Jantama Mahjong: How Strong Is Jango Rank, and What's the Bust Rate? Comparing with Tenhou & My Journey to Jango

Preface

In November 2019, I achieved my goal of reaching 7th dan in the online mahjong game "Tenhou".
However, after playing a few games in the Phoenix League, I experienced its intensity and realized the difference in skill level.
I had worked hard to reach the 7th dan rank, so I was afraid of losing points and being demoted, which is why I hadn't played Tenhou for a while.

Around that time, I started playing "Jantama," another online mahjong game.
I was aware of the existence of Mahjong Soul, but from the overall atmosphere of the service, I thought it was a game similar to "MJ" or "Mahjong Fight Club."
However, after actually playing it, I realized that it's actually a more solid mahjong game than I initially thought, as it allows you to analyze the game records and the tiles in the wall, and even records your performance to some extent.
So, not exactly to take a break from Tenhou, but partly to test my own mahjong skills, I played Mahjong Soul for a while.
I've now reached the "Mahjong Master" rank, which marks a significant milestone, so I'd like to share my thoughts and feelings about it in this article.

Analysis of my own performance

First, I'd like to compare my performance on Tenhou with my performance on Mahjong Soul.
Since the data was not compiled under the same conditions, there are several points to keep in mind when making comparisons.

First of all, at a glance, Mahjong Soul seems to have generally better results.
There are, of course, several reasons for this.
My Tenhou results are limited to the Special Table, while my Mahjong Soul results are mainly from the Bronze to Gold ranks.
Therefore, it can be said that the skill level of the players you play with at Tenhou is more consistent.
Therefore, it's only natural that Tenhou would have a lower score.

Below, we will compare other items as well.

Number of winning rounds

In terms of the number of turns to win, Tenhou shows faster and better results.
I had thought that Tenhou prioritizes speed and that players are calling tiles earlier... but it seems that's not quite the case.
The rate of calling tiles in Mahjong Soul is 33.391 TP3T, while in Tenhou it is 31.561 TP3T.
Even though I'm calling more tiles in Mahjong Soul, my winning turns are slower.

There are several possible explanations.
Tenhou has been compiling data over a long period, and my playing style has changed considerably during that time.
Therefore, looking at Tenhou's recent results, I get the feeling that the rate of calling tiles is about the same...

Another possibility is that in Mahjong Soul, players tend to prioritize reaching and scoring points.
雀魂では、対戦相手の放銃率は、天鳳に比べてかなり高めです。
In other words, there are many opponents who won't back down.
Therefore, I too have started to prioritize making high-scoring, handcrafted items based on that premise.
For these reasons, the average winning score may be slightly higher, even at the expense of the number of turns to complete a hand.
I'm not entirely sure about this point, so I'd like to consider it carefully.

Winning rate and self-draw rate

The winning rate is higher in Mahjong Soul, while the self-draw rate is higher in Tenhou.
This suggests that players on Mahjong Soul have a weak sense of defensiveness, while players on Tenhou have a strong sense of defensiveness.
If other players fold when you have a ready hand, you will naturally have fewer opportunities to win by discarding a tile (ron), and consequently, the proportion of times you win by drawing a tile (tsumo) will increase.
I think the differences in those areas are reflected in this item.

recovery rate

The difference in the rate of declaring Riichi may be largely due to one's own mindset.
One of the major advantages of declaring "Riichi" is that it forces your opponent to fold.
Mahjong Soul players tend to fold less often compared to Tenhou players, so I focused on playing with an emphasis on riichi, which tends to result in higher scores.

Also, even if you hint at being in a ready hand by calling tiles, opponents don't pay much attention, so a clear declaration of ready hand (reach) is more likely to attract attention.
However, there are quite a few players who will continue to push forward without regard for your hand's value even after you've declared riichi, so if you don't have a good hand or a high-scoring hand, you'll often find yourself in a tough battle.

Dealing into a winning hand

放銃率に関しては、雀魂の方が良くなりました。
I had the impression that Mahjong Soul was more aggressive, so this was a bit of a surprise.

In Mahjong Soul, I get the impression that there are few players who take the score situation into consideration when making offensive moves.
Therefore, I strongly believed that if I landed properly, I would have a lot of lateral movement and be able to avoid coming in last place.
副露率は雀魂の方が高いのに、それでも放銃率を下げられているのは、個人的には嬉しいところです。

Matches in ranked games (half-game matches)

Now, I'd like to share my impressions of playing ranked matches in Mahjong Soul.
From my experience, the range from the Bronze Room to the Gold Room feels roughly equivalent to the standard to advanced tables in Tenhou (an online mahjong platform).
I've only just started playing in the Tama Room, but it felt about the same level as, or even lower than, the top-tier tables.

Basically, I get the impression that there are quite a lot of people who are pushing forward.
And it seems like there are a lot of extreme types of birds; some birds bark a lot, while others don't bark at all.
Many opponents use hitting techniques that don't match the theories and instincts that are ingrained in my body, so I feel it's not good to let myself get thrown off balance by that.

In particular, in Mahjong Soul, you can view your opponent's record during a match.
I also used to look at my opponent's record and use it as a reference for my matches at first, but I eventually stopped doing that.
One of the main reasons is that it's bad for your mental health.

Even if you feel that someone's performance is worse than yours, you can't predict the outcome based on just one match.
Whether your opponent has a 25% winning rate or a 20% winning rate, the difference isn't very clear in a single game.
放銃率が18％くらいの相手でも、しっかりベタオリしてくるときもあるので、相手の成績を見すぎると、数字に振り回されてしまいます。
Therefore, I realized once again that it's important to play the move you think is best, regardless of your opponent's record.

It's like a "shift" in baseball defense.
Even if the opposing team employs an extreme defensive shift like the "Ohtani Shift," the most important thing for Ohtani as a batter is to maintain his own swing.
For example, in Major League Baseball, the "Ohtani Shift," which involved not placing any fielders towards third base and ensuring that any bunt hit in that direction would always result in a hit, was a hot topic for a while.
However, from the opponent's perspective, if a batter who is capable of hitting home runs and other extra-base hits voluntarily limits themselves to singles by opting for bunt singles and refrains from their usual batting style, that alone seems to be considered a success.
I've strayed a bit from the topic, but no matter how extreme your opponent's mahjong style may be, playing your own style of mahjong is important in the long run.

There were many players with extreme playing styles, so I got the impression that there weren't many close matches.
Even if the leader has a sufficient score, they might still attack aggressively, which can result in a one-sided game.
Many players attack aggressively and make mistakes even with low scores, which can ruin our chances of making a comeback.
While there is stress from things not going according to plan, I feel that if you think of it like Tenhou (an online mahjong game), where "anything other than 4th place is a win," it's relatively easy to get promoted.

As of October 2020, I am stuck at two stars in the Mahjong Master rank.
今までのように勝てず、和了率や放銃率なども悪化してきました。
I think this is simply because the skill level of the other players has increased.
According to rumors, the highest-level tables, the "Throne Room," are not filling up due to a lack of players, so players are flocking to the "Jade Room."
Therefore, the "Jade Room" is effectively the top table, and it is said to be crowded with a wide range of players, including some very strong ones.

About the emotional expression icons during matches

In Mahjong Soul, some players display face icons that represent their emotions during a match.
It can be at various times, such as the greeting at the start, the joy when you win, or the sadness when you lose.

Tenhou doesn't have such a system, so I don't feel anything about it.
However, in Mahjong Soul, it is sometimes possible to do things that will antagonize your opponent.
While few people likely use it with malicious intent, it might irritate some.
However, using icons in opening greetings or in self-deprecating ways can certainly be heartwarming and give a sense of humanity.
Unlike Tenhou, which has many hardcore players, these features in Mahjong Soul likely contribute to attracting casual and enjoyment-oriented players.
This can be turned off in the settings, so if it bothers you, you can turn it off.

If more people are drawn to the cute characters and other features of Mahjong Soul and start playing, it will simply lead to an increase in the number of people playing mahjong.
Mahjong Soul allows you to learn the complex rules of mahjong through its tutorial.
With the rise of the M.League and other leagues, as a mahjong fan myself, I hope that beginners and casual players will be able to enjoy the game more easily.

In conclusion

雀魂は、牌山の生成について、天鳳と同じように、MD5によるハッシュ検証システムを実装しています。
In that sense, unlike the MJ series or Mahjong Fight Club, I feel that this is a mahjong game governed by fair probability.

I played until I reached the rank of Mahjong Master, and while my performance improved compared to Tenhou, I felt that the average skill level of the players wasn't very high.
However, I feel that Mahjong Soul is geared towards beginners and casual players, so I want to improve my skills without getting my hopes up too quickly.

I think that if more detailed results become available in the future, and the clunky game record playback mode is improved, even serious players will be completely satisfied.
However, since Mahjong Soul is aimed at casual players and Tenhou is aimed at serious players, there is currently a clear distinction between the two, so I don't think everything needs to conform to Tenhou's standards.