Learn mahjong

Start with the basic rules. Then choose MCR or Riichi and practice with exercises and apps.

Start here: 5 steps

The tiles. There are three numbered suits from 1 to 9, the winds and the dragons. MCR also uses 8 flowers. MCR has 144 tiles. Riichi has 136.
The goal. Build a hand of 14 tiles. The hand has four sets and one pair.
The sets. A chow is three consecutive numbers of the same suit. A pung is three identical tiles. A kong is four identical tiles.
The turn. You draw a tile. Then you discard a tile. You can also take another player's discard if it completes a set.
Winning and scoring. You win when you complete the hand. The points depend on the variant.

MCR or Riichi

	MCR	Riichi
Origin	China. Competition rules from 1998.	Japan.
Tiles	144, with flowers.	136, no flowers.
To win	The hand must be worth at least 8 points.	The hand must have at least one pattern (yaku).
Points	There are 81 patterns with fixed values.	Calculated with han and fu.
Style	A game of calculation and of building varied hands.	A fast game, with the riichi declaration and a lot of defense.
Rulebook in Spain	Green Book (2006).	EMA RCR rules, 2025 edition.

If you do not know which to choose, try both. The tiles and the idea of the game are the same.

Duplicate format

The Duplicate format reduces the effect of luck. The tables play the same deals. The result of each player is compared with the results of the others. It works like duplicate bridge.

The Mahjong International League (MIL) promotes this format to make mahjong a competitive mind sport. Read more about the MIL in Mahjong as a mind sport.

Video in English: introduction to the Duplicate format. The MIL shows it on its Duplicate rules page. The video loads from YouTube only when you press play.

MIL Duplicate rules (opens in a new tab)

Official rulebooks

Guides and books

Riichi Beginners Guide (PDF) (opens in a new tab). A short guide to start with Riichi.
MCR Handbook on Mahjongsoft (opens in a new tab). Books and manuals about MCR in the Books section.

Exercises and practice

Mahjongsoft (opens in a new tab) has an MCR trainer, a hand calculator and games against bots.
Mahjong Soul (opens in a new tab) has a Riichi tutorial inside the game.
Mahjong Efficiency Trainer (opens in a new tab). It teaches you to choose the best discard in Riichi.

To play games with other people, see all the platforms in Play online.

For games in person

Mahjong ScoringAndroidMCRFreeFree Android app. It helps to keep the scores in MCR games. The founder of this association made it. (opens in a new tab)

Do you prefer to learn in person? Join the WhatsApp group (opens in a new tab) and ask for a class.