Setting Up - Riichi Mahjong Guide

In this episode of Riichi Mahjong Guide, I go over the very start of a game of mahjong, from deciding the seating order to building the walls and drawing starting hands. I also briefly cover the dead wall and the dora indicator.
To learn more about how the dora indicator works, you can view this article:
arcturus.su/wik...
Feel free to leave any feedback or ask questions in the comments.

[@TRDiscordian]

Thank you so much for this! It was surprisingly difficult locating a simple video of the physical setup. I play digital all the time, but I want to buy an AMOS set, and really get rolling IRL.

[@skeome]

This is very helpful, except that the dead wall is the 14 tiles after the wall break, before the dealt tiles. This is in case the dice roll for breaking the wall ends up being less than 7. From the right, the first 5 tiles are dora indicators. The first one is flipped by default, the other 4 are flipped individually whenever kan is called. If a hand is won after declaring riichi, the top layer of the dead wall is moved and any tile under a flipped dora indicator (hidden dora) is also flipped, allowing for up to 4 extra dora for that hand. The last two stacks of tiles are used to draw/replace a tile whenever kan is called to keep tile count even. Most riichi rules only allow 4 kan calls for that reason. The ones that don't end the round when a 5th kan is called

[@heutemalsushi]

Thank you for the very helpful guides ! My son recently started playing, so as collateral "damage", I have to, too. These explanations made it much easier for me to get the how-to. BTW: The Dora order link above is dead, you might want to replace or update that one.

[@LightGrunty]

Thank you for the kind words. I hope you and your son have fun playing mahjong. As for the broken link, thank you for bringing it to my attention. The Japanese mahjong wiki is currently down, but one of the admins is in the process of getting the site back up. I will update the link if necessary once the site is fixed.

[@j_1_1_19]

This is a very good guide to refer to. Thanks!

[@thecoldduvet7381]

The 14 tiles in the dead wall: 5 tiles are the dora. The 5 tiles underneath the doras are ura dora for riichi stick wins (one dora revealed, flip one ura. two dora revealed, flip two uras etc) The 4 tiles next to the dora are used for drawing after someone has called a kan A fifth kan call will result in the current round repeating cuz there is no 5th tile to draw

[@theovl316]

This was a great explanation of the set up of the game!!! I understand everything until the dead wall I kond of lost it there...but thanks!!!

[@Yayonzo]

Thanks for the easy setup guide! A few questions though, for further clarification: 1) From the end of the video onward, where will each tile be drawn from, as the hand plays out? 2) What if you roll a much smaller/larger number on the dice, and the dead wall is either very small or overly massive?

[@LightGrunty]

You're welcome! As for those questions: 1) You draw tiles from the live wall going clockwise, just like how you drew your starting hand. This is covered in the video, "Flow of a Game". 2) The number that you roll on the dice does not affect the length of the dead wall. It is always 14 tiles. I probably should have mentioned that in this video, but it is discussed in the video, "Calling Tiles", because kans affect the dead wall.

[@Yayonzo]

I see. If the dead wall always needs to be 14, then, would the first 14 tiles before the split become the dead wall?

[@LightGrunty]

Yes, that's right. Two dice are commonly used because the number 7 has the highest probability of being rolled, which leaves the dead wall split neatly from the live wall. However, the dead wall is always the 14 tiles before the break, regardless of the number shown on the dice.

[@lwl91]

if the dices roll 6 or less, does it mean the dead wall will still be 14 tiles?

[@LightGrunty]

The number that you roll on the dice does not affect the length of the dead wall. It is always 14 tiles. I probably should have mentioned that in this video, but it is discussed in the video, "Calling Tiles", because kans affect the dead wall.

[@kingkholera]

I think the unfortunate confusion point (because I had this same problem until I read another guide) is that you rolled a 7 on the dice, which makes it seem like this is relevant to the dead wall size (which is always 7x2 tiles, but because of you rolling a 7, it makes it seem like the 7 for the wall was determined by the 7 roll).

[@deux8249]

I bought a physical kit today, but there are 140 tiles in total (with 4 dora tiles, no flowers), so setting up the 4 walls results in 4 leftover tiles.

[@LightGrunty]

If you want to use the red dora, you need to remove the corresponding normal versions of those tiles so that there is still exactly four of each tile and 136 tiles total. Generally people will replace one of each 5 with a red 5 for a total of three red dora.

[@deux8249]

@@LightGrunty I see... but that just makes every 5 kan a free dora point!

[@LightGrunty]

@@deux8249 You can also choose to play without the red dora if you prefer.

[@deux8249]

A bit off topic, but I bought a vintage bamboo set home and it had 8 white dragons and no doras. How valuable would you think it is?

[@LightGrunty]

@@deux8249 I wouldn't really know, sorry.

[@ereviscale3966]

Legendary gambler tetsuya!

[@kingkholera]

Question, what kind of mat and/or walls do you have, and are they sold in stores or online somewhere? I ask because the walls appear to be separate from the rest of the mat, and I have a large mat with no walls, to which I'd like to add walls, but I'm not sure how best to do that. Thanks!

[@LightGrunty]

The mahjong mat I am using is called a "Batmat". It's a hard mat with borders to help line up the tiles. They're pretty difficult to find outside of Japan, though. If you're looking to buy a mahjong mat online, the one most people use is a "Junk Mat". It's a soft mat with plastic borders. You could find it on various websites, including Amazon.

[@livefast1064]

Great guide! Most mahjong games I've played have dedicated 5 dora (10 with ura) tiles from the dead wall. What happens if you don't have less than 5 tiles after the initial dice roll? Where do the rest of the tiles come from in the dead wall?

[@LightGrunty]

The dead wall is always the last 14 tiles of the wall, regardless of the dice roll. So if the dice roll is less than 7, the dead wall will be "split" between two walls, if that makes any sense.

[@livefast1064]

@@LightGrunty 100% I think I was looking at it the wrong way, thank you!

[@mr.x.666]

Thank you for your detailed explanation.

[@jacobmillner8117]

What mat/table do you have here? I am looking for one. Thanks for the great vids!

[@LightGrunty]

I have an AMOS Hannya and a Bat Mat. Unfortunately though, both of those seem to be discontinued. Depending on where you live, you can find Japanese-style mahjong sets through online retailers. In the United States, one of the easiest ones to get is from Yellow Mountain Imports. It's a reasonable quality for the price, and the customer service is good, too. Regardless of where you live, I would highly recommend a Junk Mat. It is a high-quality mahjong mat made in Japan by the same company that made the Bat Mat, Taiyo Giken. You can find them online, though the shipping costs may be as much as the mat itself. However, they are well worth the price.

[@psionicjake]

Thank you this was very helpful

[@lijett3161]

I am learning how to play... and I followed all steps lined out in the video. However, after lining out 34 tiles to each player... I have extra stack of 10 tiles?

[@LightGrunty]

Mahjong sets often come with extra tiles. For instance, most mahjong sets come with flower tiles that would not be used in Japanese riichi mahjong. American mahjong sets often come with joker tiles which are only used in American mahjong. Some mahjong sets come with extra blank tiles in case you lose a few tiles. With riichi mahjong, you only need the normal 136 tiles. You can set aside any flower or joker tiles.

[@SakanaKogane]

Clearly explained, nice!

[@tuptaju5531]

Hi! I'm doing a presentation on mahjong for my presentation-making class and I wanted to ask - can I use a screenshot of set table from your video to show what it looks like? It'd be credited, with a link to your channel. :)

[@LightGrunty]

Sure, that's fine by me.

[@deborahcoren4301]

Very helpful .. thank you

[@TheStrongVirus]

So do you just face down and shuffle each round, then do set up? So everyone just stays where they are and starts building a wall etc. I guess the main question is, where in the set-up do you start after each round.

[@LightGrunty]

After a round is finished, everyone stays in the same (physical) seats, turns the tiles face down, shuffles, then builds the walls. The next dealer will then roll the dice to start the next round.

[@TheStrongVirus]

Ah ok cool, I'll probably have to figure out a way to do set up faster to help other beginners then.

[@mikexbox1]

Can you please tell me where you got this table? Thank you!

[@LightGrunty]

I actually imported this mahjong mat a few years ago, but it has since been discontinued. As an alternative, I would highly recommend a "Junk Mat" mahjong mat. You should be able to find them online.

[@mikexbox1]

@@LightGrunty thank you so much! ☺️

[@basztmc]

How to setup the wall with use red dora tiles? Remove 1 normal 5 from each sutes? when set 34 tiles per wall it left 4 tile...

[@LightGrunty]

Yes, the red fives would replace their normal counterparts. If you want to play with one of each red five, you have to remove one of each normal five.

[@basztmc]

@@LightGrunty thanks

[@bystander85]

Which brand/model tileset in this video? They seem on larger side compared to other riichi sets I've seen.

[@LightGrunty]

I have the AMOS Hannya set. The tiles are 28mm, but the set itself has been discontinued for a while. There are somewhat comparable 28mm tile sets out there, but hand-shuffle tile sets are more commonly 26mm.

[@Npence09]

@@LightGrunty are these acrylic or melamine

[@LightGrunty]

@@Npence09 I honestly have no idea, sorry.

[@starbeing1187uk]

Hi just wondering if u roll 2 ones the dead wall with only have 4 tiles - only 2 Rows how do u get dori?

[@LightGrunty]

The dead wall is always 14 tiles, regardless of the dice roll. If the roll is less than 7 then the dead wall will be "split" between two walls, if that makes any sense. In the case of a 2, the dora indicator would be the tile at the end of the adjacent wall.

[@Explosion-]

Can you make a 3 player mahjong guide? I dont know how to make a wall. Am i supposed to made wall 18 tiles of 2?

[@LightGrunty]

There is no one standard way to set up for 3-player mahjong, so you can just do whatever works. If you remove the 2 through 8 tiles of one suit, then you'll be left with 108 tiles. In that case, having each of the three players build a wall of 36 tiles, 18 stacks of 2, would work well.

[@ventin75]

Hi, how to remember the dora order for the dragon tiles?

[@LightGrunty]

For dragon tiles as dora, the easiest way to remember them is that they are in alphabetical order. This works regardless of if you use their Japanese names or call them by their colors. Chun>Haku>Hatsu Green>Red>White So if hatsu/green is the indicator, then chun/red is the dora. Chun/red indicates that haku/white is dora, and so on.

[@Yeraus]

@@LightGrunty Thank you!!

[@laurynlewis2938]

@@Yeraus If you also notice, the English names are in alphabetical order

[@kingcrimson4133]

I remember that it's like "red, white, and blue" except "red, white, and green".

[@sonnguyen5386]

Sorry, I want to ask this If we roll 2 dices, then the number is 5 or lower, how many tiles will we leave in deadwall?

[@LightGrunty]

The number of tiles in the dead wall is always 14. This is regardless of how you decide where to break the wall to start drawing tiles.

[@sonnguyen5386]

@@LightGrunty Thank you very much!

[@andrewpinedo1883]

How is the wall set up if akapai (red tiles) are included?

[@LightGrunty]

The wall is set up exactly the same. When added aka dora, you remove an equal amount of the normal version of those tiles. So if you were to use one of each red five, you would remove one of each normal five so that there are still only four of each type of tile.

[@andrewpinedo1883]

@@LightGrunty That makes more sense now.

[@viruse388]

What's the meaning of the dice numbers in the center of the mat?

[@LightGrunty]

I'm not entirely sure. My best guess is that the dice markings are merely a suggestion on where to put the dice after rolling to show that you're the dealer.

[@anitapasricha6523]

Do not understand the dead wall. And why to reveal the tiles ?

[@LightGrunty]

The dead wall is just the last 14 tiles in the wall, regardless of the dice roll, and the revealed tile is the dora indicator. Dora are explained in a later video, but the gist of it is that each dora tile is worth 1 han, so they can be used to increase the value of a hand.

[@larsu-gx579]

How do you do that fancy move where you lift an entire 14 tile row up at once?? I keep dropping them

[@LightGrunty]

The key is the grip. You should be putting a little bit of inward pressure on the row of tiles using your pinky fingers to keep them all together.

[@larsu-gx579]

@@LightGrunty Thank you for the advice, I've actually pulled it off a few times now. The amount of pressure to keep the tiles together without causing them to implode and fly apart is just so precise!

[@kotatsku5195]

link to set?

[@starbeing1187uk]

Hi what wood the Dora be if u roll 2

[@LightGrunty]

If the dealer rolls a 2, then they would break the wall on their right 2 stacks from that player's right side. Because the dora indicator is the third tile from the end of the dead wall, the player across from the dealer would flip the leftmost tile on their wall (rightmost tile on the wall across from the dealer's perspective).

[@mariacarlo9583]

Can you explain what is the dora?

[@LightGrunty]

A dora is a tile that adds 1 han to the value of your hand if you win. However, it does not count as a yaku, which is required to win a hand. The dora is determined by the dora indicator, in that is is the tile "after" the dora indicator. This is explained in the article for which I provided the link in the video description.

[@homeslicekey500]

Why dont i start out with 144 tile?

[@LightGrunty]

Riichi mahjong does not use the flower tiles, if that's what you're asking.

[@saltycage457]

Is the dead wall always 14 tiles?

[@LightGrunty]

Yes, the dead wall is always the last 14 tiles in the wall.

[@saltycage457]

@@LightGrunty thanks for the reply and the videos!

[@DrunkCat1337]

Is it possible to get a setup guide for 3 player mahjong?

[@LightGrunty]

That is something I've been asked about before, but there are multiple different types of 3-player mahjong, so there is no one way to set up for it. But along that same line of thought, as long as the way you set up your 3-player game makes logical sense, then that's fine. There's no standard for how long the walls have to be or anything like that, so just do what works for you

[@DrunkCat1337]

@@LightGrunty Thanks for the reply! So far I've only seen rules that suggest 2x18 walls and flipping the indicator 5 in, as well as only using one die for which wall to break. Thanks again for your videos! The only thing I wanted to clarify is that the dead wall extends four more tiles from the indicator right?

[@LightGrunty]

@@DrunkCat1337 That depends on the rules you're using. If you are using north tiles as nuki dora, as is common for online platforms like Tenhou or Mahjong Soul, then yes. You would need to have four more rinshan tiles to accommodate that, which is why the dora indicator would be five tiles in instead of three, though the dead wall is still always 14 tiles.

[@DrunkCat1337]

@@LightGrunty If the dead wall is still 14 tiles in a 3 player game wouldn't that mean there's only two tiles to reveal for dora instead of four?

[@LightGrunty]

@@DrunkCat1337 No, because the dead wall is always 14 tiles. If a rinshan tile is drawn, then the last tile in the live wall becomes part of the dead wall. So you can still reveal up to four additional dora indicators if players make that many kan declarations.

[@ansalarhino5709]

nice tutorial how to break the wall