How a riichi hand is scored
Every winning hand in riichi needs at least one yaku, a scoring pattern such as riichi, all simples or a dragon triplet. Each yaku is worth one or more han; dora tiles add more han but never count as a yaku on their own. The hand also earns fu (minipoints) for how it was built and won: 20 for winning, 10 more for winning on a discard with a concealed hand, 2 for a self-draw, and extra for triplets, quads, value pairs and awkward waits. Fu are rounded up to the next 10, except seven pairs, which is always 25.
Han and fu then go into one formula. The base points are fu × 2han + 2. A non-dealer who wins on a discard is paid four times the base by the discarder; the dealer (East) is paid six times. On a self-draw the three other players share it: everyone pays the base, except that the dealer pays double, and a winning dealer collects double from each. Every payment is rounded up to the next 100.
Limit hands
From five han the fu stop mattering and fixed limits take over. In the EMA rules a base above 1,900 also becomes a mangan, which catches 4 han 30 fu and 3 han 60 fu (the rule called kiriage mangan).
| Name | Han | Base | Non-dealer ron | Dealer ron |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mangan | 5 (or 4 han 30+ fu, 3 han 60+ fu) | 2,000 | 8,000 | 12,000 |
| Haneman | 6-7 | 3,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 |
| Baiman | 8-10 | 4,000 | 16,000 | 24,000 |
| Sanbaiman | 11 or more | 6,000 | 24,000 | 36,000 |
| Yakuman | a yakuman hand | 8,000 | 32,000 | 48,000 |
The WRC Rules 2025 add two things the EMA rules leave out: a hand of 13 han or more scores a yakuman's value (a "counted yakuman"), and two yakuman in one hand add up to a double yakuman. Pick the ruleset under First-turn wins, ruleset and house rules above.
A worked example
The example already in the calculator: South declares riichi with 234 and 456 characters, 345 circles, a pair of 5 bamboo and 6-7 bamboo, then draws the 8 bamboo. The yaku are riichi (1 han), fully concealed hand for the self-draw (1), pinfu, because every set is a sequence, the pair is worthless and 6-7 waited on either side (1), and all simples (1): 4 han. Pinfu won by self-draw stays at exactly 20 fu, so the base is 20 × 26 = 1,280. East pays double, 2,560, rounded up to 2,600; West and North pay 1,280 each, rounded up to 1,300. That is 5,200 points, plus South's own riichi stick back.
Counters and riichi sticks
Counters (honba) build up while the dealer keeps the deal or after a draw. Each one adds 300 points to a win: on a discard the discarder pays the full 300 per counter, on a self-draw each player pays 100. Riichi sticks are the 1,000-point bets placed when declaring riichi. Whoever wins next collects all of them, including their own if they declared riichi in that hand (EMA 2025, 3.3.10 and 3.4.4). Enter both, and the slip adds them separately so you can see what the hand itself was worth.
Typing a hand
The text box uses the notation most riichi tools share: digits followed by their suit letter. 123m is 1-2-3 of characters, 55p a pair of 5 circles, 789s 7-8-9 bamboo, and 777z three red dragons (honours go 1z east, 2z south, 3z west, 4z north, 5z white, 6z green, 7z red). A 0 is a red five. Put called sets in round brackets, (456s), and a concealed quad in square ones, [1111p]. The last concealed tile you type is the winning tile, so 234m456m345p55s678s wins on the 8 bamboo.
House rules that change the score
- Red fives. Many Japanese sets include one red five per suit, and leagues and online games count each as a dora. The EMA and WRC rules do not use them, so they are off unless you tick the box.
- A double wind pair. A pair of East when you are East in the East round counts 2 fu in both EMA 2025 and WRC 2025. Many clubs count it as 4; tick the box if yours does.
- Kiriage mangan. Both rulebooks round 4 han 30 fu and 3 han 60 fu up to mangan. Without it, those hands are worth 7,700 to a non-dealer on a discard (11,600 for the dealer).
- Several winners. EMA lets more than one player win on the same discard; WRC gives the win only to the first player after the discarder. Score each winner's hand separately.
Mistakes the calculator helps you avoid
- Counting dora without a yaku. A hand with three dora and no yaku cannot win at all.
- Adding the 2 fu for self-draw to a pinfu hand, or forgetting the 10 fu for a concealed hand won on a discard.
- Keeping full value for an open hand. Mixed triple sequence, pure straight and half outside hand lose a han once you call a tile; half flush, full outside hand and full flush lose one too.
- Reading the hand only one way. A winning tile can often finish different sets. The rules say the highest-scoring reading counts, and the calculator checks every reading, including seven pairs against twice pure double sequence.
- Using ura dora without riichi. Ura dora are revealed only for a player who declared riichi.
Want to see why a hand scored 40 fu rather than 30? The fu calculator builds it set by set and prints a points table. If you are not sure which tiles you are waiting on, try the shanten calculator. Scoring a tournament day? Local Mingle makes round-robin tables and brackets.