What is sanma (three-player mahjong)?

Sanma is a variant of riichi mahjong played with three players instead of four. It uses a reduced tile set and adapted rules, resulting in faster games with more unpredictability.

When should I play three-player instead of four-player?

Three-player is perfect when you have exactly three people, want faster games, or prefer higher-variance, swingier play. It's also a fun social variant to mix up your regular sessions.

Which tiles are removed in three-player mahjong?

Tiles 2-man through 8-man are removed, eliminating 27 tiles (108 remain instead of 136). The 1-man and 9-man of the manzu suit stay. All other suit tiles (pinzu and souzu numbered 1–9) and honor tiles remain unchanged.

How does tanyao work in three-player mahjong?

Tanyao (all simples) is significantly harder to achieve in sanma because 2–8 of manzu are not available. You can still use 2–8 from pinzu and souzu, but the missing manzu tiles eliminate an entire avenue for completing this yaku.

How is the wall different in three-player mahjong?

The wall is built three-sided, each side being 18 tiles long. With 108 tiles total and three players each drawing and discarding, the wall is exhausted more quickly, leading to shorter games and a higher chance of hands ending in a draw.

Can you make chi calls in three-player mahjong?

No. Chi calls in three-player mahjong are not allowed.

How does tsumo payment work in three-player mahjong?

In three-player, a tsumo (self-drawn) win is worth fewer points, called 'tsumo loss'. Each losing player pays out their usual due amount, but the loss of a third payer means the win is worth either a quarter or a third less than it would have been in 4-player.

How do you use the North tile in three-player mahjong?

The North wind (kita) is a special tile in three-player rules. It can be used in a triplet or pair as usual, but it's never a valid seat wind. More commonly, players will declare the tile and set it to the side for bonus points if the hand is won.

Which yaku are harder to achieve in three-player mahjong?

Tanyao (only tiles 2-8), sanshoku (the same triplet or sequence in all three suits), and ittsu (123, 456, 789 in the same suit) are significantly harder to achieve due to the missing 2–8 manzu tiles & inability to call chi. Honitsu (half-flush), chinitsu (full-flush), toitoi (all triplets) and ryuuiisou (all green) are relatively easier.

Which yaku are easier in three-player mahjong?

Yakuhai (honor tile triplets), toitoi (all triplets), honitsu (half-flush), chinitsu (full flush), and honor-heavy patterns become relatively easier because honor tiles are proportionally more common and chi elimination favors triplet-based hands.

Can you win with yakuman in three-player mahjong?

Yes, yakuman hands are possible in three-player mahjong, and some are even easier. Patterns like kokushi musou and ryuuiisou are easier with the 2-8 man tiles removed.

Do I need to know four-player rules before learning three-player?

Yes, it's strongly recommended. Three-player is a variant of four-player riichi mahjong. Understanding four-player fundamentals makes learning the differences much easier. Start with Getting Started if you're brand new.

How long does a three-player game take?

Three-player games are typically faster than four-player games due to the smaller wall size and reduced tile pool. Most games last 20–40 minutes depending on hand length and dealer streaks, compared to 30–60 minutes for four-player.

3-Player Rules

The three-player variant (sanma) keeps most of the standard ruleset with a few key changes. It's fast-paced, and high-scoring hands are more common.

Introduction to sanma

Three-player riichi mahjong is built on the four-player (yonma) foundation you already know. If you're comfortable with the basics of yonma (tiles, hand completion, riichi, and yaku) you're 80% of the way to playing sanma. The differences are mostly mechanical: a smaller tile pool, three seats instead of four, and adjusted scoring.

Games tend to resolve more quickly and with more dramatic ups and downs. Three-player is perfect when you're short a player, want faster games, or simply enjoy the higher variance that comes from swingier hands.

Before you start: Know the basics first

This guide assumes you're already familiar with rules of four-player riichi mahjong. If you're brand new to riichi, check out Getting Started to learn the fundamentals. Once comfortable, come back here to learn what changes in three-player.

Tile & gameplay changes

Tiles are removed

The biggest difference in sanma is that all man tiles numbered 2 through 8 are removed. This eliminates 27 tiles from the standard 136-tile deck, leaving 108 tiles in play. The 1-man and 9-man of the manzu suit remain; all tiles of the other two suits (pinzu and souzu numbered 1–9) and all honor tiles stay unchanged. Each tile type still appears exactly four times.

Impact on hand composition

The missing manzu tiles reshape how hands develop. Some important consequences:

No sequences in manzu: With only 1-man and 9-man available, you can only form triplets in the man suit.
Easier to build certain patterns: The other suits (pinzu and souzu) are plentiful, so you'll naturally gravitate toward half-flush (honitsu) and full flush (chinitsu) hands. Toitoi (all triplets) is also easier.
Terminal and honor tiles gain importance: Without the middle manzu range, 1-man, 9-man, and all honor tiles become proportionally more valuable as building blocks.

You cannot call chi

Chi calls are not allowed in three-player mahjong. This makes it difficult to build sequence-based yaku like ittsu (pure straight) and sanshoku doujun (mixed triple sequence).

Three seats: dealer and non-dealers

With three players, you have three seats: East (dealer), South, and West. There is no North seat. After the dealer loses a hand, the next player counter-clockwise becomes the new dealer, just as in four-player.

Since it's impossible for North to be a seat wind, the North wind tile (kita) becomes a special bonus tile. If you draw the North tile, you can declare "kita" and set it to the side as a called tile. (This does not open your hand). A replacement tile is drawn from the dead wall, similar to when a kan is called. If you win, each declared North tile adds a bonus han to your score.

The wall

Wall setup and structure

The wall is built as a 3×18 arrangement of tile stacks (rather than the 4×17 structure in four-player).

Dead wall and dora indicators

The dead wall (the small section of tiles set aside at the beginning) works the same conceptually: it contains dora indicators and tiles for kan bonuses. In practice, because the wall is smaller, the dora indicators become relatively more visible and valuable. Dora (bonus tiles) are proportionally more likely to appear in a win because there are fewer tiles in total. When someone declares kan (a set of four identical tiles), the dead wall shrinks further, and the remaining live wall gets shorter faster.

Dead wall reminder

The dead wall in three-player contains the same number of dora indicators and potential kan tiles as four-player — it's just that with fewer tiles in the live wall overall, the proportion of wall dedicated to bonuses is higher, making dora and kan bonuses slightly more impactful.

Wall reduction and game pace

With 108 tiles instead of 136, the wall is exhausted much faster. In four-player, roughly 70 tiles are drawn per player; in three-player, the average is lower. This means hands end more quickly — games rarely go many rounds. The smaller wall also increases the likelihood of a hand ending in a draw (ryuukyoku).

Strategic implications

Because the wall empties faster, completing your hand early is more valuable than ever. This means aggressive play is rewarded and slow hands are riskier.

Scoring differences

Tsumo payment with two opponents

The most obvious scoring change: in four-player, a tsumo (self-drawn) win is paid by all three other players. In three-player, a tsumo win is paid by the two remaining opponents. The total payment amount is adjusted so that three-player sanma games reward winning roughly comparably to four-player, even though there are fewer payers.

For example, a non-dealer tsumo win that would be worth 2,000 points per opponent in four-player becomes a slightly higher value per opponent in three-player so that two opponents' payments total approximately the same. The exact formulas depend on han (number of patterns) and fu (base points), which are detailed in the Scoring page.

Payment logic

Each non-dealer opponent pays you a share; the dealer pays a larger share. Because there are fewer opponents, the amounts per opponent increase proportionally to maintain game balance. Ron (winning off a discard) is unchanged — the discarder pays the full amount.

Ron payment

When you win off someone's discard (ron), the discarder pays you the full amount, exactly as in four-player. There's no change here — it's simpler because only one person is paying. This is true whether you're the dealer or non-dealer.

Dealer payments and advantage

Dealer-specific payments are adjusted for three-player play. A dealer tsumo (all opponents pay) results in payments from both non-dealers, adjusted appropriately. What's interesting strategically is that the dealer's advantage is actually heightened in three-player. Because the dealer only needs to be one of two non-dealers to win and continue their turn, their effective winning probability increases, and they collect tsumo payments from two people frequently. Dealer position is valuable.

Honba behavior

Honba (continuation bonuses when no one completes a hand) work the same in three-player as four-player: 300 points per honba go to the dealer, and the honba counter increments each hand with no winner. Because the wall is smaller and hands end faster, honba might accumulate differently — sometimes rising higher because draw hands are common, sometimes staying low because hands resolve quickly. Honba strategy remains the same: if you're in tenpai and honba is high, it's more valuable to win and collect it.

Tenpai (noten) payment

If the wall runs out and no one completes their hand, any players with a winning-ready hand (tenpai) collect payment from non-tenpai players (noten). The total payout is 3,000 points (same as four-player). This amount is split among tenpai players based on how many are ready. Because the wall is smaller, draws are more common, making tenpai status more valuable.

Yaku changes

Yaku that become harder to achieve

The missing 2–8 manzu tiles directly affect certain yaku patterns:

Tanyao (all simples): This yaku requires all tiles in your hand to be numbered 2–8 of any suit. With 2–8 manzu removed, you can only use 2–8 pinzu and souzu to build this hand. While theoretically still possible, tanyao becomes significantly harder to achieve because you can't use manzu at all, cutting your options in half. This yaku goes from common to rare.
Sanshoku (three-color sequences): This yaku requires three sequences — one in each suit — using the same numbers. For example, 3–4–5 in manzu, 3–4–5 in pinzu, and 3–4–5 in souzu. With no 2–8 manzu available, you're restricted to using only 1 and 9 of manzu for sequences, which makes matching three-color sequences extremely difficult. This yaku is much rarer.
Ittsu (1-5-9 sequences): Ittsu requires three sequences: 1–2–3, 5–6–7, and 8–9 terminal all in the same suit across all three suits. Without the middle manzu range, building a full ittsu becomes much harder because manzu sequences are so restricted.

Why these yaku struggle

These patterns rely on variety within one suit or consistency across suits. Removing 2–8 manzu directly damages these patterns. They're not impossible, but they require deliberate planning and a lucky draw.

Yaku that become easier

While some patterns become harder, others actually become relatively easier:

Yakuhai (honor tile triplets): Any triplet of a wind (you own or the prevailing wind) or a dragon is yakuhai. With fewer tiles overall, the proportional weight of honor tiles increases — they show up in your hand more often because you're drawing from a smaller pool. Yakuhai remains mechanically simple, but it's more likely to appear naturally.
Toitoi (all triplets): A hand made entirely of triplets (no sequences). With chi allowed, building triplet-only hands is still challenging, but the tile restrictions of three-player make it relatively easier to complete. Honor tiles, being proportionally more common, naturally help form multiple triplets.
Honitsu and chinitsu variants: Hands favoring one suit or mixing one suit with honors become relatively easier because the tile pool is smaller and concentrations become more likely. A hand built on pinzu + honors is easier to achieve with fewer tiles total.
Jihai-heavy patterns: Any yaku that requires many honor tiles (winds and dragons) becomes easier. With 27 tiles removed and all of them being manzu, honors are proportionally more abundant, making pure honor hands or honor-focused patterns more likely.

Yaku that stay the same

Many yaku are completely unchanged in difficulty or mechanic:

Riichi: Declaring riichi works identically — tenpai (one away from complete), closed hand, sideways discard, 1,000-point stick. No change.
Ippatsu (one shot): Winning within one turn after declaring riichi works the same.
Menzen-tsumo (fully concealed tsumo): Drawing your winning tile without calling on others' discards is unchanged.
Pon, kan, and other call-based yaku: The mechanics of these remain the same. Chi is allowed in Charm City, so chanta and chinitsu are still valid.
Shape-based yaku: Patterns like shousangen (small three dragons) or limit hands like chiitoitsu (seven pairs) work the same.

Yaku advantage in three-player

Overall, the yaku landscape simplifies. Difficult multi-suit patterns (tanyao, sanshoku, ittsu) become rarities, while honor-based and triplet-based yaku become proportionally more common. This makes the game simpler for beginners but shifts strategic focus toward honor-heavy hands.

Yakuman in three-player

Yakuman (limit hands worth the maximum score) are largely unchanged in three-player. Patterns like suuankou (four triplets of the same tile) are still possible. Kokushi (13 unique terminals and honors) remains a valid yakuman pattern — you don't need manzu 2–8 to play kokushi since it only requires one tile of each honor and one each of the 1 and 9 terminals.

Some yakuman become much rarer (like daisangen, which requires all three dragons and is harder with fewer tiles), but they remain mechanically possible. Check the Scoring page for a full yakuman list and note any three-player-specific adjustments.

Next steps

Now that you understand the core rule changes, you're ready to play three-player riichi. The game plays similarly to four-player — the differences are mostly mechanical, and they become intuitive after a hand or two.

What to do next

Check the Scoring page: Bookmark the Scoring reference for exact payment calculations. Three-player payment tables are there.
Review the Detailed Guide: If you ever need a refresher on four-player concepts (like how rounds and winds work), the Detailed Guide covers everything in depth.
Ask at a club night: Charm City regulars play sanma frequently. Ask a club member to walk you through a hand at the table — seeing it in action is the fastest way to internalize the differences.
Start with one game: Play a friendly game with no stakes first. Three-player games are fast (20–40 minutes), so you can play a few back-to-back and learn the patterns quickly.

Common questions

Do I need to know four-player riichi to play three-player? Yes, strongly. Three-player assumes you know four-player fundamentals: what tiles are, how to win, how riichi works. If you're brand new, start with Getting Started first.

Is three-player faster than four-player? Yes. Because the wall is smaller and only three people are drawing, most games finish in 20–40 minutes. Four-player games typically run 30–60 minutes depending on dealer streaks.

Which should I play more often — four-player or three-player? Play whatever you have people for! Four-player is the standard, but three-player is a fun change of pace. Charm City runs both regularly. Some players prefer three-player's speed and higher variance.