Getting Started
If you are new to the game, these resources will help introduce you to the basics.
Riichi Mahjong Zine – Getting Started
An accessible, short introduction to riichi. Formatted to be printed, so if you want to read it on a phone or PC, grab the “PhonePDF” version.
The Mahjong Guide
A site called the Mahjong Guide has a page named A Beginner’s Guide to Riichi Mahjong which covers some riichi basics. There are also a series of posts called Mahjong Fundamentals which give a beginner-level introduction to important concepts such as 5 block theory and defensive techniques.
The Basics – Riichi Mahjong Guide
A YouTube playlist of videos by Light Grunty covering basic aspects of mahjong, including setting up for in-person play. See also his playlists for yaku and scoring and strategy if you like this guide.
Riichi 101 (Coming Soon)
A slide deck introducing riichi mahjong, made by our own club members!
Riichi Mahjong Cheat Sheet
A well-designed cheat sheet for printing or saving, includes tile information, a yaku list, and helpful information for scoring.
Books and Wikis
Useful text-based resources for study and reference.
Riichi.Wiki
Riichi.Wiki is a wiki-style resource that covers many riichi topics, including a terminology list, a rules overview, and pages on strategy.
Riichi Book 1
Riichi Book 1 is the most frequently recommended resource for beginner players to improve their fundamentals. If you don’t plan on playing on Tenhou.net, skip the first two chapters and start on chapter 3.
More Advanced Reading
If you are looking for books beyond the level of Riichi Book 1, ask us on Discord and we’ll offer some recommendations. Various books exist on topics like efficiency, statistical play, and WWYD problems.
Training Tools
Web-based training tools for practice and testing yourself.
Mahjong Efficiency Trainer
The efficiency trainer is a browser application that tests your ability to make decisions that allow you to reach tenpai in the fewest number of turns.
Riichi Scoring Trainer
Riichi Scoring Trainer is a handy tool to help you practice counting fu and han and quiz yourself on how many points each hand is worth. An alternate scoring trainer can be found here.
Mahjong Waits Trainer
An extremely helpful tool for learning the acceptance and waits of 4, 7, 10, and 13 tile shapes. This is particularly useful for building understanding of complex wait patterns.
Community Resources
Intermediate to advanced resources from the English-speaking community.
Intermediate Riichi Strategies
A slide deck by Mr. Feng, an 8 dan tenhou player, adapted from a workshop he led. Covers topics such as efficiency, cognitive biases, push/fold judgment, discard reading, and how to play bad hands.
Advanced Mahjong Concepts Slides
A slide deck by LightPinkYoshi, an 8 dan American player. It covers topics including complex shapes, riichi vs. dama judgment, push/fold, sakigiri timing, and defensive strategies in tough situations.
Mahjong Mental Stack
A slide deck by Australian player Jaycakes exploring how to clean up your mahjong mental stack and improve the quality and relevance of your thoughts during play.
Mahjong Notes
A blog by redpandamaster, a player focused on statistically-informed play, positional play decisions, and analyzing mahjong AI play.