When a game ends, nobody's result is their raw point total. Three adjustments turn the points into a score in thousands. The return sets the line everyone is measured against. The (オカ) is a bonus for . The (ウマ) moves points from the bottom two places to the top two. In the example below, first leads second by 11,200 points on the table and by 41.2 in the result.
| Ruleset | Points | Uma, first to fourth |
|---|---|---|
| Tenhou ranked | 25,000 start, 30,000 return, +20 oka | +20, +10, −10, −20 |
| M-League | 25,000 start, 30,000 return, +20 oka | +30, +10, −10, −30 |
| WRC, EMA | 30,000 start and return, no oka | +15, +5, −5, −15 |
| Mahjong Soul ranked, result screen | 25,000 start and return, no oka | +15, +5, −5, −15 |
The 30,000 return
On Tenhou and in the M-League, everyone starts with 25,000 points. The return (返し, kaeshi) is the score you need to break even. The Japanese standard is 30,000, called 三万点返し, sanmanten-gaeshi: a 30,000 return.
Finish on 30,000 and your result before placement is 0. 42,300 gives +12.3, and 18,900 gives −11.1. Results are written in thousands with one decimal.
The oka: the gap goes to first
Every player started 5,000 short of the return. Four players times 5,000 is 20,000 points that nobody can earn back on the table. That gap is the oka, and first place takes all of it: +20.
The oka only exists when the start and the return differ. WRC and EMA start on 30,000 and return 30,000, so they have none. Mahjong Soul's ranked result counts from 25,000, so it has none either.
The uma pays by placement
The uma pays by finishing position. Fourth and third pay. First and second collect. The common sizes have Japanese names.
- Gottoo (ゴットー): +10, +5, −5, −10.
- Wantsuu (ワンツー): +20, +10, −10, −20. Tenhou's ranked games use it.
- Wansurii (ワンスリー): +30, +10, −10, −30. The M-League uses it. Add the oka and first place gets +50, which is why the league publishes its placement points as +50, +10, −10, −30.
A final score, step by step
A game ends with these points. Four players who start on 25,000 end on 100,000 between them.
| Place | Points |
|---|---|
| 1st | 42,300 |
| 2nd | 31,100 |
| 3rd | 18,900 |
| 4th | 7,700 |
Under Tenhou's rules:
- Subtract the return. 42,300 − 30,000 = 12,300. The others come to 1,100, −11,100, and −22,300.
- Write it in thousands. +12.3, +1.1, −11.1, −22.3. These add up to −20: the missing oka.
- Add the uma. +20, +10, −10, −20 gives +32.3, +11.1, −21.1, −42.3.
- Give first the oka. +32.3 + 20 = +52.3.
| Place | Points | Tenhou | M-League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 42,300 | +52.3 | +62.3 |
| 2nd | 31,100 | +11.1 | +11.1 |
| 3rd | 18,900 | −21.1 | −21.1 |
| 4th | 7,700 | −42.3 | −52.3 |
Both columns add up to zero: the uma sums to zero, and the oka exactly fills the gap the return opened. Every correct result does, unless riichi sticks were left on the table under rules where nobody collects them, as in the WRC. If your four numbers don't cancel, recheck the subtraction first.
Second and third come out the same under both rules. The M-League's bigger uma only moves the two ends: first gains 10 and fourth loses 10.
Three-player games use other numbers.
What the uma does to the gaps between places
Look at first and second in the Tenhou column. On the table they were 11,200 points apart. In the result they're 41.2 apart. First collected 40 from the uma and the oka, 20 from each. Second collected 10. That's 30 added to the gap.
On Tenhou, the uma and the oka add 30 to the step from second to first, 20 from third to second, and 10 from fourth to third. Even the smallest step, 10, is 10,000 points: more than a . Fourth also costs rank points in Tenhou's ranked rooms. The course lesson on placement strategy shows how to play around these steps.
Ties, leftover sticks, and rounding
Ties. On Tenhou and Mahjong Soul, two players on the same points are ranked by seat: the one closer to the first dealer takes the higher place. The M-League, WRC, and EMA split the placement points between tied players instead: the uma, plus the oka in the M-League.
Leftover riichi sticks. If the last hand ends in a draw with riichi sticks on the table, first place takes them on Tenhou and Mahjong Soul, so the points still add to 100,000. EMA gives them to first too, split on a tie. Under the WRC rules they go to nobody.
Rounding. Some Japanese parlors round final points to the thousand before subtracting the return, often with 五捨六入, where 500 rounds down and 600 rounds up. Tenhou stopped rounding in 2022. Mahjong Soul and the M-League don't round.
Rank points are a separate number
Online, your rank moves on a different number. Tenhou and Mahjong Soul each run their own rank-point system on top of this result, with different amounts per room and per rank. The Tenhou rank calculator and the Mahjong Soul rank calculator do that math. For a game played at home or in a club, the score tracker applies any of the uma presets above.
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