Curriculum · 6 / 50
How a game flows
A riichi game reads like a dashboard: round wind, kyoku number, dealer (oya) and the honba counter frame every hand you play.
The principle
Under Tenhou rules, a hanchan (半荘) schedules the East round followed by the South round. Each round normally holds four hands, or kyoku, numbered East 1 through East 4 and then South 1 through South 4. If nobody reaches 30,000 points by the scheduled end, a hanchan may extend into the West round, no later than West 4. A tonpuusen schedules only East and can similarly extend into South.
Rule and example
In every hand one player is the dealer (oya): they deal, hold the East seat wind, and pay or collect more. When a non-dealer wins, or the dealer is not tenpai once the wall runs out (ryuukyoku), the role passes to the next player counterclockwise and the kyoku advances. If the dealer wins or stays tenpai at an exhaustive draw, they keep their seat: this is renchan (連荘).
What changes
The honba (本場) counter rises after every dealer win and every exhaustive draw. Outside pao liability, each honba adds 300 points to ron, or 100 paid by each opponent on tsumo. Unclaimed riichi deposits stay for the next winner. Under Tenhou, deposits left when the match ends go to the player ranked first; WRC 2025 records them without awarding them.
Mistake to avoid
South 4 is the final base hand of a hanchan. Under Tenhou, a dealer who leads with at least 30,000 points automatically ends the game after winning or after being tenpai at an exhaustive draw. WRC 2025 allows neither agari yame nor tenpai yame, has no West round, and may impose a tournament time limit.
Rules references
- Tenhou rulesReference profile used for game mechanics and scoring.
- WRC Rules 2025International rules compared whenever their options differ from Tenhou.