Buu Mahjong

「ツモォ．．．！マルＡだ！」

Buu Mahjong, also known as Buu Man, and Sports Mahjong, is a variant of Japanese Mahjong with roots somewhere around the Kansai region of Japan (according to Aasada Tetsuya, author of the Maajan Hourouki). It is extremely fast paced and is more suited towards gambling than its eastern cousin, by which it has been almost entirely eclipsed in recent years.

Buu Mahjong differs from standard Riichi Mahjong in several aspects, namely scoring, points, and winning. A brief summary of these differences is as follows:

• Play starts at 2000 (6000 in Eastern style) points and ends when anyone either drops below 0 points or reaches 4000 (12000) points.
• Depending on the distribution of players floating and sinking, the winner receives a payout based on one of three different ranks.
• No Yaku is necessary to win a hand (Western style).
• Riichi declarations do not require a point-stick bet (Western style).
• The Bazoro is not utilized (Western style).
• Tenpai Renchan, No-Ten Bappu, Kandora, Uradora, and Ippatsu are not used. Agari Renchan and Ryuukyoku are still utilized however, along with cumulative Honba sticks.
• Some Yaku have different values or rules, and some standard Yaku are not employed. (Western style).
• Atamahane (Head Bump rule), is usually utilized.

Sinking and Floating

In Buu Mahjong, the distribution of sinking players and floating players affects the end game ranking, which subsequently affects payout. Any player that possesses less than their initial allotted points is considering to be sinking, and any player with their initial points and above is considered to be floating. Thus, a game of Buu Mahjong can end in one of three different states:

※A Top (Maru A): The winning player is the only player floating. Receives 10 chips from each player.

※B Top(Maru B) Two players are floating. Winner receives 5 chips from each sinking player.

※C Top (Maru C): Only one player is sinking. Winner receives 3 chips from the sinking player.

⚠NOTE: The above values are example payouts. Payout can differ wildly from parlour to parlour. The only set rule is that usually, C Top/Maru C's payout is equivalent to the parlour's Badai, or table fee. This essentially means that any player that wins C Top doesn't win or lose any money, and as a result, trying to take C Top purposefully is seen as poor sport, and may not be allowed depending on the parlour.

Bazoro and Scoring (Western style)

Western variants of Buu Mahjong utilize a different scoring system, derived from Aaru-Shi-Aaru Mahjong, the predecessor of modern Riichi Mahjong. The main difference between scoring is the lack of the Bazoro, which refers to the internal 2 Han automatically factored into every Riichi Mahjong hand. The standard equation for Riichi Mahjong is given below (bold is the Bazoro):

Basic Points = Fu x 2^(2+Han)

Below is the equation used for (Western) Buu Mahjong, along with scoring tables for easy reference:

Basic Points = Fu x 2^(Han)

⚠NOTE:Non-dealer Tsumo is organized in Non-dealer payment/Dealer payment format.

⚠NOTE:Red columns = Mangan (2000 Total/3000 Total). Yakuman is 8000 total Non-dealer, 12000 total as Dealer.

In addition to a different scoring system, (Western) Buu Mahjong utilizes different rules as to the final calculation of a hand's value, as listed below.

1. The points of the hand are calculated based on Han and Fu value.
2. The Menzen Points, or closed hand points, are awarded to hands that have not made any open calls besides a call for closed Kan or Ron. This value is 300 in a Ron payment situation, and 100 between all other players in a Tsumo situation.
3. Dora Points are awarded to the winning player, adding 100 to the value of his hand for each Dora. In a Tsumo situation, every player makes a payment of 100 points for each Dora.*
4. Honba points are awarded for every Honba stick on the table, at a rate of 1 Honba = 300 points. In a Ron situation, the discarding player pays the full amount. In a Tsumo situation, the 300 points are divided among the other three players equally.

※NOTE: In Buu Mahjong, only two Red Dora tiles are commonly utilized: the two Red 5 Pins. These tiles DO NOT count as standard Dora, but rather, add 1 Han to the value of the hand for each one held.

Yaku Chart (Western style)

In addition, the following optional Yaku are the most often employed.

※NOTE: In general, Sanshoku Doukou, San Kantsu, and Ryanpeikou are not used, though there is no restriction on such arbitrary rules in the case of casual games.
In this case, I’d recommend leaving Sanshoku Doukou and Sankantsu at 2 Han, and placing Ryanpeikou as either 2 Han or Mangan depending on how you feel the rarity of the hand should affect its value.

Furiten (Western)

Furiten functions differently from standard Riichi Mahjong, as outlined below.

• Furiten is only applied on tiles you have discarded. Therefore, if you had a 1-4 Man wait, and had already discarded the 1 Man, you can declare Ron off of a discarded 4 Man. In addition, if a player discarded a tile that would normally have put you into temporary Furiten (ie, the 1 Man in the previous example), it does not count as temporary Furiten.
• Furiten Riichi is likewise, allowed to declare Ron, following the rules above. However, it is limited to the restriction that should you voluntarily pass on a winning tile, you become both unable to declare Ron and Tsumo on that tile thereafter.
• Some restrictions may exist on damaten-Furiten hands depending on the parlour, such as a rule in which you cannot declare a win after the turn following the turn you entered Furiten. In these cases, Furiten Riichi also becomes unavailable.

Etiquette and Restrictions

The only solid rule regarding valid winning hands is that you cannot declare a win that would put another player below 0 points if it does not change your standing from sinking to not sinking. There are some rules in regards to the etiquette of play listed below:

• Declaring a win that doesn’t change you from sinking to not sinking but sinks another player is looked down upon.
• Declaring a win while floating or that will make you floating that does not make you win but busts another player is generally looked down upon, and depending on where you play, may be an illegal move.
• Taking C Top purposefully may be against parlor rules depending on where you play, but even if it is not an illegal move, it is looked down upon.

In addition to the above, there exist some parlours that have a rule that reaching the South 4th Round allows all of the above plays that might be otherwise illegal. There were also parlours in which, in the case that a win would sink a player to below 0 points, but did not change the winner's standing from sinking to floating, the winning player would take as many points as he could from the discarding player that would not make him bust out (ie, leaving the discarding player at exactly 0 points).

Other Rules

• In general, ryanmen (two-sided wait) tsumo is worth 2 fu, and since Pinfu does not stack with Menzen Tsumo in this variation, the points for Tsumo are awarded. Kanchan (closed wait) tsumo is worth, predictably, 4 fu. In recent years, however, there has been a trend where some places utilize a non-standard 4 fu ryanmen tsumo rule. (Western)
• The common Chombo penalty is worth half Mangan.
• The winner of last game, regardless of their placement, always gets to start the next Hanchan as the dealer.
• Sometimes, winning a Yakuman off of anybody automatically grants you A Top.
• Sometimes, when the game reaches the South 4th round, it is played Aotenjou, meaning the Mangan cap for scoring is lifted.
• Sometimes, it may be ruled that a 0 Han hand cannot receive points from the Honba sticks on the table. In the case that this rule is active and a 0 Han hand wins, the Honba stick remains on the table and another is added for each consecutive 0 Han hand won, until a more valuable hand is won. (Western)
• Some rules allow for a Tsumo on a passed tile during Riichi. However, most of these rules only operate during the South round (in general) or during the South 4th round only. (Western)
• Usually, the smallest denomination of point sticks is 10 points. In some variations, the smallest is 20 points, and values are rounded up to compensate for this (30/60 becomes 40/60, for example). (Western)
• In general, for Tochuu Ryuukyoku, Suu Fon Renda and Kyuushuu Kyuuhai are always used. Though it has rarely been seen, Suukaikan is also probably in use. In general, however, Suucha Riichi is never used.

More Variations (Western)

• Yakuman may be valued at Baiman (4000 total Non-dealer, 6000 total Dealer).
• Sometimes, it is scored that Dora tiles in a closed hand are worth 200 each, and 100 each for open hands.
• Some parlors use a system where Shuugi is awarded for hitting Uradora, but doesn’t affect the point standing in game.
• Kuikae, aka swap calling, is allowed if it would increase the value of your hand. Otherwise, it is not permitted.
• Though it is not common any more, there was once a variation where each Honba was worth 100 points instead of 300.
• Some parlors allow there to be two round winds during the game. During the East round, the East wind and the West wind are both Yakuhai worth 1 han. During the South round, the South wind and the North wind function in the same way.

Point Sticks (Western)

As Buu Mahjong uses considerably less points than regular Mahjong, re-denomination of the point sticks is necessary. Standard point sticks are used, but their values are cut down to a tenth, meaning that 100 points = 10, 1000 = 100, and etc. An example array for distributing points sticks is as follows:

500 point sticks: 3x

100 point sticks: 4x

10 point sticks: 10x

Gathered and translated from the following sources:

• http://suzume.hakata21.com/5zats/rulebman.html
• https://www.marguerite.jp/Nihongo/Games/しらぎくフラ雀/ブー麻雀.html
• 真・雀鬼５：新宿麻雀決戦

ホームページへ戻る