Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1) General

1.1 What is this whole idea of playing mahjong in a club setting about?
1.2 Is this Mahjong gathering stuff legal?
1.3 What is the Password for the Password-protected post in this website?
1.4 Will there be people gambling?
1.5 Is there an entrance membership fee?

2) Sessions

2.1 I want to join your session, where do I start from?
2.2 Do I have to pay for the session?
2.3 Where is the session held?
2.4 I am below 21, can I join?
2.5 Can you organise sessions at other area of Singapore?
2.6 Do you have other time slots? Can you lengthen the duration?
2.7 Can I come and spectate?
2.8 Is the number of attendees confirmed to be in factor of 4?
2.9 I want to register but I do not wish to sit out.
2.10 Can you cancel registration of those who registered the slowest and do not make up a table?
2.11 I don’t use e-mail, can you contact me through other means?

3) Registration

3.1 How many people have registered so far?
3.2 Is my registration considered early / late?
3.3 Can you tell me if your session is short of 1 player before I register?
3.4 Is registering online the only way to register?
3.5 I wish to cancel my registration, is there a penalty?

4) Playing during the session

4.1 I do not know how to count fu, will this be an issue?
4.2 Can I play with beginners/pros only?
4.3 Can I bring 3 of my friends along and play with them only?

5) Learners

5.1 Do you have lessons for Riichi Mahjong?
5.2 Where can I learn Riichi Mahjong?
5.3 I do not know how to play Singapore Mahjong, can you teach me?
5.4 I wish to practise during the session, can you sit beside me and guide me?
5.5 How proficient do I have to be before I am suitable to play in a session?

1) General

1.1 What is this whole idea of playing Mahjong in a club setting about?
Our club Sport Mahjong Club (SMC) Riichi Mahjong is situated at Nee Soon South Community Centre. Against the notion of Mahjong as a gambling game, we take Riichi Mahjong in either a leisure or competitive manner, basically a sport. We wish to grow this community to enjoy this sport with sportmanship be it playing for fun or going oversea for international competition in Europe. At the end of every session, there will be session reports showing the statistic of players who have played during the session. This is to create a good learning environment for players to improve their play.

1.2 Is this Mahjong gathering stuff legal?
Yes. We play in a Community Centre and every session has a PA trainer in supervision to ensure no illegal activities are being carried out.

1.3 What is the Password for the Password-protected post in this website?
This will be e-mailed to you once you have attended a session. All password-protected post share the same password.

1.4 Will there be people gambling?
No. Gambling is strictly prohibited.

1.5 Is there an entrance membership fee?
No.

2) Sessions

2.1 I want to join your session, where do I start from?
Fill up your particulars here – https://sgriichimahjong.wordpress.com/newcomers/ (You only have to do this once)
Next, register yourself for the session here – https://sgriichimahjong.wordpress.com/registration/. You will receive an e-mail confirmation from us.

2.2 Do I have to pay for the session?
For PAssion members: $2 per game (2 hour)
For Non-PAssion members: $3 per game (2 hour)

2.3 Where is the session held?
Nee Soon South Community Centre. If you are new, you will be informed of the room name upon your registration. This is to prevent strangers from dropping by without our notice.

2.4 I am below 21, can I join?
Yes. There is no age limit.

2.5 Can you organise sessions at other areas of Singapore?
Not many Community Centre have many mahjong tables in supply and also, none of them have Japanese Mahjong sets. Going to other areas will mean having to transport the current Japanese Mahjong sets we have around Singapore. This is not practical. However, it is not impossible if Thomsom Community Centre has enough space and tables to house Riichi Mahjong.

2.6 Do you have other time slots? Can you lengthen the duration?
The Community Centre has other interests groups and activities competing for rooms during the weekends. It is not possible to hog the room for the whole day or cause confusion with constant change of timing.

2.7 Can I come and spectate?
Yes, definitely. Please inform us beforehand.

2.8 Is the number of attendees confirmed to be in factor of 4?
No. It may be possible to have sit outs as it is beyond our control to ensure all members turn up and are on time.

2.9 I want to register but I do not wish to sit out.
We regret to inform you that you are not suitable to attend the session.

2.10 Can you cancel registration of those who registered the slowest and do not make up a table?
No. It still does not eliminate the risk of sit outs. While it may be worth the risk of people last minute cancellation, the main problem is dealing with latecomers. If there are no players to replace latecomers, one latecomer can cause 3 players to be waiting. This is unfair to them. How should we punish such behaviour? It is better to give players who are punctual a higher priority to play knowing that there is a risk of sitting out if one is late.

2.11 I don’t use e-mail, can you contact me through other means?
Official registration will be done through this website, e-mail or SMS. News & Updates are announced through this website. If there is a need for us to send private e-mails, we will put up reminder for you to check your e-mail. If you do not have an e-mail at all, then please create one. It is too troublesome for us to handle different modes of communication as requested such as Viber, Line, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter etc.

3) Registration

3.1 How many people have registered so far?
Answering this question is against our interest. It does not benefit players when we have for example, 4 players who are hoping to get a number that do not result in a sit out if one register, we will be losing 4 players who can have form a table.

3.2 Is my registration considered early / late? [Currently Not Applicable]
Answering this question is against our interest. No matter early or late, there is no confirmation that you will not be sitting out as it depends on the number of people who has registered. If this is a worry then do register the moment registration is open. That will definitely be the earliest.

3.3 Is registering online the only way to register?
For first timers, yes. This is to ensure that first timers have read and know all dos & don’t’s to avoid mixed expectations from a session.

3.4 I wish to cancel my registration, is there a penalty?
Not if you have informed us beforehand. In an extreme situation whereby we do not even form a table and you happen to be the 4th player, there is a penalty if you are to inform us way too late before we can act on it. As we will have to cancel the session, your late-notification would have caused inconvenience to some players who have already made their way to the venue. If possible, please cancel within the registration period. We will have to ask reasons from you if you repeatedly cancel your registration as we classify such acts as abusing the first-come-first-serve system. (i.e just register first, if unable to make it, just cancel)

4) Playing during the session

4.1 I do not know how to count fu, will this be an issue?
No. More than half of the players can do the counting for you.

4.2 Can I play with beginners only?
Players are seated according to their ranking so you will meet players of your standard.

4.3 Can I bring 3 of my friends along and play with them only?
No. We do not function like a Mahjong Parlor and this indirectly allows gambling as players can settle their own “payment” after the session.

5) Learners

5.1 Do you have lessons for Riichi Mahjong?
No. We do not have time to conduct lessons for Riichi Mahjong.

5.2 Where can I learn how to play Riichi Mahjong?
A specically designed guide to playing Riichi Mahjong for Singapore Mahjong players can be found here – Part 1 and Part 2.

5.3 I do not how to play Singapore Mahjong so can you teach me?
Riichi Mahjong is similar but more complicated than Singapore Mahjong hence I advise you to learn Singapore Mahjong on your own first or you can contact us if you wish to attend Singapore Mahjong lessons or practise session.

5.4 I wish to practise during the session, can you sit beside me and guide me?
This is possible on a case- by-case basis depending on the number of players who register to play and the number of learners we have. Please contact me personally about it. However, we do not think it is much of an issue if you have at least background of Singapore Mahjong. The stronger players will do equally well in guiding you during the game. We highly encourage learners to have a good learning attitude. Just feel free to ask any question after the hand you have played and slowly learn from there.

5.5 How proficient do I have to be before I am suitable to play in a session?
For the bare minimum, you ought to know the following – Riichi, Dora and values (fan) of all Riichi Mahjong winning patterns (Both concealed and melded)
For simple reference, you have to be comfortable with the rules written here, Part 1 of the guide I had written.