Riichi Mahjong: The Art of the Yaku
Move beyond basic sets and learn to construct high-value winning hands. Master the strategic trade-offs between speed, value, and defensive flexibility.
Like Duolingo, but for Riichi Mahjong: The Art of the Yaku. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
24 levels across 4 sections, about 48 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Core Scoring Engine, Pattern Recognition and Shape, Navigating the Board, and Advanced Scoring Logic. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Riichi Mahjong: The Art of the Yaku
- Riichi adds a yaku and the chance for Ura-Dora to boost hand value
- The hand must be entirely closed and consist only of sequences (shuntsu)
- Declaring Riichi locks your hand, preventing any further tile swaps
- The pair must not be dragons or the player's own/prevailing wind
- The 1,000 point bet and discard signal put defensive pressure on rivals
- The final wait must be a ryanmen (two-sided) wait on a sequence
- The strategic tradeoff of declaring Riichi
- The specific structural requirements for Pinfu
- Menzen Tsumo is a guaranteed 1-han yaku for any closed hand
- Kuitan (open Tanyao) is a common speed tactic in many rule sets
- Opening the hand by calling 'Pon' or 'Chi' loses this scoring condition
- Closed Tanyao is more valuable as it stacks with Riichi and Ippatsu
- Tanyao requires using only number tiles between 2 and 8
- A hand needs at least one yaku (scoring pattern) to declare a win
- The benefit of Menzen Tsumo for closed hands
- Many yaku, like Pinfu or Riichi, are lost the moment the hand is opened
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Riichi Mahjong: The Art of the Yaku the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
To qualify for the Pinfu yaku, what must your hand be composed of?
Get it right to open this lesson and 23 more in the app.
Where Riichi Mahjong: The Art of the Yaku takes you
- 1
The Core Scoring Engine
- The Power of the Closed Hand
- Speed and Efficiency with Yakuhai
- 2
Pattern Recognition and Shape
- Mastering Sequences
- The Triplet Path
- 3
Navigating the Board
- Terminal and Honor Strategies
- Situational and Luck-Based Wins
- 4
Advanced Scoring Logic
- Stacking and Dora Efficiency
- The Hidden Value of Fu
4 sections · 8 units · 24 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Riichi Mahjong: The Art of the Yaku is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Riichi Mahjong: The Art of the Yaku today.
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