Results of the TRI NITRO TOURNAMENT 2024 and an interview with the winner. A new story from Mr. Sato, another chance for WRC 2025. Plus, the latest puzzle with a prize.
Exclusive interview with the Winner of the Tournament - YAMAI Hiroshi!
All videos with captions can be found on the Youtube channel
The Balance of Attack and Defense
In the familiar "House of Tiles" setting, young Kenji found himself puzzled. "Sensei Sato, how do I balance attacking and defending in Mahjong?" he asked, feeling like he often risked too much or played too cautiously.
Mr. Sato smiled. "Mahjong is not just a battle of tiles, but a balance of knowing when to strike and when to retreat," he began. As the game progressed, Sato guided Kenji through a vital lesson.
At the start, attack is key. "When your hand shows promise, don't hesitate. But observe your opponents' discards. If they drop safe tiles, push forward. The early game is about building momentum," Sato said. Kenji nodded, understanding that aggressive play was needed when his hand looked strong.
But as the game moved on, defense became crucial. Kenji hesitated when one opponent was close to a win. "Here is where defense matters," Sato explained. "If you're not close to winning, focus on folding safely. Keep your points and force others into mistakes."
That night, Kenji realized that success in Mahjong lies in reading the flow—attacking when opportunity arises, but shifting to defense when danger lurks.
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My take on the puzzles:
Hand 1:
Everything except 7, but only because it's all in the hand, so 12345689
Hand 2:
1234567
Hand 1:
First let's assume 677778 are locked with 678 and 777.
Then with the 2223456 we have the 1 4 (7 but there aren't any left) + 3 6 tanky wait.
Then we can try to lock 56677778 in this way ==> 567 678 77.
Then we have 22234 that waits for 2 and 5.
Now lets try to build the hand with the 9. 222 345 66 777 789.
So I would go for final result: 1,2,3,4,5,6,9.
Hand 2:
Firstly I see the double yakuman chance with the sigle wait suuankou. ==> 5.
I have also learned that the 4445666 shape has all 5 waits ==> 3,4,5,6,7.
Trying to creat a lot of chi we can see that the 2223334445 can create a lot of différent chi with a pair.
Then we find that the waits are :
1 (123 234 234 45 and taking a 6)
2 (22 234 234 345)
So final answer is 1,2,3,4,5,6,7.