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Can Someone Explain Mahjong with Pictures


sepheroithisgod

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I've tried looking it up and I think I get the premise of the game. You want to get pairs and straights, but I have no idea how to get a straight with some of the tiles. If anyone has any tips for the completion points and can explain the hands I would be very appreciative. And yes I have read the gamefaqs guide and wiki guide.

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Image result for mahjong tiles

Ignore the bottom two rows.

If you have one of every tile of one of the three top rows, you then need to get two pairs with the remaining four tiles you have in your hand. Once you have a full row from the picture above + 2 pairs, that's a straight.

Here's an example of a straight hand:

stock-vector-riichi-mahjong-majiang-winn

Edited by madbuk
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The guide here has the tiles and numbers listed for them.

 

https://psnprofiles.com/guide/5892-yakuza-0-mahjong-completion-guide

 

I also made a post about it a couple months ago with a similar question.

 

Be sure to also check the video out since I felt the guy does explain it well enough. However I should also add that when I played Mahjong in Kiwami I wound up not always winning with a Dragon or Wind tile, so I guess those aren't always needed but I know the Dragon tiles can help form triplets and I believe give more points but I still don't really know what the Wind tiles do.

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2 minutes ago, Redgrave said:

The guide here has the tiles and numbers listed for them.

 

https://psnprofiles.com/guide/5892-yakuza-0-mahjong-completion-guide

 

I also made a post about it a couple months ago with a similar question.

 

Be sure to also check the video out since I felt the guy does explain it well enough. However I should also add that when I played Mahjong in Kiwami I wound up not always winning with a Dragon or Wind tile, so I guess those aren't always needed but I know the Dragon tiles can help form triplets and I believe give more points but I still don't really know what the Wind tiles do.

Wow, I didn't even think about checking the other games for help. thanks for the tips.

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Just now, sepheroithisgod said:

Wow, I didn't even think about checking the other games for help. thanks for the tips.

 

Yeah, Mahjong is pretty much the same in every game. If they had numbered the tiles like they did in Yakuza 6 and presumably Kiwami 2 I feel like people wouldn't have too much of an issue outside of trying to figure out the foreign terminology like Riichi or Pon. But if I can (sort of) figure it out, you can too.

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I finished Mahjong yesterday (all I'm left for the 100% completion in Kiwami is the one to collect 100 weapons) and I still have no idea how to play it. All I do is try to get either three of the same tile or a sequence (tile 1, 2 and 3 for example) without stealing tiles from the AI then whenever it's my turn to discard I always press :square: to confirm if I'm missing one piece to call Riichi.

 

If you're having trouble remembering the tile order (like the man tiles which I always confuse the 6th and 7th tiles) you can check the order of the tiles at any time by pressing :triangle: then checking the How to Play option. Flip the page until you get the page that shows you the tiles in order.

 

Also, I have to say that I found the RNG in this game a lot worse than Zero whenever it came to the gambling games (although this might just be that lady luck decided to be cruel to me in this particular game). In the case of Mahjong even on the easiest table, I'd get the AI calling Riichi in like their second turn whenever I got a good hand and they would finish when I was just one or two pieces from winning.

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5 minutes ago, TugaSonic said:

I finished Mahjong yesterday (all I'm left for the 100% completion in Kiwami is the one to collect 100 weapons) and I still have no idea how to play it. All I do is try to get either three of the same tile or a sequence (tile 1, 2 and 3 for example) without stealing tiles from the AI then whenever it's my turn to discard I always press :square: to confirm if I'm missing one piece to call Riichi.

 

If you're having trouble remembering the tile order (like the man tiles which I always confuse the 6th and 7th tiles) you can check the order of the tiles at any time by pressing :triangle: then checking the How to Play option. Flip the page until you get the page that shows you the tiles in order.

 

Also, I have to say that I found the RNG in this game a lot worse than Zero whenever it came to the gambling games (although this might just be that lady luck decided to be cruel to me in this particular game). In the case of Mahjong even on the easiest table, I'd get the AI calling Riichi in like their second turn whenever I got a good hand and they would finish when I was just one or two pieces from winning.

Should I avoid taking pieces from the AI in general? I haven't been able to win a match and it is starting to bug me.

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7 minutes ago, sepheroithisgod said:

Should I avoid taking pieces from the AI in general? I haven't been able to win a match and it is starting to bug me.

 

I never took pieces unless it was to finish my hand (the option that appears says Ron). Reason being that I never understood how it works when using stolen pieces. I tended to win at least once every 4 games, two if I was lucky and none if I was unlucky. I only played on the beginner table with only going to the advanced table to use the Lucky Tile cheat item to get a Haneman and a large number of sticks.

 

On the game settings I also used the ones stated on the Yakuza 0 Mahjong Guide:

Game Style -> Quarter Game

Kuitan -> On

Two Han Minimum -> Off

Red Dora -> On

 

 

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18 minutes ago, sepheroithisgod said:

Should I avoid taking pieces from the AI in general? I haven't been able to win a match and it is starting to bug me.

 

Yeah, taking pieces is considered a beginner's trap. If you're near the end of the game with there only being like less than 10 or so pieces left you may as well just take one and see if you can get anything out of it since sometimes you can get points for it if not very much. Ultimately though if you can get a Kon (I believe this is done with three identical Wind tiles) that can be something you can do to steal tiles since you can get a Hidden Kon which means you can still call a Riichi and if you win you get more points for it. But make sure that it's a Kon for when you hit square. If you see a Kon but you didn't hit square it's probably not worth it.

 

And yeah, Mahjong is a pretty soul-crushing experience because of the RNG that's really not in your favor. I swear sometimes you have to just hope the AI forgets it likes to screw you around. Just keep at it, put on music or some videos and try your best and you'll slowly chip away at it.

 

 

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1 hour ago, sepheroithisgod said:

Should I avoid taking pieces from the AI in general? I haven't been able to win a match and it is starting to bug me.

 

If your goal is just to form a winning hand, any winning hand, you should absolutely avoid stealing tiles from other players.

 

Stealing tiles immediately invokes a number of penalties; some hands become worth fewer points, others become worthless. Importantly (especially for newer players), you can't use Riichi if you've stolen tiles.

 

You should only steal tiles when you have a particular strategy for completing your hand and you know that those penalties won't cause that strategy any problems. Or if you're near the end of the round and are just trying to avoid the points penalty.

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2 hours ago, Redgrave said:

Be sure to also check the video out since I felt the guy does explain it well enough. However I should also add that when I played Mahjong in Kiwami I wound up not always winning with a Dragon or Wind tile, so I guess those aren't always needed but I know the Dragon tiles can help form triplets and I believe give more points but I still don't really know what the Wind tiles do.

 

I'll also add the relevant quote from your link: "Oh and there's also Dragon and Wind tiles. I honestly have no idea what the Wind tiles do or mean, but I always kept at least one in my hand and would make sure to have two or three Dragon tiles. I believe Dragon tiles help you call a Riichi better."

 

Dragons: In terms of the basic rules, if your pair is made up of Dragons you get a small points bonus if you win. That's it. Otherwise, some hands require/forbid Dragon tiles. Most importantly, having a triple of Dragons is by itself worth 1 han and this is unaffected by stealing tiles. So one of the easiest ways to win is to get a triple of Dragons and then complete your hand by any menas possible.

 

Winds: Basically inferior versions of the Dragons. During a game of Mahjong, each player will be assigned a direction. These directions change as the position of the dealer moves around the table, with the dealer always being East. Similarly, each round of a game of Mahjong is assigned a direction. If you have the rules set to "quarter game" this will always be East. If you have the rules set to "half game," you will also have a South round.The important thing here is that, generally speaking, any Wind tiles you have that don't match either your direction or the direction of the round are worthless and you should discard them. If they do match, then they're worth 1 han when you get a triple of them (and this is unaffected by stealing tiles).

 

You do not need to have any Dragons or Winds to win.

Edited by cckerberos
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Apart from an initial learning curve I haven't really struggled with Mahjong other than getting the full straight. I've used the below 2 images extensively when playing. I'll give my views acknowledging that there will be some overlap with other posts

 

mahjong-tiles1.png?w=768&h=416

6no9e5x3dl921.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&a

 

A key rule I follow, with two exceptions, is DO NOT STEAL! Unless you really understand what you are doing.

 

The exceptions are going for the full straight or for 'Ron'.

 

The game is asking you to steal when a notification comes up saying 'Chi', meaning you can make a set of three tiles (like 1,2,3 or 3,4,5) using a tile from someone else or 'Pon' (3,3,3) again using a tile from someone else etc. There is also one for 'Kan' which is 4 tiles of the same kind. You can go out with 3 Kans (or 4) but it's hard to set up so I wouldn't bother. Also don't confuse 'Pon' with 'Ron', Ron means you win. Also if 'Tsumo' comes up that means you will win with a tile you have drawn yourself, as opposed to Ron where you win from someone elses tile.

 

I still don't know all the ins and outs but essentially I aim for 2 types of hand - 7 pairs and 4 sets of 3 types and a pair,

 

7 pairs is self explanatory (the first hand under 2-han hands in the 2nd image above) and I tend to go for this when there are 3 pairs dealt to me at the start. 

 

The four sets of 3 can be either 123, 456, 789 (or any other variant of 3 consecutive tiles 234, 567, etc) of any suit or 3 of a kind of any suit (5,5,5) etc. If going for this, the other 2 tiles must be a pair.

 

I don't really focus on the winds or dragons (other than to group them for the sets or pairs) and I definitely do not steal unless I'm going for the full straight or to 'Ron'.

 

A good tip is to press square every now and then...if Riichi appears you only need 1 tile to finish. At this point a box opens in the top right and tells you what you need. It also gives you a number which is how many of that tile are still 'in play'. That means either they haven't been drawn yet or in another person's hand. Sometimes you win sometimes you don't but it's helpful. 

 

Riichi ippatsu is winning within one turn of declaring riichi. This is luck based but tends to happen with some regularity.

 

This generally gets me what I need to get in the game.

 

The mangans and hanemans come naturally through play for me playing the above. All this means is when you win (go out) sometimes there are bonuses applied depending on your hand. So if say you won with 7 pairs, you get 2 han. If the Dora or Ura Dora tile matches tiles you have in your hand you get 1 additional han for each tile you have that matches. If you declare Riichi and win via that method, you get 1 han, Riichi Ippatsu is 2 han, winning without stealing or declaring Riichi gets you a fully concealed hand for 1 han  and so on. These accumulate allowing you to get multiple hans per hand and just winning regularly will be enough for you to get enough han to get mangan regularly and also haneman which will satisfy the requirements for completion. 

 

The full straight can be a real pain to achieve as it depends on luck. As a rule I wouldn't attempt going for this unless you are dealt 5 individuals tiles of one suit (no repeats) as otherwise it doesn't really work. In this instance, I do steal sometimes but only 'Chi' and never 'Pon' as Pon will screw it up. An important point to remember is, when you 'Chi' it must be to form a 123, 456 or 789 any other 'Chi', say a 234 or 678, will invalidate the hand.

 

After enough goes, you will find yourself in a position where you have a hand resembling the 'Pure Straight' from the second image above (3rd down under 2-han hands). You will then also need a another set of Chi tiles (123,345,567,789 etc) or 'Pon' (111,333,444) plus a pair to finish the hand. 

 

Overall I do really enjoy the game. That said, I found Kiwami tougher/more annoying than either Yak 0 or 3 (the two I have played so far). Opponents were declaring Riichi within 3 drawn tiles even on the beginner table with regularity which is bizarre. I also had full straight lined up 4 times and declared Riichi with 40+tiles left more than once with 4 of the tile still 'in play' and it didn't come up. On the 5th time, I managed to ron the last tile. 

 

Hope this helps and I haven't added to anyone's confusion. 

 

Artty44.png

Edited by Artty44
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