Playing board games or tabletop games is one of my favorite hobbies. One of my all time favorite games is Mahjong. I play Hong Kong, Classic Chinese, and Japanese Riichi. I started playing Riichi in Summer 2007 which I quit months later. I'm happy I played again in Fall 2009 when a friend challenged me and another friend to learn the rules in one week. One of the reasons I enjoy playing board games is the social aspect. I play with people. I meet people. I make new friends.
Riichi is an example playing with people. Riichi is a social game. Riichi is also a game I learned life lessons. I know some of my life lessons for which Riichi reinforce them. Riichi taught me new life lessons. I share all life lessons below:
Off Days. Nobody lives a perfect life 24/7. There are days everything goes wrong. There are Riichi game players are in a streak placing third place out of fourth or last place being fourth place.
Welcome The Losing Streak. Moreover, everyone experience bad moments, bad timing, and bad luck. There are days bad choices are made. Nobody places first 100% of the time. Welcome the bad and the good. Continue on. Move forward. There's always the next game. There's always tomorrow.
Riichi players experience good games and bad games. There are bad luck starting hands and bad luck draws. Nobody is perfect. According to the experienced Riichi players, a 25% winning hand is considered professional. In other words, professional Riichi players lose 75% of hands played. Similarly, professional baseball players batting average .300 is considered an all-star. In other words, all-star baseball players hit into an out an average .700.
Go With The Flow. If the drawn tiles are in favor, make big hands. If the drawn tiles are not in favor, make small hands or play defensive keeping potential winning tiles. Remember stay calm. Welcome the good flow and the bad flow. Do the best with the tiles being drawn. Do the best with each day in life.
At Least Meet The Minimum. If nobody wins a hand, then players can earn the minimum 1,000 points with their hand one tile away from winning or needing one tile to win. Achieve the minimum when nothing is happening during a hand.
Never Stop Learning. Never stop training. Never stop improving. Never stop innovating. There's always something to new to learn. I still have more Riichi to learn. I consider myself at the line separating beginner and intermediate. I'm reading a book on Mahjong strategy which applies to other Mahjong versions. The never stop learning attitude applies to all skills and knowledge from professional, personal, and leisure.
Be Calm. Criticizing the tiles never changes the game. Be calm. Act calm. Losing temper means losing focus. Losing focus means making stupid mistakes. The Be Calm is rule number 3 in my daily life rules.
Slow Down. There is a common saying thinking before speaking. Think before discarding. Look at the discards. Make intelligent discards. Haste makes waste.
Be Consistent. Sports fan should know about consistency. We see players in sports play consistently. They follow their game plan. They play their strengths. There is no desperation even when a team is down in points. Playing in desperate mode rarely is rewarded. The Be Consistent mindset also applies to individual player sports such as tennis and golf.
Eye Contact. I'm working hard to improve a weakness. I must make eye contact with the other players even when they look at their tiles. Looking at my tiles and the discards 100% of the time is a bad habit. I must lower the percentage to 60%. I must make eye contact or look at their faces 40% of the time. I'm confident my concentration is unchanged looking at the players. The Eye Contact is rule number 5 in my daily life rules.
Risk-Reward Choice. There are situations I make a risk-reward choice. I have a good hand. I have a potential tile a player may call to complete their hand. Do I discard the potential tile while I have a good hand? Maybe. It depends on my good hand's potential winning score. Do I discard the potential tile while I have a bad hand? No. I discard a safer tile lowering the chance I pay the winner. We make risk-reward choices daily in life.
Concede Because The Game Is Out Of Reach. The most straightforward situation. It's the last round. First place is 60,000 points. Second place is 25,000 points. Third place and fourth place points are lower. The game is over. Play normal to officially finish. Play consistently. There's always another game. It's like a NFL football game. It's the fourth quarter with five minutes remaining. The winning team is ahead by three touchdowns. Play the game out in the five minute garbage time.
Of course, there's always a chance of a miracle like the NFL Hail Mary last play touchdown scores at the end of regulation.
Riichi Video Games No Replacement For The Realty. Many Riichi players play a video game version to practice their skills. Beginning Riichi players play a video game version to learn the rules. The bottom line is a video game version is a false indicator how skilled is a player playing with real people. Real people and computer programs are different thinking. Likewise for any video game or simulation learning anything new.
Luck. Luck is part of the game. Players experience unlucky draws. There are factors in Riichi beyond the player's control. Likewise in life.
Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com
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