Riichi Mahjong Guide: How to Play in NTE's Little Sparrow

Overview

Riichi Mahjong (also called Japanese Mahjong) was added to NTE’s Little Sparrow mini-game hub in Version 1.2. If you’re unfamiliar with Riichi Mahjong, this guide covers the basics to get you started.

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Basic Rules

Riichi Mahjong is played with 4 players and a set of 136 tiles. The goal is to form a winning hand of 14 tiles before your opponents.

Tile Types

Type	Count	Description
Man (Characters)	36	Numbered 1–9, three copies each
Pin (Circles)	36	Numbered 1–9, three copies each
Sou (Bamboo)	36	Numbered 1–9, three copies each
Honors	28	7 Wind tiles (4 each) + 7 Dragon tiles (4 each)

Turn Structure

On your turn, you draw one tile from the wall. You then choose to either keep it (and discard another tile) or discard it immediately. The goal is to build a complete winning hand.

Winning Hand Structure

A standard winning hand consists of:

• 4 sets (melds) + 1 pair

A set is either:

• Sequence (Shuntsu): Three consecutive numbered tiles of the same type (e.g., 3-4-5 Man)
• Triplet (Kōtsu): Three identical tiles (e.g., three 7 Pin)

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The Riichi Declaration

The defining mechanic of Riichi Mahjong is the Riichi declaration:

When your hand is one tile away from winning (called “tenpai”), you can declare Riichi by:

1. Discarding a tile face-down
2. Placing a 1,000-point stick on the table as a bet

After declaring Riichi, you cannot change your hand — you must draw and discard without altering your tiles until you win or the round ends.

Benefits of declaring Riichi:

• Your winning hand scores additional points (Riichi yaku)
• You are eligible for Ippatsu (bonus points if you win within one full round of turns after declaring)
• You can win on a tile discarded by any player

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How to Win

You win when you complete your hand of 14 tiles. This can happen by:

• Tsumo: Drawing the winning tile yourself from the wall
• Ron: Claiming a tile discarded by another player

Yaku (Hand Requirements)

In Riichi Mahjong, a winning hand must have at least one yaku (qualifying hand pattern) to be valid. The most common yaku for beginners:

Yaku	How to Get It
Riichi	Declare Riichi while in tenpai
Tanyao	Hand contains only numbered tiles 2–8 (no terminals or honors)
Pinfu	All sets are sequences; the pair is not a value tile; winning tile completes a two-sided sequence wait
Menzen Tsumo	Win by drawing your own tile without calling any tiles

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Basic Strategy Tips

Prioritize Tanyao early. Building a hand using only 2–8 numbered tiles (Tanyao) is the easiest yaku for beginners. Discard 1s, 9s, and honor tiles early to keep your options open.

Declare Riichi when ready. Don’t hesitate to declare Riichi once you’re in tenpai — the extra points and Ippatsu potential are valuable. The main risk is that you can’t change your hand, but this is usually worth it.

Watch what others discard. If a player stops discarding a certain tile type, they may be building a hand around it. Avoid discarding tiles that could complete their hand (called “dealing into” their hand).

Don’t chase expensive hands early. Complex hands like full flushes or all-triplet hands are high-scoring but difficult to complete. In NTE’s mini-game context, consistent wins with simple hands outperform rare big hands.

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Little Sparrow Riichi Mahjong

Riichi Mahjong is now available in the Little Sparrow venue as a permanent addition in Version 1.2. The mode follows standard Riichi Mahjong rules with NTE-specific cosmetic rewards for winning matches. Compete against other players to earn Fons and unlock Little Sparrow-exclusive avatar frames and namecards.

The mode is accessible from the Little Sparrow location in Hethereau. No special unlock requirements beyond reaching that area in the main story.