Tokyo Mahjong

Game Description

1.1 Overview and Lore

Welcome to Tokyo Mahjong, an invigorating modern reimaging of traditional Riichi Mahjong, tailored for accessible, high-octane tabletop gameplay. Set against the vibrant backdrop of Tokyo's iconic neon districts—from the towering digital billboards of Shibuya and Akihabara to the intimate alleyway parlors of Shinjuku—Tokyo Mahjong captures the electrifying atmosphere of Japanese tile-matching culture while streamlining the intricate complexities of classic Japanese Mahjong.

In Tokyo Mahjong, 2 to 4 players step into the shoes of urban tile strategists competing in the legendary Neon Wall Championship. Whether you are building swift, aggressive hands or assembling high-value Yaku combinations, every draw and discard carries intense tactical tension. The game blends visual spatial tracking, probability management, and psychological bluffing into an accessible yet deeply strategic board game experience.

Rather than requiring hours of complex mathematical calculations, Tokyo Mahjong features an intuitive scoring scale, color-coded visual tiles, custom player dashboards, and integrated Dora indicators that make tracking hand values effortless without losing the iconic Depth and strategic bite of authentic Japanese Riichi gameplay.

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1.2 The Component Inventory

Every game box of Tokyo Mahjong contains high-grade, beautifully styled components engineered for tactile satisfaction and visual clarity:

• 136 Heavy-Duty Acrylic Mahjong Tiles:
  • 36 Bamboo Suite Tiles (Souzu): Numbered 1 through 9 (4 copies each), styled with modern neon bamboo motifs.
  • 36 Character Suite Tiles (Manzu): Numbered 1 through 9 (4 copies each), displaying traditional Kanji accented with bold numeric indicators.
  • 36 Pin Suite Tiles (Pinzu): Numbered 1 through 9 (4 copies each), featuring stylized geometric circles reminiscent of Tokyo streetlights.
  • 16 Wind Honor Tiles: 4 East, 4 South, 4 West, and 4 North.
  • 12 Dragon Honor Tiles: 4 Red Dragons, 4 Green Dragons, and 4 White Dragons (featuring silver metallic borders).
• 4 Neon Player Dashboards: Recessed boards tracking active Melds, Tenpai Status, Dora Bonus Tiles, and personal Point Stick reserves.
• 80 Acrylic Point Sticks (Tenbou): Color-coded point sticks representing 10,000, 5,000, 1,000, and 100 point values.
• 1 Rotating Wind Indicator Stand: Tracks the current Round Wind (East or South) and Seat Winds.
• 2 Custom Six-Sided Dice: Used for breaking the initial Wall during setup.
• 4 Quick-Reference Hands Sheets: Detailed guides showing all valid winning hand combinations (Yaku) and scoring structures.

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1.3 Visual Aesthetics and Design

The visual presentation of Tokyo Mahjong marries traditional Japanese craftsmanship with a sleek cyberpunk-inspired urban aesthetic. Tiles feature jet-black acrylic backings with vibrant neon faces (electric blue for Pinzu, emerald green for Souzu, hot pink for Manzu, and radiant silver/gold for Honor tiles). The player dashboards are designed to mirror sleek arcade telemetry monitors, keeping your hand organized while providing clear visual slots for melded combinations and riichi declarations.

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1.4 Core Objectives

The primary objective in Tokyo Mahjong is to earn the highest point total across four complete game rounds (the East and South wind rotations). Points are scored by completing a valid 14-tile winning hand comprised of four Melds (triplets or sequences) and one Pair, while fulfilling at least one valid Yaku (scoring condition).

When a player reaches a state where they are exactly one tile away from completing their hand, they can declare Riichi, locking their hand and betting points on their imminent victory.

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Part II: Gameplay Instructions

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2.1 Game Setup

1. Establish the Table: Place the Wind Indicator Stand in the center of the table and set the global wind to East. Distribute a Player Dashboard and a set of Reference Sheets to each player.
2. Distribute Starting Points: Assign each player 25,000 points in point sticks:
   • 1x 10,000 Point Stick
   • 2x 5,000 Point Sticks
   • 4x 1,000 Point Sticks
   • 10x 100 Point Sticks
3. Determine Seat Winds: Roll the dice to determine seating positions. The highest roller becomes the East Wind (the Dealer for the first round). Continuing clockwise, players are assigned South, West, and North.
4. Building the Wall:
   • Shuffle all 136 tiles face down thoroughly in the center of the table (the "Rumble").
   • Each player builds a 2-tile high, 17-tile long wall in front of their dashboard, forming a square "Wall" in the middle of the table.
5. Breaking the Wall & Dealing:
   • The Dealer rolls the two dice and counts counter-clockwise along the walls to determine where the Wall is broken.
   • Starting from the break point, deal 12 tiles to each player in 4-tile blocks, followed by 1 final single tile, giving every player a starting hand of 13 tiles.
6. Reveal the Dora Indicator: Flip the 5th tile on the top row of the dead wall section face up. This tile establishes the Dora Indicator, granting bonus scoring value to the tile immediately following it in sequence.

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2.2 Core Hand Structures & Terminology

To complete a valid 14-tile hand in Tokyo Mahjong, your tiles must form 4 Melds + 1 Pair:

• Chow (Sequence): Three consecutive tiles of the exact same suit (e.g., 3-Pin, 4-Pin, 5-Pin). Note: Honors tiles cannot form Chows.
• Pung (Triplet): Three identical tiles of the exact same suit or honor (e.g., 7-Bamboo, 7-Bamboo, 7-Bamboo).
• Kong (Quad): Four identical tiles of the same suit or honor. When declared, it counts as a Meld, and a supplemental tile is drawn from the Dead Wall to maintain hand count.
• Pair (Eye): Two identical tiles (e.g., two Red Dragons).

Open vs. Closed Hands

• Closed Hand: A hand where all tiles have been drawn naturally from the wall without claiming any discarded tiles from opponents. Closed hands unlock higher scoring rewards and allow the player to declare Riichi.
• Open Hand: A hand where the player has claimed one or more discarded tiles from opponents to call Chow, Pung, or Kong.

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2.3 Turn Structure & Sequence

Game rounds proceed clockwise, starting with the East player (Dealer). Each turn follows a streamlined three-phase flow:

Phase 1: Draw Phase

The active player draws the top tile from the active end of the Wall, bringing their hand count to 14 tiles.

Phase 2: Action & Declaration Phase

Before discarding, the active player checks their hand for special declarations:

• Declare Riichi: If the player has a completely Closed Hand and is exactly one tile away from completing a winning hand (Tenpai), they may declare Riichi. They place a 1,000-point stick onto the board as a bet, rotate their next discard horizontally, and lock their hand. For the rest of the round, the player cannot alter their hand composition and must automatically draw and discard unless drawing their winning tile.
• Declare Closed Kong: If the player holds four identical tiles in their closed hand, they may declare a Closed Kong, place the four tiles face-up on their dashboard edge, draw a replacement tile from the Dead Wall, and flip an additional Dora Indicator tile face up.

Phase 3: Discard Phase

If no winning claim or special declaration is made, the player selects one tile from their hand and places it face-up in front of their dashboard in their personal Discard River. Discards must be arranged in orderly rows of 6 tiles from left to right.

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2.4 Claiming Discarded Tiles

When a player places a tile into their Discard River, any opponent may immediately claim that tile out of turn order by calling one of the following commands:

1. Ron (Winning Claim): If the discarded tile completes your winning hand, call Ron! to instantly claim victory. This call takes highest priority over all other calls.
2. Pung / Kong: If the discarded tile completes a triplet or quad in your hand, call Pung or Kong. Reveal the matching pair/triplet from your hand, place the completed meld face-up on the right side of your dashboard, add the claimed tile, and immediately skip to your Discard Phase.
3. Chow: Only the player sitting directly to the left of the discarding player may call Chow. You reveal two matching tiles from your hand that form a numerical sequence with the discarded tile, place the sequence face-up on your dashboard, and proceed to your Discard Phase.

Priority Order: If multiple players call for the same discarded tile simultaneously, Ron overrides all calls, followed by Pung/Kong, and lastly Chow.

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2.5 Winning Conditions & Yaku Examples

In Tokyo Mahjong, you cannot claim a win simply by having 4 melds and 1 pair; your hand MUST contain at least 1 Yaku (a specific scoring condition). There are two ways to complete a winning hand:

• Tsumo (Self-Drawn Win): You draw the final winning tile yourself from the Wall. All other players pay a share of your winning point payout.
• Ron (Discard Win): You complete your hand using a tile discarded by an opponent. The player who discarded the winning tile must pay the entire point penalty alone.

Beginner-Friendly Yaku List

Yaku Name	Description	Value (Closed / Open)
Riichi	Declare Riichi with a closed hand 1 tile away from winning.	1 Han (Closed Only)
Tanyao (All Simples)	Hand consists strictly of suit tiles numbered 2 through 8 (no 1s, 9s, or Honors).	1 Han / 1 Han
Yakuhai (Honor Triplets)	Holding a triplet of Red, Green, or White Dragons, or your Seat/Round Wind.	1 Han per triplet
Pinfu (All Sequences)	Closed hand consisting of 4 sequences, a non-scoring pair, and a two-sided wait.	1 Han (Closed Only)
Ippeiko (Twin Sequences)	Holding two identical sequences in the exact same suit within a closed hand.	1 Han (Closed Only)
Honitsu (Half Flush)	Hand composed entirely of tiles from a single suit plus Honor tiles.	3 Han / 2 Han
Toitoi (All Triplets)	Hand composed of four triplets/quads and one pair.	2 Han / 2 Han
Chinitsu (Full Flush)	Hand composed entirely of tiles from a single suit (no Honors).	6 Han / 5 Han

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2.6 Dora Bonus System

Dora tiles are passive bonus multipliers that add tremendous point value to your hand once a winning condition is met.

• Dora Indicator: The face-up tile in the Dead Wall indicates which tile is Dora. The Dora is the next tile in numerical sequence (e.g., if the indicator is a 3-Pin, all 4-Pin tiles in your hand count as 1 Dora point).
• Akadora (Red Five Tiles): Tokyo Mahjong includes 3 special glowing Red 5 tiles (one Red 5-Pin, one Red 5-Sou, one Red 5-Man). Holding a Red 5 in your winning hand automatically awards 1 bonus Dora point.
• Note: Dora tiles supply bonus points, but they do NOT count as a Yaku on their own. You must have at least one valid Yaku to declare a win!

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2.7 Round Progression & Game End

Round Settlement

When a player wins a hand (Tsumo or Ron):

1. The winner reveals their entire hand and calculates their total Han (Yaku values + Dora counts).
2. Points are transferred using the acrylic Point Sticks based on the quick scoring chart on the Reference Sheets.
3. If the Dealer (East) wins the hand, they retain the Dealer position, and a continuation counter is added. If a non-dealer wins, the Dealer position shifts clockwise to the next player.

Exhaustive Draw (Ryuukyoku)

If the active Wall is completely depleted without any player declaring a win:

• The round ends in a draw.
• Players who are in Tenpai (1 tile away from a winning hand) reveal their hands. Players in No-Ten (not close to winning) must pay a collective penalty fee of 3,000 points split among the Tenpai players.

Winning the Match

A standard match of Tokyo Mahjong finishes after completing the full East and South rotations (8 minimum rounds). The player with the highest total accumulation of Point Sticks at the conclusion of the match is crowned the Supreme Neon Archmage of Tokyo!

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2.8 Essential Rules & Etiquette

• Furiten Penalty: If you are 1 tile away from winning, but you have previously discarded a copy of your winning tile during the round, you cannot win via Ron off an opponent's discard. You can only win via Tsumo (self-draw).
• No Sacred Touches: Once a tile is discarded into your river, it cannot be taken back or adjusted.
• Clean Declares: Always vocalize calls (Chow, Pung, Kong, Riichi, Ron) clearly so all players around the table can react in real time.

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Tokyo Mahjong © Neon Grid Games. All rights reserved.