Play Online

Mahjong Soul

The most popular platform for English-speaking riichi players. Mahjong Soul features an anime aesthetic with collectible characters, built-in tutorials, and a tiered ranked system. Cross-platform play means you can use one account everywhere. The gacha monetization is purely cosmetic and doesn't affect gameplay.

Best for: Beginners and anyone looking for the largest English-speaking community.

Tenhou

The gold standard for competitive online riichi. Tenhou has been running since 2006 and has over 5 million registered users, mostly Japanese. Its ranking system is the most respected in the community, with top-tier players representing roughly the top 2,500 globally. The interface is minimal and functional. Free accounts can play in the general lobby; premium (~$5/month) unlocks higher-level lobbies.

The site is in Japanese, but community-made browser extensions translate the interface into English: Tenhou English UI for Chrome and Tenhou UI Translator for Firefox.

Best for: Intermediate to advanced players who want serious competition and a meaningful ranking.

Riichi City

A growing alternative with an anime aesthetic and frequent collaboration events. Riichi City stands out with its built-in AI game review tool that analyzes your play after each match, making it a great learning platform. It also features tutorials, a hint system, and a spectator mode. Gameplay tends to feel faster-paced than Mahjong Soul.

Best for: Players who want built-in coaching tools and post-game analysis.

Kemono Mahjong

A single-player mahjong game with anthropomorphic animal characters and excellent tutorials. No ads, no in-app purchases — just a one-time purchase. AI opponents have distinct personalities and the visual instructions make it one of the best ways to learn the rules at your own pace. Supports both 4-player and 3-player modes.

Best for: Complete beginners who want a friendly, ad-free way to learn offline.

Riichi Mahjong (Flyout Studios)

A full-featured mobile app with configurable rulesets (JPML, EMA, or WRC) and dedicated practice modes. The "guess the wait" mode helps you practice reading hands, and the hand scoring practice mode drills point calculation. Also features replay analysis where you can jump into any point in a past game and replay from there.

Best for: Practicing specific skills like wait reading and score calculation.

R Mahjong

Features one of the strongest mahjong AIs available, rated at Tenhou 7-dan level (stronger than 99.7% of Tenhou players). The training mode lets you see opponent hands and get AI suggestions for each discard, making it an excellent tool for studying defensive and offensive strategy. Also supports local multiplayer over Wi-Fi.

Best for: Intermediate players who want to train against a very strong AI with coaching hints.

Riichi Advanced

An open-source, extensible mahjong web client that supports a wide variety of rulesets beyond standard riichi: Hong Kong Old Style, Taiwanese, Sichuan Bloody, MCR, and more experimental variants like Space Mahjong and Cosmic Riichi. It also includes a tutorial system where users can create and share custom tutorials.

Best for: Players who want to explore different mahjong variants or contribute to an open-source project.

Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics

Nintendo's collection of classic games includes riichi mahjong as one of its 51 titles. Supports local and online multiplayer with a built-in tutorial. A good option if you already own the game, though the online player pool for riichi specifically is very small.

Best for: Nintendo Switch owners looking for casual play.