Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties: Mahjong Guide

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is the latest from the Yakuza Kiwami series, which remakes the classic titles with the new Dragon Engine. If there’s one thing that defines power in the cutthroat world of Kamurocho besides ruthless physical prowess, it is money. Everywhere you move in this game requires cold, hard cash, and won’t it be great to have more of it?

Well, within the first twenty minutes of Yakuza Kiwami 3, you’ll be able to rake in the dough just right after the combat tutorials! While heading off to your first objective in Stardust, take a quick right at the arcade next to the nightclub, climb up to the top floor, and there you will find a mahjong parlor where you can hit it big or lose all your cash. Thankfully, there is a save/load option.

Yakuza Kiwami 3: Mahjong Guide

If you’ve ever played some card games like Knock Rummy, it is quite easy to make a quick buck off the mahjong table in Yakuza Kiwami 3. If not, don’t worry, there’s nothing a few rounds of mahjong can’t fix. You bet a certain amount of cash on the standard, advanced, and expert tables of either 12,500 yen, 25,000 yen, or 50,000 yen. You play two full dealer rotations, and the one on top rakes in the winnings.

So it’s okay to lose a round or two, but lose enough and watch your earnings bleed out faster than getting stabbed in the Streets of Kamurocho (cue karaoke). Make sure you know what you’re doing!

There are basic tiles that use the suit tiles: numerals (1-9), coins, bamboo, and the four-of-each honor tiles with winds and dragons. There are many complex combinations, but for a beginner, I suggest sticking to the basics.

You play each round by drawing a tile and discarding one of your tiles that doesn’t make a hand. The quickest way to win quick and easy rounds is to score either a Pon, three of a kind, or a Chi, a three-tile straight flush. You can score a Kan if you have four of a kind, which is rare.

When you have built a full hand with a combination of Pons, Chis, and even fancy formations, or even a full straight with your suit tiles or your honor tiles. You can score a Ron, where you complete your hand by using a player’s discard tile, or Tsumo, where you luckily draw your winning tile. If you want to win bigger cash, you can declare Richii when you’re a tile away from victory.

Get Richii Quick

This Yakuza Kiwami 3 mini-game can get quite addicting once you find your stride, but one false move and you might just give away all your hard-earned cash. There are no time limits to your hands, so you can observe your opponents’ play style and watch what they drop. While it’s easy to just jump on the easy Pons and Chis, sometimes it’s best to wait for that opportune moment to declare Richii and aim for a one-shot win. You cannot win a hand without a valid yaku (scoring combination), so beginners are encouraged to aim for Riichi.

Also, collecting three identical value tiles—such as the round wind, your seat wind, or dragon tiles—counts as a yaku. If you want a quick, simple way to win a hand, these are good options, too.

Sometimes you can get a trash hand, and you have no choice but to Pon and Chi your way out of the mess at the risk of being called by your opponent. You can get bonuses if you do play an all-simples (no honor tiles) hand and a fully concealed hand on a winning draw. Your payouts get higher with these bonuses, where a single Ron can knock out a player, but a well-timed Tsumo can clean out your table.

This way, you can walk out of the parlor with over 100,000 yen to get you started on your adventure in Yakuza Kiwami 3. Trust me, you’ll need all that cash.