This 200-year-old game has already occupied me for multiple evenings, from its elaborate rules to its increasingly challenging opponents. What began as a small detour has quickly turned into a full-blown obsession, turning summer nights into meditative sessions trying to build the perfect, winning hand. These two aggressive measures are first come, first serve, though, so in-person matches include a lot of quick movements to grab the winning tile. Ignoring the various calls to continue the plot, I settled on my new goal: helping Kiryu climb to rank 1 in riichi mahjong. Riichi mahjong poses significantly more headaches than the Hong Kong variant.