Welcome to the tables of Red Fan City. A lot of people hear "mahjong" and picture a wall of rules.
Relax. Today's lesson covers exactly one thing. Learn it, and you already know how to play riichi mahjong.

Your hand is 14 tiles. Arrange them like this and you win the hand:

• Sequence: three tiles of the same suit in a row. 1-2-3 of Characters, holding hands in a line.

• Triplet: three identical tiles. East, East, East. Triplets.

• Pair: two identical tiles. White Dragon, White Dragon. Best friends.

4 sets (sequences or triplets, any mix) + 1 pair = a winning hand.That's it. Every other rule in the game grows out of this one line. Memorize it now, there will be a quiz.

• Everyone starts with 13 tiles.

• On your turn: draw 1, discard 1. Your hand always stays at 13. No hoarding.

• When someone discards, you can call chii or pon to take that tile and complete a set. Called sets are laid face-up on the table and locked.

• When you're one tile away from 4 sets + 1 pair, you're in tenpai. Your heart rate goes up. That's normal.

• Draw the winning tile yourself: tsumo. Take it from someone's discard: ron. Both count as a win. Both are allowed to make you smile.

Riichi mahjong adds one small rule. A complete hand isn't enough; it also has to satisfy at least one yaku (a scoring pattern) before you can declare a win.
This is where a lot of beginners sit down on the floor and cry. Don't. Here's the universal answer:

Riichi. When you're in tenpai, declare riichi and put down a 1,000-point deposit. From then on you draw and discard on autopilot, and if you win, riichi itself is your yaku.
Not sure what to do? In tenpai, call riichi. It's never wrong. Every veteran at this table grew up the same way.
The three most useful yaku get their own lesson next time.

• Play through the tutorial first and let your fingers learn the rhythm: draw, discard, draw, discard.

• Then open Practice and play a few hands against the AI. Losing there doesn't touch your rank, so lose freely.

• Want to get comfortable fast? Start with three-player mahjong: fewer tiles, fewer rules, faster rounds. Perfect for players who just sat down.

Next lesson: reading the tiles. Characters, Circles, Bamboo, and Honors.
Class dismissed.

This game contains adult content and is intended for players 18 and over.