Reachmahjong.com

Picked up this little gem for $2 down in the Phoenix (Arizona) area.
MAH-JONGG: From Shanghai to Miami Beach, by Christina Cavallaro and Anita Luu
(with references to Tom Sloper)
Nice little book about the history of the game with lots of nice pictures of vintage mahjong tiles.
The book deals with the Chinese and the American game and has recipes for some chinese and jewish foods to snack on while you play.
The glossy paper adds to the beauty and enjoyment of this little 175 page book.

Nice find - it's been a while since we had one of your bargains!

a new use for mahjong tiles? who knows?
This came into the used bookstore today. Not really interested in the tarot card philosophy, but I wouldn't mind having that set.

People will make divination out of anything. There was an interesting one with Tantrix tiles. It is indeed a nice set, however.

Finally got around to ebaying (new word?) a copy of Jenns' book. Nice to see a book devoted solely to Japanese Mahjong. Since its geared towards beginners, I haven't found much I'm not familiar with, but as a reference in my quest to convert more players from chinese to riichi, it is very useful. I do have a couple of questions though.
In quiz 5 on scoring hands, there is the following (#3):
I came up with 7 han 50fu for 12000 (triple pung, 3 concealed pungs, toi-toi, and dragons)
The answer was listed as 5 han 50fu for 8000. A typo? or am I missing something?

Also, in hand #5 below , I came up with menzen tsumo, honitsu, and green dragons for 5 han. The answer says 4 han.
Another typo?
There are other minor things which I'm sure are typos but unless someone wants to know in the event of a possible revised edition, mums the word.

on another issue, does anyone have any info on Scott Millers' new Riichi Mahjong book?

Yes, there are a few errors with the quiz answers and images in Jenn's book.

She previously posted an errata list with most of them: http://reachmahjong.com/jenns-corner-book-corrections/

PS "ebaying" is quite well established - over 3 million hits on Google!

EDIT 2019: Fixed broken link.

Teach yourself mahjong by David Pritchard.
This one came into the bookstore today. I found it to be a decent read, mostly the strategy section.
Unlike the Whitney book, it does mention riichi, dora, and red fives, in the very small japanese mahjong section.
Searching the forum, I see that Bart wrote about the book back in 2010 so I won't duplicate his commentary.
It was 2nd prize in his contest.
http://reachmahjong.com/en/forum/viewto ... ard#p53349

Arrived today via Amazon from a third party bookseller in California.
Advertised as a used hardcover but looks brand new. Cost was $7 (+ shipping, naturally), what a deal!
Written by our own Scott Miller, this looks like a really great book, and not just for beginners.
Scott writes; "this book will teach you the things you didn't even know you didn't know."
Will know more after I read it.

Went to mahjongnews.com after seeing it mentioned in Scotts' book and surprisingly found a link to a new 376 page book on riichi strategy, in English.
It is available as an online download for free at dynaman.net
The author is Daina Chiba and the book is titled RIICHI BOOK I : A MAHJONG STRATEGY PRIMER FOR EUROPEAN PLAYERS although I don't know why, since it's working out great for me.
Looks like a terrific product, if you haven't seen it, you should check it out.
It even includes 60 pages on playing online at TENHOU.

or2az wrote:The author is Daina Chiba and the book is titled RIICHI BOOK I : A MAHJONG STRATEGY PRIMER FOR EUROPEAN PLAYERS although I don't know why, since it's working out great for me.

The author lives in the UK, plays in the European Mahjong Association circuit and explained in interview: "[...] my intentions in writing the book were not purely altruistic. I enjoy mahjong the best when I play it with strong opponents, so it is actually in my best interest if the strategy principles are more widely shared among European players."

Those lovely winds on the cover appear to be the trophies from the Slovakian riichi tournament.

http://www.mahjongnews.com/en/tournamen ... tournament

I've been told that the 1st edition of new books being printed usually contain a few spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors. Most don't need to be mentioned for correction in a possible future 2nd edition. Here are a few that I feel should be, in Scotts' new excellent Riichi book.
I believe sanshoku is 2 han closed and 1 han open.
Also, iipeiko is only 1 han, closed only.

Mangan is given a value of 2000 pts at least four times in the book, obviously a typo.

Overall, I found the book to be an interesting and informative read and a worthwhile addition to my collection. Thanks, Scott.

I've wondered before how common it is for a published book with a relatively niche market to get revised editions. At least it's easier in theory with the e-book version.

The basic errors on those yaku values are unfortunate. The mangan thing depends on the context - the combined payments (without additions) are 8k or 12k but the base points (or whatever you call them) are 2k. The fundamental points "limit" of modern Japanese mahjong is 2000 pts and the payments (and higher limits) are multiples of that. Mangan is defined as a hand worth 2000+ base points (and with fewer than six han).

Well, yes. The thing is that any hand with six or more han gets another rank that supersedes mangan, but you are guaranteed to be over 2000 points.

6 han pinfu: 20 * 2 ^ (6+2) = 20 * 256 = 5120 = 5200. (Also with 5 hand you would get 2600, which is over the limit). If you use a chart to settle scores, which can be quicker, then you don't notice what is going on behind the scenes.

Understood. The book, however, in my opinion, does not distinguish clearly between what is base points and what is the final value of the hand.
It states that : Hand value= fu x 2 ^ fan
As a result, as written in the book, "mangan has a score limit of 2000 points and a yakuman is worth 8000 points", and when I read " that player is considered to have won the hand with a 2000 point hand called Nagashi Mangan", I don't read that as being base points.
Perhaps I'm too familiar with Base Points= fu x 2 ^ (han + 2) and hand value is what you end up doing with those base points.
Also note that in the book, the 2 han for winning (bazoro) is not included in the exponent.
You have to add it in.
Don't misunderstand. I'm not criticizing, just offering commentary. This might seem confusing to beginners. I know the difference.

or2az wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 01, 2016 5:01 am

Teach yourself mahjong by David Pritchard.

I just got a newer edition of this book. Picked it up for a couple of quid off eBay.

It was published in 2013 (three years after my previous comments) and was re-named 'Teach Yourself: Play and Win Mah-Jong'.

Sadly the small section on Japanese mahjong is unchanged and retains the issues I noted previously:

Barticle wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 20, 2010 5:30 pm

There's a chapter on Japanese too but only three pages and not very well researched. It mentions dora, but not ura/kan dora. Riichi costs 100 pts (should of course be 1000 under modern rules). Pinfu and furiten are explained incorrectly (and furiten is referred to as "fu"). He says an abortive draw occurs when four *exposed* kongs are declared (should be any) and says "this seems a curious rule" (but there are only four kan dora indicators and four supplement tiles in the dead wall). Most oddly he illustrates a "mixed pung" where you can make a set composed of (for example) 1p, 1m and 1s. Erm...?

It now mentions Japanese mahjong on the cover too! Hardly justified when it doesn't even list the Yaku or explain scoring.