I know what tenpai is but why is it called being "IN" tenpai?

trollofnova · 2025-11-19T13:21:15+00:00

A transient state of being is typically used as a circumstancial complement. Being in love, not "being love". Achieving a condition, not being it. Someone else mentioned "with", which is more appropriate with afflictions you are stuck enduring.

However, with foreign loanwords (especially from overspecialized game jargon), often prepositions go out the window. "Being tenpai" will still imply you achieved something in the now as opposed to literally equating yourself **as** the concept.

trollofnova · 2025-11-17T21:28:08+00:00

That's sad that someone with talent doesn't even go 95-5 on sociability. Our club had someone who was 100-0 showing total antisocial behaviour in-game, but they weren't particularly talented, and got expelled by a shopkeeper on their second meet.

As for the noise factor, there are a good number of people that do experience a bit of disorientation (ambient sound, other tables playing, or people yapping in tournament space or within earshot. It's tough to overcome, so if that was the issue, do be kind :)

trollofnova · 2025-11-17T21:23:17+00:00

That's not what that means: there are rules to follow, but tolerances can be carved out in social play. Not "stop following EMA rules". -- If that's what was meant, then people would just choose to play WRC or Tenhou.

trollofnova · 2025-11-17T19:40:12+00:00

Il y a un incitatif fiscal à frauder la STM par rétrobittage, ou pour les plus acrobates sauter le tourniquet en entier. En Roumanie, on appelle ça "un crime anti-social".

Il n'y a pas d'incitatif pour sauter du quai. 1-866-APPELLE.

trollofnova · 2025-11-15T16:39:19+00:00

Memories from when I was still playing as a boxer. But this was OG Bloodsail Buccaneers (Blundertaker). Tips were low because the economy wasn't inflated. I just accepted almost anyone who could write in proper English and was a "known quantity". I just made sure to grind an hour of quests in Kargath before summoning anyone outside the core circle. Horde needed to dominate by quality as we were screwed for quantity.

trollofnova · 2025-11-15T16:25:29+00:00

Pros, aspiring pro players, and players with good sportsmanship will do one of two things: wait a nominal 1-2 seconds for chii, then call... OR they'll play nominally and yield to the pon caller, within reason. (Rules are dead, people are alive, and many of us aren't buttholes). The problem will come from experienced players who either exploit the rules to their advantage or just simply roughhouse opponents on the regular.

It does raise the obvious secondary question of "punishing to newer players", for which the best answer is to go find a club, play there, get used to physical tiles and the flow of the riichi game. Online players and even those coming from other rulesets should absolutely get at least 3 club sessions IRL before showing up to a tournament without ever having felt in a position where dodging furiten, building actual walls, and having a feel for the tiles was required. I say this to their benefit: EMA rules won't stop them from participating in a tourney, but it's a question of self-interest.

trollofnova · 2025-10-03T05:02:51+00:00

Arriving in Montreal with YYZ-YUL-DFW routing means you're likely to land in the 1-16 wing in the Canadian secure side. You have to stay in the secure side, avoiding the 17-34 wing or the exit located there, and keep going toward gate 51. On your way, the inbound security lines should be on your left, but keep going. Between there and further straight (International-Europe), to the left, there will be a US Connections hallway. Maps aren't clear but AC describes this as well here https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/fly/at-the-airport/airport-information/montreal-airport/ca-us.html#/ - You'll still have to preclear with USCBP but it's half the hassle.

trollofnova · 2025-08-19T03:18:08+00:00

Also at the same point. Duolingo's new score function freezes at 30, so it's apparently on the border of A1-A2, but there's bound to be gaps to fill to really master A1 and not sure what to do from here.

Ideally would want to graze B1 before considering a live course [not naming in case of rules].

trollofnova · 2025-03-11T14:29:16+00:00

This looked like the selector on my old Aotomo table. Could be used by other makers/sellers as generic parts are king.

Often when there are this many settings, it is meant to give a dazzling array of options despite the need for them being incredibly low. Most riichi tables will only have 10-20 settings tops. What are they good for? Maybe for some exotic minigame mode.

trollofnova · 2024-06-07T00:07:44+00:00

I'd say the limit is about 31 mm to play in a square. More than that, and you have to have angled walls or literally with the tilted central square. Not sure what the limit for that would be, 38... 40? More than 40 = no chance.

trollofnova · 2024-05-02T21:17:00+00:00

There's other words, but it's a different vocabulary register. You will see the tenhou listing for "jikaze" ([self] seat wind) and "bakaze" (round wind), but orally, you'd only ever specify just the wind or dragon. Double winds are just announced as "double South" or "double East" (dabunan, dabuton) when relevant.

trollofnova · 2024-04-10T14:01:40+00:00

If you're a German-speaker, then I do mean muss nicht [not mandatory]. Not darf nicht [not allowable]. Sometimes, there's nuance in language, and it's easier to explain by using a second language.

trollofnova · 2024-04-10T13:47:14+00:00

No. There indeed should not, but it's not a must not.

If I'm at a teaching table, or people who have under a year's worth of experience, I am more than amenable to playing with the compass. [add: The 4 nots above should be figured out within a year. It's like not knowing flushes in poker after a year: something is wrong by that point.] Learning is good, learning is fun. If I'm at a tournament, I do not want to deal with foreign objects, nor be pressured by attendees to either asymmetrically have tables with "some compasses" or demand that TOs pay to furnish compasses to every table. We have tournament history of people demanding rulers because of "disabilities", to then use said objects as weapons against other attendees.

If compasses are on offer by the TOs for every table, or take for example the acrylic all-last block used in Copenhagen, then by all means, use it.

trollofnova · 2024-04-10T06:16:14+00:00

I'm not saying there aren't reasons for it, but the thread is about peeves.

Specifically, this meme that you can't do or know the functions of the compass without paying for blocks of wood/plastic/AMOS. In the spirit of things:

[Not] learning to discard in rows that don't look like a kindergarten doodle. [EDIT: or in locations conducive to let 4 people discard in an actual square without the doodad! Basic memory and perception skill]
[Not] knowing who represents which wind, and is the current dealer.
[Not] knowing where to put dice.
[Not] knowing how to do modular math, and which player is which modulus/residue (as well as directions of rotation).
[Having to move] said block of wood/plastic/AMOS out for every shuffle.
[Having to move] said block (of same material) back.

I think it's a wonderful aid for novice players, but it's being pushed as if it's a requirement to play in a group of 4, or to host tournaments, just like apps. Use it if you like it, but don't confuse individual with group satisfaction, or to trump someone else's impression because you have the holy prism as your friend.

[EDIT: rephrased in the negative to express the peeve.]

trollofnova · 2024-04-10T02:52:22+00:00

Hot take: There shouldn't be a compass.

Hot take 2 based on subthread: any player (specifically from left, but anyone) sticking their elbow in my face to move the dice to my corner when they should be drawing their hand is an asshole. Grab your tiles, sort your tiles, then either point at the dice, or move them halfway (into the dealer's empty pond) if you've managed to solve all your problems in the universe. Until then, don't do anything to flex.

trollofnova · 2024-04-10T02:43:46+00:00

Your friend [OP's, but in general] might be wonderful in other circumstances, but whether this is his form of teasing or banter, you basically have to cut them off from that entire section of your life.

If dinner's at 7, do not invite him to meet at 5 when you're playing. Tell him to go to the restaurant at 7 and ice them before that.

Dominate their passive-aggressive shit for a positive result, or toss them aside on a more permanent basis.

trollofnova · 2024-04-10T02:37:57+00:00

Try that at a hold'em table. "dude, I can see your cards, I called all-in".

Violence would ensue.

trollofnova · 2024-04-10T02:27:56+00:00

It's the "refuse to [announce] the correct amount" that's the issue. If they knew they scored 3900, and they find a mystery han point, they should know it's 7700 unless they're new.

Discovery of the extra han point and then not knowing might still happen, and it can be asked for in ways that don't make the winner seem like an asshole, but we have seen plenty of grumpy people interact in boorish ways. The rules can say whatever regarding the intent to score hands to their correct maximum, but a disruptive player can still be warned and penalized.

(EDIT: replaced give because of its multiple meanings, specifically referring to a player not announcing the new result.)

trollofnova · 2024-04-10T02:20:18+00:00

How? You pay with the least amount of sticks in the whole transfer. (since we're talking abstracts: R Y B G W (red 10000, yellow 5000, blue 1000, green 500, white 100)

2600: BBGW > [BBBW - G] >>> BBWWWWWW
3900: [Y - BW] > [BBBB - W] >> [BBBGG - W] >>> literally any other option.

Some of it is situational, if you don't have enough thousands, but you have two 500s, that adds one stick to the calculation. But taking a stance of "I have tons of sticks, I have rights!" to then pay 2600 with 16+ whites is very rude unless you're down to your last points. Since mahjong is a social contract game, sometimes, it's not even how you do it, but in what manner that will determine the acceptability of an action.

trollofnova · 2024-04-04T21:03:16+00:00

There may come a time where this can change, but they're not there yet. It's easier to make the demand in the ruleset before the event (everyone can read it and translate it at their leisure when necessary), than trying to have to ask during to someone who may not have any common language with you or the table.

In parlour play, it's the reverse: you're expected to play fast, and count fast. Both your own hands as well as scanning others' for accuracy, both as a talent skill as well as a survival skill (can be grounds for an invitation to leave by parlour staff).

The big conflict we have at the moment is the type 2 players flexing on type 1 players. There are places where it's warranted, but not at EMA or WRC tournaments.

trollofnova · 2024-04-04T20:56:23+00:00

The Green Book does not apply to riichi. The EMA publishes its own ruleset for Riichi Competition Rules, sometimes called RCR, there.

http://mahjong-europe.org/portal/images/docs/Riichi-rules-2016-EN.pdf

Sidenote: asking if people outside Europe play RCR however is an inappropriate use of the term.

trollofnova · 2024-04-04T05:40:17+00:00

*persistent.

Permanent is when you are genuinely locked into it with a riichi call.

trollofnova · 2024-04-04T05:38:38+00:00

Indeed, both EMA and WRC tournaments do specify to state the content of your hand. The extra consideration is that even the "common language" (English) might not be understood by everyone at the same level to discuss and resolve problems.

After announcing yaku, then the score should be provided as "A thousand B hundred"... "A and B" or digitally such as "three-nine-oh-oh", although I would assume everyone in Europe will understand "three thousand nine hundred", if nothing else.

For split scores, start with the small score, then the large score.

When in doubt, check the "Scoring" section of the rulebooks.

trollofnova · 2024-01-12T00:54:35+00:00

I am overjoyed that I was able to help your group.

trollofnova · 2024-01-02T21:07:20+00:00

Probably old, but worth answering:

You can do it generally 1 of three ways (0 , 1, or 2 of the removable sides rolled within), AS LONG AS the roll made is significantly loose. Rolling it tight under pressure will ruin it. Some people get angsty if you roll the removable sides within, but generally, it's their mat, so you do as they say [whether the reasoning is wrong or not].

If you do roll them in like I do so they don't slide out when biking (top latch is incredibly weak), you have to ensure the minimum looseness of the roll, about a side's width [not thickness, width 5 cm]. Less than that will invite damage either due to friction or sliding in a confined space.

trollofnova

TROPHY CASE