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by comrade1234 58 days ago
There are so many different variations of the rules, especially scoring. Scoring can vary even from family to family.

We've been learning for a few years now and still ignore things like prevailing winds and I don't remember what else off the top of my head. Basically we have a document of our own rules and we add to it as we get more advanced. Eventually we'll play with the winds and seasons and the goal is Hong Kong scoring.
2 comments
shlant 58 days ago
just played with an American friend who was learning for the first time yesterday. The winds are by far the most annoying part. Not only is the order of them different than what most people are used to (ESWN vs NESW) but the points you get for each depend on what wind you are and this is on top of having to memorize the Chinese characters (although of course some sets number them). Great game but so many little special cases that can make it intimidating to learn.

Don't even get me started on scoring when you are gambling (although the dynamics of who pays who and how much is interesting)

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Steve44 58 days ago
I've been playing a few times a year with family and once we got over the steep learning curve we really enjoy it and play for many hours several times a year.

What has helped a LOT is we've developed a double sided sheet we print out with the basic game mechanics, tiles, and scoring. It still needs some tweaking but means our rules[1] are clear and we can quickly refer to them as we're playing.

We've a second sheet which shows the winds, once that's been decided we just just orientate it with the players.

[1] We're very aware there are lots of sets of rules, we've just decided on the ones we consistently play.

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Taikonerd 58 days ago
I wish the rules were trimmed down a little. I feel like there's a really lovely tight game under all the accumulated house rules and finicky stuff. And the existing rules tend to scare off newbies.

Interestingly, an experienced player proposed "Tibet rules," which are rules specifically for newbies that cut out a lot of the advanced mechanics: https://riichi.wiki/index.php?title=Tibet_rules&mobileaction...

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