In case you're wondering what's happening at the moment, I'm currently awaiting confirmation of being able to use the building. I don't know when I'll get it. There is a backup plan even if we can't, though like I said before it shouldn't be needed.
I am often on IRC if that's any help? Although there would need to be a channel to talk in.
I am checking my comments on here frequently at the moment, though. If you want to say something that you don't want to be publicly viewable, send me a private message on here. If you can't do that, I can give you an email address.
I'll give you my phone number closer to the day as well, but that's only for last minute problems like if you miss the train. I'm not the sort of person who has their phone on them all the time anyway so if there's anything you want to say before you leave on the day, that's probably not the best way to get hold of me.
12:57 from Paddington/13:05 from Ealing Broadway gets into Twyford at 13:42. The train after that would be the 13:12 from Paddington, getting into Twyford at 14:03.
John Duckworth said he would be interested as well so hopefully we would be able to get 4 even if your other friend can't come, but please ask anyway.
The 4 main differences in the rules are:
- Tenhou allows open tanyao, whereas EMA doesn't
- Tenhou allows yakuman to stack and has various multiple yakuman, whereas with EMA the only way of getting more than a single yakuman is dai suu shii (big four winds) which is double.
- Tenhou you start at 25k points and if you drop below 0 you go bust. EMA you start on 0 points and there's no lower limit to your score.
- If the dealer wins in South 4 placing them in first, in Tenhou the game ends, in EMA it doesn't (though I've only had this happen once).
The typical time allowance for a hanchan is 90 minutes, with no new walls after 80 (except if someone chombos on the last hand). I have never played a hanchan that finished before that 80 minute time allocation (although I've had a few that finished in the last hand). On the other hand, I have known games to not even be in the South round yet if there are lots of dealer repeats.
Remember, we don't have automatic mahjong tables - we have to mix up the tiles and build the walls ourselves.
Getting one person should be easy - if that's all we need then it would probably be easier to decide on the details and then ask who can come.
Would you be okay with getting to Twyford? There are 4 trains per hour from London Paddington/Ealing Broadway and the journey takes about 50 minutes from the former. I could meet you from the station if you want, and the place I have in mind just a few minute's walk from there. I'd need permission from the committee that are in charge of it, but I honestly don't see them outright rejecting it if we do it on a Saturday when the building is almost never in use.
We'd probably want 2 games, which means about 3 hours. Would 2-5PM be appropriate on a Saturday? Remember that you'd have to get back afterwards too. I'd be able to do 3rd or 10th August, but not 17th or 24th.
Would your friend still be a complete beginner then? I'm fine with that, but some people may be less (or more) inclined to come if that's the case. Could I ask you to bring any paperwork that your friend might need to help him play? I can provide score sheets.
The only other thing to consider is what rule set to use (tenhou's rules? EMA rules? - those are probably the best two).
There's a noticeable lack of mahjong clubs in this country. There is one at Imperial which plays all types of mahjong, but I don't know how many people there play riichi or how often they meet (particularly during the summer).
I personally live near Reading, but go to the group in Guildford.
I don't see you being allowed to go to Guildford, but have put some details below anyway. Otherwise, skip to the "miscellany" section at the bottom. It may be worth your while.
If you want to play at Guildford:
We play alternate Monday evenings. The next one is tomorrow, but that would probably be too soon (although the player list hasn't come round yet at the time of typing). It takes place at Stoughton Social Club, which is about a 20-30 minute walk (or a short bus ride) from Guildford station, which has regular trains to and from London Waterloo (train ticket return Waterloo-Guildford is £7.65 for a child; elsewhere in London may be more or less than that). If you ask, you may be able to get a lift too and/or from the station.
The evening starts at 7:30 and we play 2 hanchan, ending at 10:30. You would likely not get home until after midnight (For that matter, I don't either). The cost of the evening is £1.
HOWEVER, you are still just 15 years old, and as far as I know, the club policy doesn't allow minors (most of the time we play for a small stake of 10p per '000 points, which means it is technically gambling). Personally, I'm fine playing no stakes, and there are plenty of others who would be too, but at the end of the day that's rather beside the point. I'm also not entirely sure of the rules of the social club where we play.
If you are interested, though, the best person to get in touch with would be Ian Fraser at ian@yakuman.plus.com. He could give more accurate and complete information than I can. I wouldn't get my hopes up, though - your chances of being allowed to come are slim to none.
Miscellany:
I'd be willing to take part in some games outside of any official groups, and do have my own tile set. I think I know of a place I could probably get access to where we could play, too. The biggest problem, though, would be getting four people together who can play and who can all attend at the same place at the same time. If you really want, though, I could try asking around tomorrow (or perhaps by email later) to see if anyone would at least be interested in principle. It would probably be a Saturday afternoon or similar, and probably during Guildford's off week - although I can't guarantee that it would be able to go ahead at all, even if there are people who are interested. Also, please make sure that you/your family or guardians would be fine with this, again at least in principle, before asking me to. It wouldn't be any quicker to get to than Guildford unless you live in Ealing or something, but it is a very easy journey (direct train from Paddington and <5min walk from the station), and wouldn't need the late finish or the gambling aspect. It's a cheaper journey too.
As I probably won't be able to go to Guildford much over the next few months, it would be great for me as well to have this opportunity.
I bet it is, next year we have to do some sort of interview, i really couldn't do it :|
Is it just Baltazar on it's own? i've added it c:
Nope not really, you?
yes sure, where are you abroad? c:
my favourite genre would be mystery/horror/supernatural or drama/romance c: i like all of them really though. c:
you?
All Comments (14) Comments
I am checking my comments on here frequently at the moment, though. If you want to say something that you don't want to be publicly viewable, send me a private message on here. If you can't do that, I can give you an email address.
I'll give you my phone number closer to the day as well, but that's only for last minute problems like if you miss the train. I'm not the sort of person who has their phone on them all the time anyway so if there's anything you want to say before you leave on the day, that's probably not the best way to get hold of me.
John Duckworth said he would be interested as well so hopefully we would be able to get 4 even if your other friend can't come, but please ask anyway.
- Tenhou allows open tanyao, whereas EMA doesn't
- Tenhou allows yakuman to stack and has various multiple yakuman, whereas with EMA the only way of getting more than a single yakuman is dai suu shii (big four winds) which is double.
- Tenhou you start at 25k points and if you drop below 0 you go bust. EMA you start on 0 points and there's no lower limit to your score.
- If the dealer wins in South 4 placing them in first, in Tenhou the game ends, in EMA it doesn't (though I've only had this happen once).
The typical time allowance for a hanchan is 90 minutes, with no new walls after 80 (except if someone chombos on the last hand). I have never played a hanchan that finished before that 80 minute time allocation (although I've had a few that finished in the last hand). On the other hand, I have known games to not even be in the South round yet if there are lots of dealer repeats.
Remember, we don't have automatic mahjong tables - we have to mix up the tiles and build the walls ourselves.
Would you be okay with getting to Twyford? There are 4 trains per hour from London Paddington/Ealing Broadway and the journey takes about 50 minutes from the former. I could meet you from the station if you want, and the place I have in mind just a few minute's walk from there. I'd need permission from the committee that are in charge of it, but I honestly don't see them outright rejecting it if we do it on a Saturday when the building is almost never in use.
We'd probably want 2 games, which means about 3 hours. Would 2-5PM be appropriate on a Saturday? Remember that you'd have to get back afterwards too. I'd be able to do 3rd or 10th August, but not 17th or 24th.
Would your friend still be a complete beginner then? I'm fine with that, but some people may be less (or more) inclined to come if that's the case. Could I ask you to bring any paperwork that your friend might need to help him play? I can provide score sheets.
The only other thing to consider is what rule set to use (tenhou's rules? EMA rules? - those are probably the best two).
Long post, but you may be interested nonetheless.
In general:
There's a noticeable lack of mahjong clubs in this country. There is one at Imperial which plays all types of mahjong, but I don't know how many people there play riichi or how often they meet (particularly during the summer).
I personally live near Reading, but go to the group in Guildford.
I don't see you being allowed to go to Guildford, but have put some details below anyway. Otherwise, skip to the "miscellany" section at the bottom. It may be worth your while.
If you want to play at Guildford:
We play alternate Monday evenings. The next one is tomorrow, but that would probably be too soon (although the player list hasn't come round yet at the time of typing). It takes place at Stoughton Social Club, which is about a 20-30 minute walk (or a short bus ride) from Guildford station, which has regular trains to and from London Waterloo (train ticket return Waterloo-Guildford is £7.65 for a child; elsewhere in London may be more or less than that). If you ask, you may be able to get a lift too and/or from the station.
The evening starts at 7:30 and we play 2 hanchan, ending at 10:30. You would likely not get home until after midnight (For that matter, I don't either). The cost of the evening is £1.
HOWEVER, you are still just 15 years old, and as far as I know, the club policy doesn't allow minors (most of the time we play for a small stake of 10p per '000 points, which means it is technically gambling). Personally, I'm fine playing no stakes, and there are plenty of others who would be too, but at the end of the day that's rather beside the point. I'm also not entirely sure of the rules of the social club where we play.
If you are interested, though, the best person to get in touch with would be Ian Fraser at ian@yakuman.plus.com. He could give more accurate and complete information than I can. I wouldn't get my hopes up, though - your chances of being allowed to come are slim to none.
Miscellany:
I'd be willing to take part in some games outside of any official groups, and do have my own tile set. I think I know of a place I could probably get access to where we could play, too. The biggest problem, though, would be getting four people together who can play and who can all attend at the same place at the same time. If you really want, though, I could try asking around tomorrow (or perhaps by email later) to see if anyone would at least be interested in principle. It would probably be a Saturday afternoon or similar, and probably during Guildford's off week - although I can't guarantee that it would be able to go ahead at all, even if there are people who are interested. Also, please make sure that you/your family or guardians would be fine with this, again at least in principle, before asking me to. It wouldn't be any quicker to get to than Guildford unless you live in Ealing or something, but it is a very easy journey (direct train from Paddington and <5min walk from the station), and wouldn't need the late finish or the gambling aspect. It's a cheaper journey too.
As I probably won't be able to go to Guildford much over the next few months, it would be great for me as well to have this opportunity.
.-. i added someone completely different haha, but i have you now o3o
Is it just Baltazar on it's own? i've added it c:
Nope not really, you?
ugh, i'm preparing for GCSE's for next year, and i really can't do my English .-.
nice :) sure you can haha c:
my favourite genre would be mystery/horror/supernatural or drama/romance c: i like all of them really though. c:
you?
you too ^^ how are you?