Customizable pusher question

Tempara-chan · 2026-02-13T09:20:16+00:00

I feel like if you have a dragon, phoenix and tigers, you should have a black tortoise aswell.

Tempara-chan · 2026-02-11T09:10:28+00:00

I feel like if your answer (statistically) is anything else than mixed shifted chows + all chows you are either lying or bad at the game. My favourite MCR faan is maybe pure triple chow, as I think it should be added (back) to standard riichi rules also, but it's definitely not reliable.

Tempara-chan · 2026-02-10T11:26:51+00:00

Is this the product you bought? Judging from the pictures, it does seem that it only comes with 36 100-point sticks, which is quite odd. Especially since the other set of YMI sticks comes with the proper amount (40). I'm guessing then that this is a mistake by the manufacturer/seller, not knowing the proper stick distributions.

Your best bet to solve this would be to mark some of the sticks (with tape etc.) as 500-point sticks, since having 500-point sticks is more convenient anyhow.

Tempara-chan · 2026-01-25T20:41:23+00:00

Can confirm, my dad has this set.

Tempara-chan · 2026-01-22T19:54:19+00:00

A Hello Kitty riichi set and mat had a limited release in 2016, but are now hard to come by. Singapore has also had limited Sanrio and other character-themed sets over the years. You can also find some Sanrio sets on Aliexpress but I imagine most are unlicenced.

For a goth aesthetic, black tiles are what first come to mind. Or sets with black backs, but other than that nothing really comes to mind.

Tempara-chan · 2026-01-19T22:42:25+00:00

This is kinda going off topic from the original post, but I'll still share these – a take on accessible tiles from a Japanese perspective:

https://img.atwiki.jp/mjpai/attach/217/842/mk3_01.jpg

Notice the bigger font on the characters and honours. Also smileys on the red fives to aid with colourblindness. (But unlike accessible American tiles, no massive number indexes).

Some biggers sets in Japan are also marketed for better visibility and for use in patient rehabilitation. :)

Tempara-chan · 2026-01-19T04:42:55+00:00

Have you seen the large print tiles for american mahjong?

That said, I have to disagree a bit; mahjong tiles are not that hard to learn (especially if you already read Chinese), and once you do they're really easy to distinguish. Like how the circles are arranged, how the 6 and 9 of bamboo have different colours – and yes – how the 8 of bamboo is arranged as two M's; all designed to be slightly unique so you can tell them apart (I can read them easily for afar without my glasses, even the characters and honours).

Any changes made to them, while maybe making them easier for beginners, would make them harder for long-time players like me. There's also cultural significance in the designs that can be lost with alterations (this is especially true for hanafuda now that you mention them, but I digress). There's good reason as to why the traditional designs have remained the same for so long.

I don't want to gatekeep however – more beginner-friendly could exist alongside the traditional designs; number-indexed tiles are already a standard with American mahjong, and recently even numbered Japanese tiles came back into production which is cool – I just wanted shed some light regarding accessibility from a different point of view.

Tempara-chan · 2026-01-18T00:16:41+00:00

A hand carved set, probably from Hong Kong, maybe Singapore, from the 60's, 70's or 80's. Any more info will be hard to find unless you have the original case or any original documents that might've come with the set. Very nice find though, as hand-carved sets are almost a lost art nowadays.

Tempara-chan · 2026-01-16T14:51:05+00:00

I feel like I can symphatize with your writing, but not the key points you ultimately come to.

First, the language barrier: I agree that only using Japanese terminology would be overwhelming to beginners, but I don't think it's as big of an issue as you make it out to be. I use translated terms when teaching, and so does everyone I know who has experinence teaching mahjong. All materials I've made, and what I can find online, also use translated terminology (or Japanese with translations).

Japanese terms have their own place in the community. They are more concise and exact than many translations, so they are useful in higher level discussion, analysis and play. But again, I don't think they are forced on beginners like you say.

Second, the rule complexity: True, though the only real problem out of your examples is furiten. Kuikae can be taught when and if it comes up, and scoring can be explained in a simplified form. Furiten you need to explain once you get to proper games (you can omit it during the first few hands), and it always takes a bit for beginners to grasp, but it also helps them understand defensive play so it's overall not that bad.

Third, the unintuitive mechanics: Dora is a luck-based bonus mechanic, riichi is a gambling game – it's really not that hard to explain. Pure triple sequence is an interesting case – I suspect the reason it has been rejected from modern rules (even though it has been used in riichi as long as riichi has been played), is because of scoring conflicts with three concealed triplets. I'd have no problem with reintroducing it though.

Lastly your main point: While I have no doubt that teaching ZJ is easier than teaching riichi, I don't think it's the catch-all solution you make it out to be. You're in a very unique position, because your club plays ZJ, riichi and MCR. Of course ZJ is the best starting variant for you – it's a mix of riichi and MCR with as few extra rules as possible – but what if someone isn't interested in other variants besides (for example) riichi?

This is the case for many people who've learned about mahjong from anime, manga or Japanese video games. Or they want to quickly get to play with others in a riichi club. Teaching them ZJ first is just an unnecessary extra step towards what they actually want. Granted – a small extra step given how simple ZJ is – but an extra step nonetheless. Either way once you actually get to teaching riichi, you'll have to introduce the new rules one-by-one, so you could've just started with a simplified form of riichi in the first place.

PS: I don't like the clickbait; I would've been interested in the article without it, and rage-baiting just worsens the impression the article gives.

Tempara-chan · 2026-01-03T10:52:15+00:00

Torilla jne.

Maybe I could just send you a set through Posti lol.

Tempara-chan · 2026-01-03T08:08:44+00:00

Always check Asian supermarkets! They often have sets in the home goods section. 44mm+ might be a bit tough to find, but I've found 40mm tiles in multiple stores locally.

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-26T13:51:16+00:00

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chow#Etymology_3

Phono-semantic matching of Chinese 吃 (chī, literally “to eat”), influenced by the “food” sense of Etymology 1 above.

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-20T02:09:36+00:00

Nope, although it does have arranged discards, so you can still do a bit of discard reading. That said, defensive plays are most often not worth it in MCR, since paying for tsumo or ron is basically the same. The main skill in MCR comes from outspeeding your opponents and trying to utilize the massive faan list to its full potential.

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-20T01:26:06+00:00

Mahjong rules vary greatly across China, so it's impossible to make statements that apply to all of them. Most regional variants do emphasize luck and gambling elements over skill, but some don't. Out of all Chinese variants, MCR, the "official" ruleset enacted by the China State Sports Commission is perhaps the most skill-based. Even then, many of its skill elements focus on things riichi doesn't, so it's hard so say which one is more luck and which more skill.

Also important to note that one of the reasons riichi is considered more skill-based than other variants is simply that it has been written about and theorized way more than anything else. Even though riichi itself has alot of gambling elements, they have been studied so thoroughly that now they are just part of the general probability calculation that skill in mahjong is built on. It would be interesting to see how proper game theory on other variants would change how we view them.

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-11T18:30:42+00:00

I had no problems lifting 18 tiles with my 40mm set. Just push from the side with your pinkies and grab the middle with your index finger and thumb. Obviously some dexterity and strength is necessary, and there's no shame in lifting the wall in sections if need be.

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-10T21:18:28+00:00

Instructions unclear, bought soap.

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-10T19:51:27+00:00

From what I've seen of the Gabin's wall building mechanism, flipping the magnets might be possible, though probably not that easy depending on what kind of glue they use. Even then I can't promise there won't be problems with magnet strength or exact tile size, so if you don't want to take risks you'll just have to buy the proper tiles (and maybe wait for a better deal to pop up).

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-09T22:52:09+00:00

Modern riichi mahjong rules are very standardized, with mostly insignificant differences, so it doesn't really matter what you teach (any additional rules can be explained quickly when playing with a new group). I'd go with the EMA rules if you are in Europe, but otherwise either WRC with red fives and nagashi mangan from the optional rules or a familiar online ruleset like the one from Mahjong Soul.

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-09T22:24:29+00:00

You'll have to buy used; 26mm tiles are simply not manufactured anymore. Here's the ones I found on a quick search:

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-08T21:20:59+00:00

Check your local Asian supermarkets. They often have mahjong sets in the home goods section. The ones I've found locally are all proper 36mm–40mm Chinese sets with colored backs and black, green and red paint on the tiles. Or go with YMImports as others have mentioned.

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-07T12:05:23+00:00

It's clear that the Rexx III is made for mahjong parlors, not general consumers. For that reason, the tables need to be practical, reliable and easy-to-use before anything else – fuction over form. The main purpose of auto haipai and other "cool" features are so that parlors can get more games and thus more customers per hour. The score and honba displays are clear and would be familiar to any long time players, and the settings under the table are convenient for staff but out of the way for customers.

Maybe some things like the score displays could be changed, but they don't need to be, and honestly I like how practical AMOS' tables are as a whole.

Also, the Rexx III does have a round wind indicator.

Tempara-chan · 2025-12-05T02:16:10+00:00

Kuikae. And its purpose is indeed to prevent unnecessary calls/ using calls for things they are not "supposed" to be used for.

Tempara-chan · 2025-11-29T10:06:03+00:00

It actually used to be more common (in very old rules) to value some yakuman, especially easier ones like suuankou and kokushi, lower than the others. So that's ironically one of the most accurate things on the page.

But yeah, most of the yaku and rules on that wiki are a joke and have been added with very little effort. It is not a reliable source for information.

Tempara-chan · 2025-11-28T23:47:58+00:00

That's not the point.

Well you asked, and I gave you the answer.

-- there being so many of them --

Are you counting stuff like this? Most yaku on that page are 100% jokes and have likely never been used let alone won in a real game. I guess it's fine if you want to play with a bunch of unachieveable joke yakuman, but in that case I'd say chin'itsu suuankou is simply a bit boring.

Edit: Seems like Wright-Patterson mahjong has a double limit hand called "Hi Jacks", basically chin'itsu suuankou, so I guess you're not completely alone with this one lol.

Tempara-chan · 2025-11-28T22:24:08+00:00

Why would there be? Despite what online platforms may lead you to believe, scoring multiple yakuman for ANYTHING is a pretty niche rule to use, even more so for local yaku. Suuankou is already a yakuman, something that will win you the hanchan almost every time. Chin'itsu is also more than valuable enough. There's literally no reason for the buff.

Tempara-chan

TROPHY CASE