WORJONG Turns Mahjong Into an English Word Game, and Tenhou Is Worth 1 Han
Circle KEN released WORJONG on Steam on October 30, a mahjong-style game played with 26 alphabet tiles where players win by forming four three-letter English words from a 12-tile hand. It supports online play for up to four players.
1 source Oct 29
Reporting from 1 source: Denfaminicogamer.
Why it matters
A game that demotes tenhou to 1 han and returns the winner's hand to the wall is not teaching mahjong to beginners so much as rebuilding it around word formation, and the trial report suggests the table still plays like mahjong.
Key Facts
- Circle KEN released WORJONG on Steam on October 30.
- WORJONG uses 26 alphabet tiles from A to Z and supports online play for up to four players.
- Players hold 11 tiles and win with a 12-tile shape of four three-letter English words.
- There are 650 usable three-letter English words, and the game has no sequences or triplets.
- Tenhou, winning right after the deal, counts as a 1 han yaku in WORJONG.
Because 650 three-letter words are available as melds, tenpai arrives quickly and winning right after the deal is not rare, so tenhou counts as a 1 han yaku.
The hand is 11 tiles, not 13, and the winning shape is 12 tiles: four sets of three. Each set is a three-letter English word, drawn from 650 usable candidates, so there are no sequences or triplets. Riichi, tsumo, ron, dora, chi and pon work much as they do in mahjong, and declaring riichi supplies the one yaku a win requires.
The break from mahjong comes after the win. The winner's hand and discards leave the table and return to the wall, and that player draws 4, 4, then 3 tiles over the next rounds, while the other three players' hands carry over. The yaku are all original, built from English words and the alphabet. Grammar establishment is 3 han, or 4 han under some conditions.
Written with AI by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.
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