Kyuu's Beginnings to Riichi Mahjong
As Kyuu, I have been playing the Japanese version to mahjong and have been captivated by it. The anime Saki had much to do with it; but the effects of that diminishes and is replaced by the sheer complexity of the game. My entrance into the game came late in 2009.
I had watched Saki, without any knowledge of the game. Even now, I cannot remember my reason for even starting the series. Eventually, an online buddy of mine came around and introduced me to the game. He linked me to Saikyou no 3D Mahjong; and the rest is history. Later on he brought me to Tenhou.net.
With Saikyou no 3D Mahjong, I had to learn the most basic of rules. Thankfully, I was already capable of reading hiragana and katakana. In addition, I was already familiar reading the kanji to the numbers 1-9. Yet, I once thought the 1-sou was a 10-sou tile for some reason. On top of that, I did not understand the winds, nor their purpose to it. The same applies to the dragons. After playing around with the game, I managed to figure out the basic game rules and the constitution to the basic hand. Eventually, I learned what it took to develop a winning hand as well as the furiten rule and the 1-yaku minimum. I clearly remember my irritation upon one tenpai hand, only to realize it as unwinnable because of no yaku, as the program denies the ron or tsumo button. The significance to dora was noted some time later.
When transitioning into Tenhou.net, apparently, I had to relearn all these things.
As for learning the yaku, that did not develop until I purchased an iPod Touch and acquired the mahjong app: Nagomi Mahjong. Apparently, it is available via platorms other than Apple related products. With this app, I took note on the speed of mahjong play. The AI isn't very smart, but it was rather fast; and so, it became a natural tendency to play at the pace of the AI. To keep pace with the AI, I simply played the game using split second decision making, which may or may not result in successful play. This app was most convenient, when it comes to shotgunning mahjong games.
In addition, I managed to use Wikipedia's list as a supplement. The writing was already there, and so, I simply had to make sure the most basic hands are described correctly. Being somewhat of a Wikipedian, I joined the editors in cleaning up the articles in Wikipedia, as well as actually starting the Japanese Mahjong article. Sadly, all of these are still a mess with not too much I can do about it.
Once I got past the yaku stage, I was simply playing the game straight out. Even after two years, I never cared much for defense. All I really wanted to do was score hands and have fun doing so. It wasn't until I joined Chicago Area Mahjong, where I realized the embarrassment associated with dealing into hands.
This generally covers to 2012. Later, I'll dive into my steps towards Tenhou ranking and subsequently competitive mahjong.
From here onward, I continued to grow into the game both as a player and a person, who I am today. My interaction with people along the way is a big part of that. If there is one thing I keep talking about myself and mahjong, I like who I am all thanks to my time spent with mahjong, online groups, and my club. Thus, I shall continue to share bits and pieces of my mahjong journey in this blog; and I wish everyone the best in your mahjong journey.
I had watched Saki, without any knowledge of the game. Even now, I cannot remember my reason for even starting the series. Eventually, an online buddy of mine came around and introduced me to the game. He linked me to Saikyou no 3D Mahjong; and the rest is history. Later on he brought me to Tenhou.net.
With Saikyou no 3D Mahjong, I had to learn the most basic of rules. Thankfully, I was already capable of reading hiragana and katakana. In addition, I was already familiar reading the kanji to the numbers 1-9. Yet, I once thought the 1-sou was a 10-sou tile for some reason. On top of that, I did not understand the winds, nor their purpose to it. The same applies to the dragons. After playing around with the game, I managed to figure out the basic game rules and the constitution to the basic hand. Eventually, I learned what it took to develop a winning hand as well as the furiten rule and the 1-yaku minimum. I clearly remember my irritation upon one tenpai hand, only to realize it as unwinnable because of no yaku, as the program denies the ron or tsumo button. The significance to dora was noted some time later.
When transitioning into Tenhou.net, apparently, I had to relearn all these things.
As for learning the yaku, that did not develop until I purchased an iPod Touch and acquired the mahjong app: Nagomi Mahjong. Apparently, it is available via platorms other than Apple related products. With this app, I took note on the speed of mahjong play. The AI isn't very smart, but it was rather fast; and so, it became a natural tendency to play at the pace of the AI. To keep pace with the AI, I simply played the game using split second decision making, which may or may not result in successful play. This app was most convenient, when it comes to shotgunning mahjong games.
In addition, I managed to use Wikipedia's list as a supplement. The writing was already there, and so, I simply had to make sure the most basic hands are described correctly. Being somewhat of a Wikipedian, I joined the editors in cleaning up the articles in Wikipedia, as well as actually starting the Japanese Mahjong article. Sadly, all of these are still a mess with not too much I can do about it.
Once I got past the yaku stage, I was simply playing the game straight out. Even after two years, I never cared much for defense. All I really wanted to do was score hands and have fun doing so. It wasn't until I joined Chicago Area Mahjong, where I realized the embarrassment associated with dealing into hands.
This generally covers to 2012. Later, I'll dive into my steps towards Tenhou ranking and subsequently competitive mahjong.
From here onward, I continued to grow into the game both as a player and a person, who I am today. My interaction with people along the way is a big part of that. If there is one thing I keep talking about myself and mahjong, I like who I am all thanks to my time spent with mahjong, online groups, and my club. Thus, I shall continue to share bits and pieces of my mahjong journey in this blog; and I wish everyone the best in your mahjong journey.
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