Current Events > One more Mahjong Question

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1) What determines what tiles become the Dora? Are 5 tiles randomly selected?
1a) What determines what tiles become the Ura-Dora. Do Ura-dora tiles also take up a whole tile? (e.g. if the dora is 5 bamboo, there will only be three 5 bamboos in play in the actual game instead of four).

@Ruddager

You were extremely helpful last time, so I figured I'd give you a tag

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Tag, I'm curious about this too

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Google just doesnt explain it well, nor does the wikis. Either that or I keep finding the wrong articles.

It's like going to the troubleshooting page on your local ISP's website. Just a cluster of information that feels more like it's for legality reasons than actually helping anyone

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14 tiles from the "deck" (also called the wall) are set aside during the deal and become the "dead wall", they are stacked in a 2 tile high 7 tile long stack and are technically out of play (though there are situations in which you draw a tile off the dead wall)

1)
One of the tiles in the top row of the dead wall is flipped and that becomes a dora indicator which indicates that the next tile in sequence is the dora for that round (ex. if the dora indicator is 5 of pins then 6 of pins is the dora for that round)

Additional dora indicators can be flipped by calling Kan, when that happens the tile next to the first dora indicator in the dead wall is flipped and becomes an additional dora indicator. There can be up to 5 dora indicators active at once

There is also 1 "red five" of every suit that just straight up are always dora and become worth double if the 4 of that suit is a dora indicator

1a)
Ura-dora are determined at the end of a round IF the winning hand was both closed and won after calling Riichi.

If those conditions are met, then the tiles UNDERNEATH any active dora indicators are revealed and become additional dora indicators

So Ura dora INDICATORS do take up a tile but it is also completely possible that any number of the tiles that they indicate as dora are also present in the dead wall and therefore not in play.

I tried to be as clear as I could but feel free to ask for clarification on anything

Ruddager posted...

14 tiles from the "deck" (also called the wall) are set aside during the deal and become the "dead wall", they are stacked in a 2 tile high 7 tile long stack and are technically out of play (though there are situations in which you draw a tile off the dead wall)

1)
One of the tiles in the top row of the dead wall is flipped and that becomes a dora indicator which indicates that the next tile in sequence is the dora for that round (ex. if the dora indicator is 5 of pins then 6 of pins is the dora for that round)

Additional dora indicators can be flipped by calling Kan, when that happens the tile next to the first dora indicator in the dead wall is flipped and becomes an additional dora indicator. There can be up to 5 dora indicators active at once

There is also 1 "red five" of every suit that just straight up are always dora and become worth double if the 4 of that suit is a dora indicator

1a)
Ura-dora are determined at the end of a round IF the winning hand was both closed and won after calling Riichi.

If those conditions are met, then the tiles UNDERNEATH any active dora indicators are revealed and become additional dora indicators

So Ura dora INDICATORS do take up a tile but it is also completely possible that any number of the tiles that they indicate as dora are also present in the dead wall and therefore not in play.

I tried to be as clear as I could but feel free to ask for clarification on anything

Makes overall perfect sense. Thank you again for this great explanation!

So the 14 tiles are randomly drawn before the game begins and set down to become both the Dora (dead wall) and the Ura-dora (when possible)? That makes up 10 tiles in total. If we get Kan 4 times, then all 5 dora are in place, and if somehow miraculously someone declares Riichi and wins, that's 5 ura-dora as well.

What happens to the other 4 tiles?

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the other 4 are for when you have to draw off the dead wall, If im remembering right I think when you Kan you have to draw your next tile off the dead wall so since you can only call Kan up to 4 times theres 4 extra tiles for that

Ruddager posted...

the other 4 are for when you have to draw off the dead wall, If im remembering right I think when you Kan you have to draw your next tile off the dead wall so since you can only call Kan up to 4 times theres 4 extra tiles for that

Ohhh I did not know that. I always assumed it was coming from the main pile. I havent paid enough attention the number ticker that counts down remaining tiles.

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Ruddager posted...

the other 4 are for when you have to draw off the dead wall, If im remembering right I think when you Kan you have to draw your next tile off the dead wall so since you can only call Kan up to 4 times theres 4 extra tiles for that

I also just realized you get Han from a Kan if it's the very last tile. Basically a Last Tile Ron but called a Dead Wall Draw.

Anyway it makes sense now. I remember asking myself "What hell is a Dead Wall?"

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Yea, this all makes total sense.

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