Show HN: Play Riichi Mahjong Online

#1

Post by cerpins » Thu, Dec 25, 2025, 11:43 AM UTC

I'm presenting a website where you can play Riichi Mahjong (4p strategy and luck boardgame):

- Play Mahjong as a guest or registered user

- Invite other players or play against bots

- View your game history and publicly share it with others

- Use the hand calculator for scoring your offline games at https://online-riichi.com/score

The game client has been inspired by "online-go" which I really enjoyed playing on - it's simplistic but feels tactile and remains true to the "feel" of the game. I would like to achieve the same thing.

As part of preparing to share on HN and reading the posting guide, I've added a "Play as guest" button so you don't need an account to play.

Finally, my own selfish goal is to gather a small player base which I can develop features for. My question for HN is - how would you go about attracting users to this kind of project?

All is built with Postgres, Rust and Preact. Done as a pastime to work. I'm sharing it now because I promised myself to do so before the end of the year! I've added a discord link on the website, but you can also contact me at cerpinsmiks@gmail.com.

Merry Christmas!

Show HN: Play Riichi Mahjong Online
online-riichi.com

Re: Show HN: Play Riichi Mahjong Online

#2

Post by boruto_uzumaki » Thu, Dec 25, 2025, 12:03 PM UTC

Phone hacking

Re: Show HN: Play Riichi Mahjong Online

#3

Post by cerpins » Thu, Dec 25, 2025, 2:10 PM UTC

boruto_uzumaki wrote: post #2

Phone hacking

huh?

Re: Show HN: Play Riichi Mahjong Online

#4

Post by fuzzfactor » Thu, Dec 25, 2025, 2:19 PM UTC

cerpins wrote: post #3

boruto_uzumaki wrote: post #2

Phone hacking

huh?

Ghost of Questionable New Users Present ;)

You never know who's going to drop in and say humbug :\

Merry Christmas to you too.

This looks like the real Mahjong, very well done.

Back in the 1960's I played with old timers on a set that was antique back then, mostly bamboo but a few ivory pieces.

Re: Show HN: Play Riichi Mahjong Online

#5

Post by cerpins » Thu, Dec 25, 2025, 10:31 PM UTC

fuzzfactor wrote: post #4

cerpins wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

huh?

Ghost of Questionable New Users Present ;) You never know who's going to drop in and say humbug :\ Merry Christmas to you too. This looks like the real Mahjong, very well done. Back in the 1960's I played with old timers on a set that was antique back then, mostly bamboo but a few ivory pieces.

hey! thanks for the comment! thought the post drowned, as it should on Christmas :) where did you come across mahjong players back in 1960? sounds like a good time.

Re: Show HN: Play Riichi Mahjong Online

#6

Post by fuzzfactor » Sat, Dec 27, 2025, 8:10 AM UTC

cerpins wrote: post #5

fuzzfactor wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ghost of Questionable New Users Present ;) You never know who's going to drop in and say humbug :\ Merry Christmas to you too. This looks like the real Mahjong, very well done. Back in the 1960's I played with old timers on a set that was antique back then, mostly bamboo but a few ivory pieces.

hey! thanks for the comment! thought the post drowned, as it should on Christmas :) where did you come across mahjong players back in 1960? sounds like a good time.

Apparently some of the older ladies who had moved down from New York to South Florida had been playing it socially since World War II.

I got the idea they had been doing it in Europe beforehand, one was a Holocaust survivor.

They loved it when some of us teenagers took an interest and joined in. That was by the 1970's.