(三麻) is mahjong for three players. , fu, and the yaku list work the way they do at four players. The set loses 28 tiles, is gone, and a tsumo collects from two players instead of three. Tenhou and Mahjong Soul both run ranked three-player games. On each, North turns into a you set aside, and the two agree on most of the rest. , the return score, and the are where they split.
| Rule | Tenhou ranked | Mahjong Soul ranked |
|---|---|---|
| Tiles | 108, no 2m to 8m | 108, no 2m to 8m |
| Calls | and , no chii | Pon and kan, no chii |
| North | Set aside as a dora | Set aside as a dora |
| Red fives | 2 on red-five tables: 5p and 5s | 2 |
| Tsumo | Two payers (tsumo loss) | Two payers (tsumo loss) |
| Honba on a | +200 | +300 |
| Honba on a tsumo | +100 from each payer | +100 from each payer |
| Start and return | 35,000 and 40,000 | 35,000 and 35,000 |
| Uma | +20, 0, −20 | +15, 0, −15 |
What is sanma in mahjong?
Three players sit East, South, and West. Nobody sits North. A round has three hands, one per dealer, so a hanchan is six hands before any repeats.
Everything you know from four-player riichi still holds: one yaku to win, the same han for each yaku, the same fu count, and the same limits from up. Three rules change the game. The tile set shrinks, chii disappears, and a tsumo has one payer fewer. On Tenhou and Mahjong Soul, North becomes a bonus tile as well. Honba and the starting score move too.
No chii means every call is a pon or a kan. A sequence has to come from your own draws, or from the ron tile that finishes it.
108 tiles: no 2m to 8m
Sanma takes the 2 through 8 of characters (man) out of the set. That's seven kinds, four copies each, 28 tiles. 136 becomes 108.
- The man suit is down to
and 
, four of each. Neither can be part of a sequence, so a man tile only fits a pair, a triplet, a kan, or . - and keep all 36 tiles each. The 28 honors stay.
- The dora wraps inside the man suit. A indicator makes the dora, and a indicator makes the dora. The dora guide covers indicators, ura dora, and .
North as a bonus tile (nukidora)
On Tenhou and Mahjong Soul, North () is a nukidora (抜きドラ): a dora you pull out of your hand. Draw a North, declare it, and set it aside. Then draw a from the . Each North you set aside adds 1 han, like a dora. Like a dora, it isn't a yaku.
You don't have to pull it. Kept in your hand on either platform, North is a wind that gives no yaku (オタ風), so hold it only when it's your pair, your wait, or part of thirteen orphans.
- Pulling a North counts as a call. It cancels , and in the first go-around it ends the chance of double riichi and the nine-terminals draw.
- Someone waiting on North can ron the one you pull. Tenhou allows it for any hand, not only thirteen orphans. On Mahjong Soul that win doesn't add (robbing a kan) as a yaku.
- On Tenhou you can't pull a North straight after a pon.
- On Mahjong Soul, winning on the replacement tile counts as . A North you pull isn't a discard there, so it can't make you furiten.
SEGA's MJ arcade rules keep North in your hand as a value tile for every player, with nothing to pull.
Tsumo loss: why a tsumo pays less
A ron pays what it pays at four players. The discarder covers the whole hand. The tsumo is where sanma changes. At four players a tsumo collects a share from each of the other three, and the dealer pays double when a wins. At three players the North seat is empty, and its share has to go somewhere.
- Tsumo loss (ツモ損): nobody pays it. You collect two shares and lose the third. Tenhou's and Mahjong Soul's ranked tables both play this.
- North split (北家折半): the two payers split the North share, each payment rounded up to the next 100. SEGA's MJ arcade rules play it this way.
| Mangan | Non-dealer wins | Dealer wins |
|---|---|---|
| Ron | 8,000 | 12,000 |
| Tsumo loss | 2,000 + 4,000 | 4,000 all |
| North split | 3,000 + 5,000 | 6,000 all |
Under tsumo loss, a non-dealer mangan tsumo collects 6,000 against 8,000 by ron, a quarter less. A dealer's collects 8,000 against 12,000, a third less. Under the north split, a mangan tsumo pays the same as the ron.
Here's a sanma hand. You called pon on white dragons and set one North aside.
Plus the pon: . Set aside: 
It waits on , 
, or 
. The pon is 1 han. Pinzu plus honors is an open , 2 han. The red and the North add 1 each. With no other dora, that's 5 han, a mangan, whichever tile you win on.
- Ron, non-dealer: 8,000 from the player who dealt in.
- Tsumo on Tenhou's or Mahjong Soul's ranked tables, non-dealer: 2,000 + 4,000 = 6,000.
Same hand, same han, 2,000 less. Open the tsumo in the score calculator to see who pays what, or switch it to the north split.
Honba at three players
Honba (本場) are the repeat counters. At four players each one adds 300 to a ron, or 100 from each of the three payers on a tsumo. At three players, Tenhou and Mahjong Soul price a ron differently.
| Honba | Tenhou ranked | Mahjong Soul ranked |
|---|---|---|
| Each honba, ron | +200 | +300 |
| Each honba, tsumo | +100 from each payer | +100 from each payer |
| Non-dealer mangan ron, 1 honba | 8,200 | 8,300 |
| Non-dealer mangan tsumo, 1 honba | 2,100 + 4,100 | 2,100 + 4,100 |
A drawn hand moves less, too. On Tenhou's ranked tables, the payment is 2,000 in all, not 3,000. One player collects 1,000 from each of the other two. Two tenpai players collect 1,000 each from the third.
Arcades and parlors set their own numbers. SEGA's MJ arcade rules charge 1,000 a honba. In a parlor, read the rule card before your first hand.
Red fives and bonus tiles
Tenhou's red-five tables play one red five in each suit. Sanma has no 5m, so a three-player table plays 2: the red and the red 
. Mahjong Soul's ranked three-player games play 2 as well.
Count the Norths and a Tenhou or Mahjong Soul set with red fives has six bonus tiles before the indicator turns over: four Norths to pull and two red fives. A four-player set with red fives has three. Each red five you hold and each North you pull is 1 han, and none of them is a yaku.
Start points, uma, and Tenhou ranks
Tenhou's ranked tables start everyone on 35,000, return at 40,000, and pay uma of +20, 0, and −20.
Mahjong Soul's ranked games also start on 35,000 but return at 35,000, with uma of +15, 0, and −15. Its 40,000 is the score 1st needs to end the game. If nobody has it when the last round ends, the game goes on into the next wind.
Tenhou keeps a separate three-player rank. The rungs are the four-player ones: the same dan, the same starting points, the same points to promote. What changes is who gets paid.
- 1st: +30, +50, +70, or +90 in an East game, by room (Ippan, Joukyuu, Tokujou, Houou). A hanchan pays 1.5 times that, so +45 to +135.
- 2nd: 0, in every room.
- 3rd: the loss a 4th costs at four players for your dan. At 7 dan that's −90 in an East game and −135 in a hanchan.
At 7 dan in Houou, a hanchan 1st is +135 and a 3rd is −135. Finish 1st as often as 3rd and you stand still. At four players a Houou 2nd is +45 in a hanchan. In sanma it's worth nothing. For your R, the placement result is +30, 0, and −30 for 1st to 3rd.
The Tenhou rank calculator has a three-player mode. Enter your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rates and it gives your expected points, your break-even 3rd rate, and your stable dan.
How sanma changes your strategy
- Hands get big. On Tenhou and Mahjong Soul, six bonus tiles plus the dora sit in a 108-tile set. Count your Norths and red fives before you write a hand off as cheap.
- Half flush is close. The man suit is eight tiles that never make a sequence. Pinzu plus honors is 64 of the 108 tiles. At four players, one suit plus honors is 64 of 136. A half flush is 2 han open and 3 closed.
- Pon is your only call. Nobody can call a sequence, so a hand built on sequences stays closed. A pair of dragons, or of your seat or , is the quick way to open a hand: the pon is a yakuhai yaku on its own.
- A tsumo pays less on Tenhou and Mahjong Soul. Tsumo loss takes 2,000 off a non-dealer mangan tsumo and 4,000 off a dealer's.
- On Tenhou, play for 1st. 2nd pays nothing, and 3rd costs the full last-place loss.
Where to play sanma online
- Tenhou: ranked three-player tables in all four rooms, Ippan through Houou.
- Mahjong Soul: three-player games in its ranked mode, on the rules above.
The where to play guide compares the two clients.
Score sanma hands in the calculator
The score calculator has a three-player mode. Pick 3 (sanma) under Players, then tsumo loss or north split. Count each North you set aside as 1 han, the same as a dora.
Under Honba rules, pick what each honba adds to a ron: 300 on Mahjong Soul (the default) or 200 on Tenhou. A tsumo adds 100 from each payer under both. Open a mangan ron with 1 honba on Tenhou's rules.
The scoring guide counts han and fu step by step, with worked hands. The glossary has a short sanma card.
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