL beer ($1.50 for a pint, $2 for a big boy): failing this, you will get the immediate sensation that the beer you just ordered is the last one you will ever see. Bars may either run a proper bill or charge as they serve you your beverage.
• US cash payment: US cash is not universally accepted, but is fairly common in mid/high-range restaurants. Dépanneurs rarely if ever do accept it.
• US debit payment: Not accepted anywhere. Canada uses its own Interac system: unless your bank is owned by a Canadian bank, your card will not work (even then, I'm not sure...). VISA DEBIT and whatever MasterCard uses to comply with US bank regulations do not work here.
• US credit cards: Legit VISA and MasterCard cards work fine, might not be available in second-rate dépanneurs and third-rate restaurants (like spud shops).
• In all cases: ask if your payment method is accepted before partaking in anything. Some places and most dépanneurs accept Canadian cash only. Be alert.
• First resort and last resort: ATMs generally accept cards from most banks working on international systems. Cards like US VISA DEBIT only work here.

Cost

Given the pressure to keep costs as low as possible due to budgetary concerns from the organizer and the capacity to pay of most people, it was decided to set the price at 40 CAD per person, including both lunches.

Rules

While not denying the need for a global standard, the organizer decided that for a first tournament, the rules would attempt to make a suitable hybrid between local rules and the World Riichi Championship rules used previously in 2014 in Puteaux, France.

Basic settings

• Type: Ari-ari mahjong.
• Points: 30,000 to start, busting ends the game.
• Dora: All standard dora, kandora follow late flip rules.
• Chombo: 10,000 point deduction, done at the end of the game (a delayed negative score), affecting table placement. {Revised March 1.}
• Call priority: 0.5 seconds. Ron calls have a three second window regardless of other calls.
• Red fives: None.
• Games end at South 4 or when someone busts.

Yaku and scoring options

• No abortive draws
• No counted yakuman. (11+ han = sanbaiman)
• No multiple yakuman. (Absolute limit of 32,000/48,000)
• No renhou or paarenchan.
• No ryanhan shibari.
• Tenpai-renchan.
• Proper furiten required.
• Last-hand riichi sticks are removed from the game.

Faults and fouls

• 1 to 5 tiles (from anywhere but opponent's hands) = 1,000 pt deposit.
• 1 to 5 tiles from an opponent's hand = dead hand.
• 6+ tiles from anywhere = chombo.
• False ron call with no tiles shown = dead hand.
• False ron call with tiles shown = chombo.
• Illegal upgrade of a call = chombo.

(Legal upgrade: Any variation of "po-ron" or "pon, I mean ron" done quickly (0.5 seconds) prior to tiles being exposed is tolerated. Taking much longer, or exposing two tiles then calling ron is illegal.)

Extra rulings

• Scoring sheets (for marking the final game score) along with a point grid will be provided.
• Yaku sheets are not provided: players with them may not consult them during a match (from East 1 to South 4).
• Violations of the rules are potentially subject to 10,000 point deductions.
• Cheating will lead to immediate expulsion. Standards of proof are not subject to debate.
• Self-arbitration is both encouraged and required. The referee is responsible for the tournament, not for each individual.
• Scoring is done with point sticks: please overpay quickly and efficiently. Do not dive for 26 green sticks for payment.
• All calls should be vocalized cleanly and effectively. If you have a problem articulating P/R, or in general: let the table know. If the table has to warn a player twice, the third time may be subject to a dead hand ruling.
• No foreign objects allowed on the game tables. Placing a beverage, food or a rack/ruler (or anything else not necessary) on a game table is subject to a 10,000 point deduction per violation.

External links

• Osamuko article