What makes riichi different
Riichi uses the core 136 tiles with no flowers, usually with one or three red fives as bonus tiles. A winning hand still needs four sets and a pair (or seven pairs or thirteen orphans), but it must also contain at least one yaku — a recognised scoring pattern. Without a yaku, a complete hand cannot win.
This single rule changes everything. Players must plan hands that will score, and fast, cheap open hands are only possible if they include a yaku.
Points and the game
Each player starts with 25,000 points in most rules. A standard game, a hanchan, consists of an East round and a South round. Points pass between players as hands are won; the final ranking, often adjusted by bonus points, decides the result.
Discards in rows
Each player arranges their discards in neat rows of six in front of them. That makes reading the order of discards easy — essential in a game where defense is so important, and where a player may not win on a tile they have themselves discarded.
A game of attack and defense
Because players can declare riichi to announce a ready concealed hand, others know when danger rises and can switch to safe discards. Balancing speed, value and safety is the heart of riichi strategy, which is why the game supports professional leagues and a vast strategy literature.
