/jp/ - Otaku Culture

[Anonymous No.]

I want to learn how to play mahjong, but have no idea where to start or even play online. Any of you know the rules?

[Anonymous No.]

[Anonymous No.]

There are two styles of Majiang.
Guobiao Majiang (Chinese style) and Riichi Mahjong (Japanese style), which do you want to play?

[Anonymous No.]

Anyone?

[Anonymous No.]

Here's pretty much what I used to learn Riichi Mahjong.
http://www.osamuko.com/

[Anonymous No.]

>>9142283
I suppose both if possible

[Anonymous No.]

>>9142362
also http://tenhou.net/0/?L7447 is the osamuko or /jp/ lobby we use around here when playing games. Just go to tenhou.net thought if you want to play without us or if no one is in our lobby.

[Anonymous No.]

I have no idea how to navigate. What do I do to play against the computer

[Anonymous No.]

http://archive.foolz.us/a/thread/62726958/

It's got a LOT of information on Riichi Mahjong, and some AI games and quizzes to help you understand the rules

[Anonymous No.]

Though this flash game is too strong for a beginner, it will be useful to your practice.
http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/mahjong/mahjong.html

[Anonymous No.]

I posted this in /a/, but here it is again:

There's only five rules you need to really pay attention to at first, and everything else will come with time. But you can start with these. I'd explain them in further detail, but there's not enough space in here.

>1. How to make a legal hand.
4 sets of three, and a pair.
>2. How to steal or call for a Pon, Chi, Kan, Ron
Basically how to make gin rummy.
>3. The one-yaku minimum
You know the hands in poker? There are hands in Mahjong. You can combine them, but you need a minimum of at least one of those "hands" or multipliers, called Yaku. The easiest two to learn are Riichi and Tanyao. Memorize those two until they're burned in the back of your retina, and then you can add to that.
>4. Furiten rule
If one of the tiles you've discarded before can be used to make a winning hand, you cannot RON off of that tile. You can still Tsumo though.
>5. The Dora Indicator
You need to know which tile is the Dora tile so you know how to avoid dealing it in case someone is about to rape you

Go to >>9143341
to practice

To read up about the rules, you can visit wikipedia, or take a gander at this page:
http://www.japanesemahjong.com/

[Anonymous No.]

Shit anons. I can manage to form a complete hand, ALTHOUGH most of the time I can't due to not having a motherfucking yaku.

[Anonymous No.]

Is it just me, or is tenhou blocking non-japanese ip?

[Anonymous No.]

>>9145744
Just you.

[Anonymous No.]

I learned majhong from Legendary Gambler Tetsuya.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9144304
That's because you call everything like a dipshit
If you're new, don't call anything.
ANYTHING.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9146806
That's bad advice. If you're new don't call anything if you're not sure if you have a yaku already.

[Anonymous No.]

Some Random Anon's guide to learning How to Play Mahjong

What you'll need:
Teach Yourself Mahjong by D. Pritchard ( Don't go past 2nd edition, alot of useless fluff was added to the book)

A computer with internet access

A video game console (Handheld preferably for on the go gaming) + the ability to buy or pirate Japaense games

Starting off:

Read The Book.
It is one of the best most well-written guides about mahjong for beginning players. It starts out with quick guides for remembering the tiles then explains all the basics you need to make a hand and the like.

There are more advanced books out there, I wouldn't recommend half of them as teach a generic and easily detectable play style that will hurt your later game play. Plus it's cheap, easy to find and most library system have at least 1 copy of it since the McGraw-Hill has a partnership with the American Library association.

Also don't bother learning American Mahjong don't even pick up a book about it. You'll almost never find a person who will play and there are no video games for it.

Is there something I could watch that will help me play?

Once you get an understanding of the basics I'd recommend just going on to youtube and watching mahjong play it'll give you a better all around impression of the game and when you should be aggressive vs. passive.

Movies?
Not really I only know of about 3 mahjong movies that are in anything close to English. 2 are crime dramas that don't even explain the game at all and the third is Bet to Basic, a comedy done by the same people who did Kung-Fu Hustle. It's not as good and doesn't really teach you anything except how much people cheat at mahjong.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148292
Anime?
Saki and Akagi. Akagi is decent for learning limit hands, which collection of tiles will grant you the maximum points. It's not really a focus

Saki is largely a show about cute girls doing cute things. Because of this they have a lot of extra time on their hands go into depth about scoring and sometimes strategy. Scoring is important since the more points you earn the more points you'll have. Also it'll teach you when to disregard certain tiles as they'll bring your hand value down.

Legend of Koizumi - this show will teach you nothing, it's still awesome though. If you can find the manga it'll teach you nothing except what Japanese think of international politics.

I would not recommend anime as a place to learn mahjong, watching other people play is the best way to learn. However, most of these shows are far more interesting then watching stern faced japanese men and half-bored japanese women shuffling tiles for hours on end. So it's up to you.

Games
In English-
Xbox - On the Xbox Live Arcade there's a game called Family Mahjong (?) I haven't played it myself but from what I hear it's halfway decent and it's in English.

Playstation 2+3- Yakuza 1, 2 and 4 each have a mahjong mini-game in them that is a fairly substantial game. 2 difficulty setting easy or hard. It also helps that it's a minigame in an awesome game series.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148296
Japanese:
PSP
Saki portable - Highly recommended for beginners all the characters have super powers that will help win the game, Plus there's a learner mode which will show you which tiles to discard to get a safe hand with a high chance to win.

Moeru Mahjong Moejong - Most of this game is in English. There are some super powers that make this game easier to play . You can also turn them off. It's simple, it's fun and the whole cast is nothing but cute girls so it takes the sting out of losing a bit. This is the one I spent a lot of time playing and I highly recommend it

Mahjong Fight Club - This game is for more intermediate players, it can range from simple to challenging but there isn't any particular system to help you win more

PS3
Mahjong Fight Club - It's the standard whatever system it's on, it's usually the best for intermediate players

Mahjong Taikai IV - Decent mahjong game where you compete against historical figures ...for some reason. It's pretty good, the only problem it has is at high level play, the AI cheats like a bastard.

Dream Club *C Mahjong - I have not played this game and I cannot find anyone who admits to playing it to get a review. Looks like a fairly standard mahjong but with dress up possibilities

There's a bunch of other mahjong games for the PS3, most of them are simple networking games though i.e. simple interface so you can play with other players online. Which you can't do if you're not in Japan.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148301
PC
Tenhou - Play mahjong with fellow /jp/sies and have fun
There are a bunch other mahjong games, like Touhou mahjong, Saikyo mahjong, Mahjong 3D and the like. Mahjong games are simple to code for so a lot of doujin companies will just build a game then slap some H-scenes on or slap on some recognizable character's face. Ask, experiment and you'll find the one that's right for you

Not so sure systems
DS
The DS doesn't have a lot of 4 player Mahjong games, the ones I would reocmmend are Mahjong fight club and the Simple DS series. They're cheap but definitely meant for intermediate players or bored commuters.

Most of the DS' mahjong games are 1 vs 1. Which doesn't help you with you play, doesn't help you with recognizing discards and only helps pass the time. Plus a lot of them are really expensive for no good reason. It's weird.

PS2
There are a lot of good mahjong games on the PS2, the problem is I started playing mahjong games well after they stopped making them So I have no idea which ones to recommend. Usually it's safe to go with Mahjong Fight Club

Xbox 360 - wouldn't bet on it

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148306
Personal advice:
You're going to lose. A lot. Get used to it, you're starting a new game that you're not going to be familiar with the rules or efficient play styles.

Don't call everything, the worst thing new players do is call every single time they get a prompt, it's a waste and usually drags your points down. Also, unless you're going for very specific limit hands don't ever call a chi (that's 3 tiles in the same suit but increasing in size i.e. 3-4-5) because it will usually drag down your hand horribly.

You're going to lose a lot.. did I mention that?

Don't give up practicing, if you can play with other people, do it, that'll increase your game far more than just playing against computers. If you can't, play against the computer it'll teach you how to better score hands and do waits, you'll win all around.

Somehow, I think I forgot to tell you that you'll probably be losing a lot. So you'll probably lose a lot, get used to it and use it to make yourself better.

Always check the discard piles, nothing's worse than waiting for a single red dragon to complete a pair only to discover 2 red of the 3 remaining red dragons are already discarded.

I wouldn't recommend picking up a set of mahjong tiles, for fear that your tiles will wind up like mine; shoved in a closet, underneath a stack of board games that I cannot consistently beat my friends and family at.

I think that's it. I've probably gone on for far too long. But I hope it's helpful.

[Anonymous No.]

what does this mean

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148309
>>9148306
>>9148301
>>9148296
>>9148292
Why are you avatarfagging Power Girl? She's not even japanese in origin or nationality.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148796
He's gotta fart superbad

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148790
Trying to riichi?
You can't call riichi in the lasts turns.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148790
It says you can't ron in the same turn you've refused another ron.

To put it simply, since you didn't ron on the 4 pin (no yaku), you can't ron on the 1 pin (even though it gives you ittsuu (the 123456789 yaku) because you're in furiten until the end of the turn.

Once you draw you won't be in furiten anymore and will be able to ron on the 1 pin.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148848
Thanks

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148857
Also, not sure why the other guy gave you the Japanese version, you'd be better off with the English one if you're starting.

http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/mahjong/mahjong_e.html

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148127
New players need to put a 4han requirement for their hand.
Learn to build fucking hands. No mangan no deal.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148889
I think there's a difference between a "new" player (ie 一般 on tenhou) and someone who's trying to learn the rules and remember the yakus. The latter should focus on not breaking rules rather than getting a lot of points.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148898
You learn nothing by just trying to complete 4set of triple/straight.
By learning to build hands you learn how to discard to build bigger hand.
1big hand = 10 worthless hand.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148912
I'm just saying one should learn the rules before wondering about strategy. The bots of gamedesign are pretty weak anyway so it's probably not a good idea to get used to them.

Once he's confident he knows the rules, he should move to tenhou to play against human players (but please don't go before knowing the rules). Since I don't think it's been posted, here's the English tenhou guide :
http://arcturus.su/tenhou/

>>9148848
Some background on this, since you might think there are too many rules not making a lot of sense :
A huge part of riichi mahjong (that's not true for Chinese mahjong) is to defend, ie not be the one who's getting ron'd. You try to guess your opponents' hands and discard your tiles accordingly. If you guessed right (not that hard to do against a large wait like 23456 waiting for 147), you shouldn't be penalized because the opponent refused a ron, giving you a wrong indication. However once you draw a tile, you could potentially change your hand and your wait, and the other players shouldn't assume anything anymore. Since that isn't true if you riichi (no way to change your hand), refusing a ron while in riichi will make you in permanent furiten and you won't be allowed to win on anything other than tsumo.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148968
You naturally learn all the yaku when you try to build non garbage hand.
The bread and better pinfu, tanyao, riichi + 1dora already give you 4han.
Mahjong actually has no rules, the best fictional mahjong players are all cheater.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148979
If you watch the 副露 column on http://tenhou.net/ranking.html you'll see everyone opens about a third of their hands. Pon on dora with only tanyao may be ugly, but it works very well. Compromising points for speed is also perfectly valid as a defensive move or when you absolutely need a renchan.

Whether to open your hand depends heavily on the situation, not solely on how many points you'll get on average. A complete beginner will have an easier time learning the yakus one at a time and any half decent player knows "never ever open" is bad advice.

[Anonymous No.]

if you're waiting on a single tile what is the optimal number of remaning tiles? if all 4 are left people might be hesitant to discard it. if 3 are left someone might have all of them. of course if only one is left you have to worry that it might be in the dead wall.

>>9148292
stephen chow made a mahjong movie?

[Anonymous No.]

>>9149672
Well it depends on what you're doing. If you're hoping for tsumo the more the better (obviously). This also applies if your wait is the dora (which is a great wait by the way, since you never want to find yourself in a position where you have to discard a dora).

If it's a pair wait and you aim for ron, a wind/dragon already discarded twice is decent, same thing applies for "suji" waits (ie 1,3 wait for the 2 when you've discarded the 5 before). In those cases, you're more likely to ron if the tile has been discarded before. Even if someone has an ankou of your winning tile, he might discard it if it seems safe enough (it would grant him 3 safe turns) and he's too far from a winning hand. This works better if you're East since people will play more defensive against an East riichi.

If your wait is not likely to get discarded, (ie 4,6 waiting for a 5 or a pair wait between 2 and 8) it's usually better to wait a couple turns as you can easily get better (and hopefully add pinfu).

Personally I wouldn't concern myself with whether my winning tiles are already in other players' hands (even if only one or two remain, they're just as likely to be someone's pair/part of a mentsu) and you can't do anything about it. If you riichi you better hope for tsumo and have the widest possible wait.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9149040
Pon on dora is not a garbage hand. Open honitsu as well although it is obvious.
I am talking about yakuhai with no dora or just plain old riichii with nothing.
Beginners need to know what type of hand actually give them han.

>>9149672
dou seng is a great movie.
Probably one of my favorite movie but they dont play by riichii rules.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148796
>>9148822
Honestly? I wrote the whole thing on an old netbook I was transferring files from. The only choice of pictures was Power girl or random /co/ funny pages that would've distracted from the conversation. I think I made the right choice

>>9149672
Sorry I meant it had pretty much the same actors as Kung Fu Hustle, not done by the same writers and directors. It's not that good though and unless you're used to Hong Kong Cinema at least half the jokes will fly over your head.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9148979
If the only yaku you know is riichi, you can't have a strategy to build big hands. If you want to recommend people memorize all the yaku before they play their first game, you're not going to get anyone to get to their first game before they give up on it.

I think you naturally learn the yaku by winning with riichi and then looking at the score screen of the 4-yaku hand you got without knowing and think 'oh what was all that other shit that went along with it?' Then you look it up and learn.

Also I think tile efficiency and defense are more important concepts to learn before caring how expensive your hands are.

[Anonymous No.]

>>9151682
That is the reason why you put a limit to your hand. You are forced to learn your yaku and you learn good habit.
I have seen so many noobs playing into another hand for their shitty 1han hand.