KENZAN! MAHJONG: WHY THE GAME WILL NOT LET YOU WIN

KENZAN! MAHJONG: WHY THE GAME WILL NOT LET YOU WIN A normal completed hand has four groups and a pair. A group is a same-suit sequence such as 3–4–5, a triplet of identical tiles, or a declared quad. Seven Pairs and Thirteen Orphans are special shapes. The shape alone is not enough: you also need a yaku, and ron is forbidden while furiten. TILES AND THE DRAW CYCLE There are three numbered suits: characters, circles and bamboo, each numbered 1–9. Honors are four winds and three dragons. Winds and dragons do not form sequences. A 1 or 9 is a terminal; 2–8 are simples. Normally you hold 13 tiles, draw to 14, then discard back to 13 unless you win. Declared quads alter the physical tile count because each quad has four tiles but counts as one group; the replacement draw keeps your hand structurally complete. CHOOSE CALLS FOR A REASON Chi: claim the previous player's discard to complete a sequence. In the usual table view, that is the player on your left. Pon: claim any player's discard to complete a triplet. Open kan: claim a discard matching your three identical tiles to form a quad. Added kan: add the fourth tile to your exposed triplet. Concealed kan: declare four matching tiles held in your own hand. This does not, by itself, make the hand open. Ron: win on another player's discarded tile, if it completes a legal hand and you are not furiten. Tsumo: win on your own draw, if it completes a legal hand. Chi, pon and open/added kan expose a group and normally remove the option to declare riichi. Calls can also reduce some yaku values. A concealed kan preserves closed status, but after riichi the game restricts which kans are legal. Do not assume every fourth tile can safely be declared. A kan draws a replacement tile and normally adds a dora indicator. That extra bonus can help an opponent more than you. Avoid casual kans while defending a lead or facing riichi. RIICHI With a closed hand one tile from completion, you can declare riichi by paying a 1,000-point deposit and making the chosen discard. Riichi supplies a yaku and can unlock hidden ura-dora bonuses if you win. It also commits your hand: you generally discard subsequent draws unless they win or allow a permitted concealed kan. Use the action menu to look for riichi when ready; merely holding a ready hand is not a declaration. A closed hand may win without declaring if it already has another yaku. That choice can preserve the ability to fold or improve a poor wait. FURITEN Suppose your final shape can win on 3 or 6, but you previously discarded a 3. You cannot ron on either 3 or 6. Furiten concerns the full set of winning tiles, not just the particular tile someone has now discarded. Self-draw remains possible. Before riichi, changing the hand so that none of its winning tiles appears in your own discard history can remove discard-based furiten. Passing a tile that completes your hand creates temporary furiten until your next ordinary draw turn. Passing after riichi leaves you unable to ron for the rest of that hand. The game handles the exact available calls; never assume that declining one winning discard leaves a different wait immediately eligible for ron. THREE COMMON FAILURES Four groups and a pair, no yaku: you called tiles for speed, but the result contains terminals or honors that spoil tanyao, no scoring honor triplet and no other open-hand yaku. Dora cannot fix this. Open pinfu or open seven pairs: those yaku require a closed hand. Calling does not preserve them. A ready hand with a discarded wait: furiten blocks ron. Either change the wait before riichi or aim for self-draw. DORA WITHOUT CONFUSION The visible indicator points to the next tile, not itself. A 4 indicator makes 5 dora; 9 wraps to 1. Winds cycle East → South → West → North → East. Dragons cycle White → Green → Red → White. Red fives are also ordinary suited fives and give an extra bonus han. If a red five is also indicated dora, both bonuses count. Ura-dora use hidden indicators revealed for a riichi winner. Dora, red dora and ura-dora add value only after the hand already has a yaku. An example: a closed riichi hand with two dora has at least three han. The same tiles in an open hand with no yaku are not a legal win, regardless of those two dora.