The English-language journal for Japanese Riichi mahjong — learn the game from zero, follow the global scene, and play a sharper hand. Published from Tokyo by ALBAN, who have designed automatic Riichi tables since 1990.
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New to the Japanese game? Our complete beginner's guide walks through the tiles, the turn order, the goal of a hand, the Riichi declaration, and how scoring works — everything you need to sit down and play your first hand.
Whether you are dealing your first hand or reading the table three turns ahead — start here.
The rules, the tiles, the yaku, and how scoring works — explained for an English-speaking beginner.
Start learning → StrategyTile efficiency, when to push and when to fold, reading discards, and the math behind the wait.
Coming soon → The TablesHow an automatic table shuffles and deals — and how to choose between the Slim Voice SCORE and the Slim Voice.
Explore the tables → Culture & CraftTable manners, the story of automatic tables, and the machines that shuffle and deal the tiles.
Explore →A newcomer's introduction to the Japanese ruleset: tiles, turns, a winning hand, and what "riichi" declares.
Read more →Every scoring hand, from Riichi and Tanyao to the limit hands — with the han value and a plain-English example of each.
Coming soon →The rule that trips up every newcomer — what it is, the three ways you fall into it, and how to play around it.
Coming soon →Inside the machine that shuffles and deals — auto-shuffle, auto-deal, the quiet DC motor, and what makes a good home table.
Coming soon →Winning is half the game. Reading a riichi declaration, finding safe tiles, and the discipline of bailing out of a bad hand.
Coming soon →New guides, strategy, and word from the global scene — a few times a month, no spam. Join players around the world.
Everything in the Journal is played on one. When you are ready, tell us where you are and how you play — we build for homes, clubs, and tournament floors, and ship worldwide by quote.