Guide for Yakuza Kiwami - Minigames (2024)

Minigames

Welcome to the longest part of this walkthrough, the minigames. They are guaranteed to waste 100% of your time (unless you enjoy losing streaks) and are miserable and infuriating. Kiwami contains the following minigames:

• Batting
• Bowling
• Casino: Baccarat
• Casino: Blackjack
• Casino: Poker
• Casino: Roulette
• Club Asia
• Darts
• Gambling: Cee-lo
• Gambling: Cho-han
• Gambling: Koi-koi
• Gambling: Oicho-kabu
• Karaoke
• Mahjong
• MesuKing
• Photo Booth
• Pocket Circuit
• Pool
• Shogi
• UFO Catcher
• Club Asia (for the achievement)

Playing all of them nets you:

• What a Player

  Played all minigames.

  

  1 guide

The minigames in Yakuza are daunting to most and can often completely prevent people from completing their list after getting really, really close. Fortunately, after having wrestled with the AI, I figured that the chances of winning are actually pretty high if you even have a slight idea of how to play. The game will throw you "lucky hands" every now and then, and if you can recognize them, you don't have to be a pro. You just know how to take advantage of what you get!

MesuKing

MesuKing is fairly straightfoward and mostly luck-based. The best way to win is to use strong insect cards with high power (technique doesn't really matter as much) and abilities that match your insect card. Circle or double circle is best.

You can technically use one build for every fight in the game; just pick out with 180/200 power and you should be good to go for all the substories and the whole minigame. The best way to win is to use strong insect cards with high power (technique doesn't really matter as much) and abilities that match your insect card. Circle or double circle is best.

Beating all the MesuKing opponents grants you the following achievement:

• Throne of the MesuKing!

  Won against all rivals in MesuKing.

  

  1 guide

The completion list also includes a challenge of finding 45 MesuKing cards collectables. You will need a total of 50 to complete all the substories though.

Insect Cards

Skill Cards

Pocket Circuit

Yes, Pocket Circuit returns from Y0. And it works basically the same way. The completion list contains the following challenges:

Compete in races 10 times.

Collect 20 different tires:

1. Slick Tires - Default
2. Slick Tires Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
3. Extra Slick Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
4. Super Slick Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
5. Ultra Slick Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
6. Soft Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
7. Soft Tires Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
8. Extra Soft Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
9. Super Soft Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
10. Ultra Soft Tires - Mach Bowl: Split Game Reward (7)
11. Spiked Tires - Don Quijote
12. Spiked Tires Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
13. Extra Spiked Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
14. Super Spiked Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
15. Ultra Spiked Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
16. Low Profile Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
17. Low Profile Tires Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
18. Extra Low Profile Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
19. Super Low Profile Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
20. Ultra Low Profile Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
21. Slim Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
22. Slim Tires Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
23. Extra Slim Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
24. Super Slim Tires - Pocket Circuit shop
25. Ultra Slim Tires - Pocket Circuit shop

Collect 15 different motors:

1. Power Motor - Default
2. Power Motor Plus - Purgatory Weapons Shop
3. Extra Power Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
4. Super Power Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
5. Ultra Power Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
6. Speed Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
7. Speed Motor Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
8. Extra Speed Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
9. Super Speed Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
10. Ultra Speed Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
11. Balanced Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
12. Balanced Motor Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
13. Extra Balanced Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
14. Super Balanced Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
15. Ultra Balanced Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
16. High Torque Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
17. High Torque Motor 2.0 - Beam
18. Godspeed Motor - Pocket Circuit shop
19. Godspeed Motor Mark II - Complete Substory #56
20. Ultra Godspeed Motor - Pocket Circuit shop

Collect 20 different gears:

1. Power Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
2. Power Gears Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
3. Extra Power Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
4. Super Power Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
5. Ultra Power Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
6. Balanced Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
7. Balanced Gears Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
8. Extra Balanced Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
9. Super Balanced Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
10. Ultra Balanced Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
11. Regular Gears - Default
12. Regular Gears Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
13. Extra Regular Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
14. Super Regular Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
15. Ultra Regular Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
16. Boost Gears - Beam
17. Boost Gears Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
18. Extra Boost Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
19. Super Boost Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
20. Ultra Boost Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
21. Godspeed Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
22. Godspeed Gears Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
23. Extra Godspeed Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
24. Super Godspeed Gears - Pocket Circuit shop
25. Ultra Godspeed Gears - Pocket Circuit shop

Collect 20 different frames:

1. Balanced Frame - Default
2. Balanced Frame Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
3. Extra Balanced Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
4. Super Balanced Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
5. Ultra Balanced Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
6. Metal Frame - Locker J2
7. Metal Frame Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
8. Extra Metal Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
9. Super Metal Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
10. Ultra Metal Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
11. Rocket Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
12. Rocket Frame Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
13. Extra Rocket Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
14. Super Rocket Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
15. Ultra Rocket Frame - Ebisu Pawn
16. Rubber Frame - Don Quijote
17. Rubber Frame Plus - Ebisu Pawn
18. Extra Rubber Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
19. Super Rubber Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
20. Ultra Rubber Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
21. Speed Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
22. Speed Frame Plus - Pocket Circuit shop
23. Extra Speed Frame - Mach Bowl: Split Game Reward (5)
24. Super Speed Frame - Pocket Circuit shop
25. Ultra Speed Frame - Pocket Circuit shop

Builds:

Introductory Race:

• Tires – Slim
• Frame – Speed
• Motor – Speed
• Gears – Balanced
• Battery – High Speed

Little Racer Cup:

• Tires – Slim Plus
• Frame – Speed Plus
• Motor – Speed Plus
• Gears – Balanced Plus
• Battery – Regular

Rookie Race:

• Tires – Slim Plus
• Frame – Speed Plus
• Motor – Speed Plus
• Gears – Balanced Plus
• Battery – Regular

Beginner Cup:

• Tires – Spiked Plus
• Frame – Speed Plus
• Motor – Speed Plus
• Gears – Balanced Plus
• Battery – High Capacity

Amateur Cup:

• Tires – Extra Slick
• Frame – Extra Balanced
• Motor – Extra Speed
• Gears – Extra Balanced
• Battery – Regular

Standard Cup:

• Tires – Extra Slick
• Frame – Extra Metal
• Motor – Extra Speed
• Gears – Extra Blanced
• Battery – High Capacity
• Stabilizer – Side Stabilizer

Intermediate Cup:

• Tires – Extra Slick
• Frame – Super Speed
• Motor – Super Speed
• Gears – Boost Plus
• Battery – High Capacity
• Suspension – Medium
• Note: You will look like you’re losing at first but you will get 1st near the end of the race.

Advanced Cup:

• Tires – Extra Slick
• Frame – Super Speed
• Motor – Super Speed
• Gears – Boost Plus
• Battery – High Capacity
• Suspension – Medium

Pro-Am Race:

• Tires – Ultra Slick
• Frame – Ultra Speed
• Motor – Godspeed
• Gears – Extra Boost
• Battery – High Capacity
• Suspension – Medium

Elite Cup:

• Tires – Ultra Slick
• Frame – Ultra Speed
• Motor – Godspeed
• Gears – Ultra Balanced
• Battery – Regular
• Suspension – Heavy

Expert Race:

• Tires – Ultra Slick
• Frame – Ultra Speed
• Motor – Godspeed
• Gears – Ultra Balanced
• Battery – High Capacity
• Suspension – Heavy

Master Cup:

• Tires – Ultra Spiked
• Frame – Ultra Speed
• Motor – Godspeed
• Gears – Ultra Boost
• Battery – High Capacity
• Suspension – Heavy

Champion Cup:

Note: Need to use boost at exactly 36.500 seconds on the clock to win

• Tires – Ultra Spiked
• Frame – Ultra Metal
• Motor – Godspeed
• Gears – Ultra Balanced
• Battery – Regular
• Suspension – Heavy
• Bumper Plate

2005 King of Speed Cup:

• Tires – Ultra Slim
• Frame – Ultra Metal
• Motor – Ultra Godspeed
• Gears – Ultra Boost
• Battery – High Capacity
• Suspension – Heavy
• Bumper Plate

(Sub. 56) Beat Hideki:

• Tires – Slim
• Frame – Speed
• Motor – Speed
• Gears – Balanced
• Battery – High Speed

(Sub. 56) Beat Fighter:

• Tires – Ultra Slick
• Frame – Ultra Metal
• Motor – Ultra Godspeed
• Gears – Ultra Boost
• Battery – High Capacity
• Suspension – Heavy
• Bumper Plate

(Sub. 56) Beat Takuma:

• Tires – Ultra Spiked
• Frame – Ultra Metal
• Motor – Ultra Godspeed
• Gears – Ultra Boost
• Battery – High Capacity
• Suspension – Heavy
• Bumper Plate
• Side Stabilizer

(Sub. 50):

• Tires – Ultra Spiked
• Frame – Ultra Metal
• Motor – Ultra High Torque
• Gears – Ultra Boost
• Battery – High Capacity
• Suspension – Light
• Side Stabilizer

Majima – Guard Dog of the Circuit:

• Tires – Slim Plus
• Frame – Speed Plus
• Motor – Speed Plus
• Gears – Balanced Plus
• Battery – Regular

Majima – Vicious Dog of the Circuit:

• Tires – Ultra Spiked
• Frame – Ultra Metal
• Motor – Ultra Godspeed
• Gears – Ultra Boost
• Battery – High Capacity
• Suspension – Heavy

Majima – Mad Dog of the Circuit:

• Tires – Ultra Spiked
• Frame – Ultra Metal
• Motor – Ultra Godspeed
• Gears – Ultra Boost
• Battery – Regular
• Suspension – Heavy
• Bumper Plate

Winning al Pocket Circuit races nets you:

• The Dragon of Pocket Circuit Reborn!

  Won all Pocket Circuit races.

  

  1 guide

UFO Catcher

Acquire 15 different prizes: I honestly feel like this UFO Catcher is easier than Y0. There are two methods you can use: either pick up the toy with the claw normally, OR, knock the toy into the dispenser with the claw. If attempting to grab it normally, pay attention to the shape of the toy. It's easier to grab areas that are small (ie. a foot), the top of the toy around its head/hat, or around the side of its body. These are the toys you can grab from the minigame:

1. Bunchan the Java Sparrow (White)
2. Bunchan the Java Sparrow (Pink)
3. Jumbo Bunchan
4. Chestnut the Squirrel (Blue)
5. Chestnut the Squirrel (Red)
6. Jumbo Chestnut
7. AiAi
8. GonGon
9. MeeMee
10. Baby
11. Woo Papa
12. Woo Mama
13. Woo-kun
14. Kyon-bo
15. Kyon-chan
16. Kara Kappa

Photo Booth

Get 10 best shots in the Photo Booth: This is a simple, easy QTE minigame. There are four prompts that appear at the bottom of the photo, each one corresponding to a different pose. Hitting it on time gives you the "perfect pose" needed to get a best shot!

Hostess Clubs

• Equip a "Shirt" type item (no bandages for you, Kiryu!)
• Always order a drink! You don't have to get the super expensive champagnes, but don't be cheap and get the free drink.
• Order food if your meter seems too low. It won't be necessary using this guide, but if you make a mistake or forgot to wear your Sunday best, you can use this to make up for it.
• Don't bother with gifts.

Complete Yui's substory:

Rank Topics:

Secondary Topics:

After getting her to max rank and completing her Substory, you will receive:

• Yui the Hostess

  Spent a steamy moment with Yui.

  

  1 guide

Complete Rina's substory:

Rank Topics:

Secondary Topics:

After getting her to max rank and completing her Substory, you will receive:

• Rina the Hostess

  Spent a steamy moment with Rina.

  

  1 guide

Once you reach Rank D, if you have a successful session with your hostess of choice, you can ask her out on a date! This doesn't increase her rank by very much so you only have to do it once. I recommend choosing Mahjong for the next achievement, or karaoke to see their unique songs.

• Can I Call You?

  Successfully asked a hostess out on a date.

  

  1 guide

• Sexy Ron

  Enjoyed mahjong with a hostess.

  

  1 guide

Stacks with the previous achievement. You can ask out either Rina or Yui on a date to play Mahjong with you! If you're unfamiliar with Mahjong, you will find a tutorial in this same page, use CTRL+F and search for Mahjong.

Casino and Gambling

Remember, the most important part of the following gambling minigames are the cheat items. At some points during your hand, or before it, or even right at the start of the game, you will be able to press , and if you have it in your inventory, use a cheat item. Some of them are found in the coin lockers, for example. Make sure you stack them because you HAVE to use them to make your life easier, or it will take you an eternity to beat the gambling minigames.

Poker: Earn a total of 20,000 in poker: Play Texas Hold'em if you're familiar with it, this is going to require some time because the bets aren't that high (it honestly suck that you can't go all in lmao that's so f*cking stupid) and the cheat item only grants you one hand victory, so use it on a hand with lots of bets to get a poker.

Blackjack: Earn a total of 50,000 in blackjack: This one can be done quickly, with the two cheat items. The more you win, the higher you will be allowed to bet too.

Baccarat: Earn a total of 20,000 in baccarat: This requires luck and patience, I usually bet on the banker because it has a high chance of winning. What you could also doo is bet on a tie and reload the save every 2-3 hands in order not to loose to much and still have a good win and technically to complete it faster as well. Remember that if you go in on a really long losing streak just restart the game to reset the RNG.

Roulette: Earn a total of 50,000 in roulette: I kept betting on one single number and since the payout is so high I think you only have to win 3 times to complete this. Save before you start (in case you don't win like 10 times in a row so you can just reload) and after each win.

Cho-han: Earn a total of 10,000 in cho-han: This is another dice gambling game, played with only two dice and a considerable amount of theatrics. It's really pretty simple: the dice thrower throws their dice, covers the dice with a cup, and asks people to bid whether the dice total is odd or even. Everyone in the room also puts down their bets. If you guess correctly, you win back your bet and a portion of everyone's bet who bet the opposite way. If you guess incorrectly, you lose your bet. It's a quick game. At some point you will be able to bet 1v1 against the house, it's suggested if you want to win a lot but you need to be really lucky here.

Cee-lo: Earn a total of 10,000 in cee-lo: This is a dice gambling game played with three dice and four players. The objective is to have a better roll than the banker, or the other players if you are the banker. The banker rotates throughout the game. If a player wins, they get their bet in winnings. If the banker wins, they get the bet of whoever lost.

To begin play, the banker rolls to establish what's to beat, and then each of the players rolls to try to beat the banker. Each player gets three attempts to make a viable set, but once a set is made, they can no longer roll. Typical play is looking for a pair in two of your three dice. When you get a pair, the third die is your "points", so if you roll a 2, 2, and 3, your points are 3. Getting a 1 is an automatic loss, and a 6 is an automatic win. If the banker ever gets an automatic win or loss, the round ends there and play moves to the next banker.

There are also some special rolls:

• Triple: Automatic win of three times your bet.
• 1-1-1: Automatic win of five times your bet.
• 4-5-6: Automatic win of two times your bet.
• 1-2-3: Automatic loss of two times your bet.
• 6-3-4: Known as "Musashi", has a value of 6 and doubles the amount won or lost.
• 1-3-5: All-Odds. Your total is 3, unless you are the second or third roller, in which case, your roll is the same amount of the one before you.
• 2-4-6: All-Evens. Your total is 4, unless you are the first or second roller, in which case, your roll is the same amount of the one after you.
• Missing the Pot: This happens by very low chance. This results in an automatic loss.

Lastly, there's one special move to play. Before your first roll as a non-banker, press the One-Roll Triple and you get one roll, but you will stake three times your bet.

Once you make a complete run around the bowl with everyone taking a turn as a banker, you'll get the option of leaving. If you're ahead or behind, step away to tally up. If you're more or less even, play some more.

Koi-koi: Earn a total of 10,000 in koi-koi: This is a game played with hanafuda cards. Hanafuda is a deck of cards that are very different from the standard western playing cards, and quite frankly, it just takes playing with them to get used to using them.

There are 48 cards in a standard hanafuda deck, and they're separated by "months", four to each month, and each month is marked by a type of plant or vegetation. Nearly half of the cards are considered "normal" (or junk), a bunch have ribbons, some have animals, and others are high value with special things on them.

To begin, select the highest difficulty so you can get the highest payout.

The objective of Koi-Koi is to collect special combinations of cards during play to earn points. Play starts with eight cards being dealt to each player and eight cards placed face up in play, with the remainder in the deck. The first player to play picks a card from his hand and pairs it up with any card in play by matching the month (or plant on it). Don't worry if you don't understand it. The game will tell you what you can pair up with as you highlight each card. If you make a pair, you'll take it for your discard pile. After which, you'll draw a new card from the deck to put in play, unless that card pairs up with another in play, in which case you can automatically take that pair. If you can't pair up one of your cards, you must place one of the cards in your hand into the play area. Your opponent will then take his turn.

As soon as you make a hand (the types of which I listed below), you'll either declare "koi-koi" or not. Declaring koi-koi means that play will continue. You'll be able to try to get more points in more hands, but if your opponent makes a hand in that time, he'll get points and you'll get nothing. If you don't declare "koi-koi", then the round ends and you'll score from the hands you made, and the next round will begin. If neither players make hands after exhuasting their hand of cards, or if koi-koi is declared but the declarer makes no more hands, then neither player scores and the round ends.

Just as a note, it's tough to remember which cards are which points. They get stacked in four piles in the lower-right corner of the screen as you collect them. The one-point "junk" cards are the first pile from the left, then the five-point "ribbon" cards, then the ten-point "variety" cards, then the twenty-point cards. Note that these "points" aren't what's counted at the end of the round, only those based on what kind of hand you make.

Here are the possible hands you can make:

You may be awarded multiple sets of points if you gain multiple hands over the course of a round. Also, there are two instances that you can get six points and end the round immediately: if you're dealt four-of-a-kind in your hand, or if your hand consists of four pairs. Those are pretty rare, though.

So, strategy. Always go for the Full Moon, Curtain, and Sake Cup. Two-card hands for a quick five points is nothing to sneeze at. After that, collect 20-point cards and the boar, deer, and butterfly cards to see if you can snag any of those hands. Beyond that, watch what your opponent collects and try to deny him cards if possible. If you find neither of you are getting good hands, go for junk for a quick point. Lastly, if your opponent takes an early lead, don't sweat just pressing the Touch Pad and quitting to get everything reset so you can try again.

At the conclusion of the set number of rounds, you'll compare points. The winner gets points in the amount equal to the bet times the amount of points they won by.

Oicho-kabu: Earn a total of 10,000 in oicho-kabu: This is another game played with hanafuda cards, but unlike Koi-Koi, the individual cards don't really matter: just their number value. Heck, you could play this game with a standard Western deck if you wanted to. Just gotta remove the face cards.

The goal of this game, much like baccarat, is to get as close to nine as possible with the ones digit of the total of your cards. So, if your cards total 13, your score is 3. Play is a little different depending on whether you're the player or the banker. At the beginning, the dealer deals four cards face up and one to themselves. If you're a player, you (and the other players) take turns picking one of the cards as yours. Afterwards, all the players are dealt a second card face down, and a second face up card is dealt to the empty hand. Each player now has to decide whether they'll go with the cards they have, or try for a third and see if they can improve their hand. Once all the players have decided, the dealer will then get a second card. If you're the dealer, you'll then have to decide if you want to face the players with your two cards, or go for a third and challenge them. You may challenge whichever of the players you like with two cards and then take a third afterward for the remainder, but once you take your third card, you're locked in for the hand.

When you showdown, the dealer will always win on ties. If you have a better hand, you'll win your bet. There are also special hands. If you're a player and were dealt a four and a one, you'll get double your stake. If you're the dealer and you were dealt a nine and a one, you'll get double your stake (this also beats four-ones). If you get three cards as anyone and get three-of-a-kind, you'll get triple your stake. If you get ten, ten, and one, you'll win twenty times your stake. Also, if you have the rule active, if you're a player and get dealt a four and a six, you can choose to surrender your hand and get your bet back.

Also, before you play, you can choose to not use the 10-10-1 rule or the 4-6 surrender rule. Also, you can choose which deck you want to use: kabufuda or hanafuda. They're both a little tough to understand if you're not familiar, but there's a number right next to the card anyway, so use whichever you think looks cooler.

Darts

Perform 10 hat tricks: A hat trick is when you land 3 bulls-eyes in a row. This should be done on Count-Up. Darts can be a little tricky and I feel like sometimes the throws land randomly, but I was able to get more consistent bulls-eye shots by doing the following:

• Hold down the throw button and wait for his hand to hold completely still
• Move the tip of the dart in the position somewhat below the center (sometimes it needs to be slightly to the left as well).
• Release. May take a couple games for the stars to align.

Pool

Perform 3 combination shots: Let's say you just started a new game, so your target ball is 1. To get a combination shot, you'd have to get the cue ball to hit the 1 ball, so that the 1 ball hits another ball into the hole. In this example, it's the 3 ball that gets pushed in. +1 Combination shot! This is an easy shot to do if your two balls are nearby a corner, in a straight line so that one can be pushed directly into the other.

Batting

Get 10 Two Panel Knock-outs: This is relatively easy to get and should be done on the Hard course. Put the cursor on the corner or edge of the score blocks and hit the ball! You can also get way more points scoring this way as well, highly recommend doing it this way.

Bowling

Bowl 10 strikes: While it is possible to bowl strikes just by rolling the ball right down the center, there is also an alternative way by "curving" the ball that will help you get strikes far more consistently. You can see this alternative way above. This set-up requires you to move to one side a bit, aim towards the opposite side of bowling lane, then spin the ball so that the ball will curve back towards the center. Here is a tutorial on how to do it:

Earn a total of 5 in split games: The split games are the same ones from Y0. For split games, this method is pretty much necessary to get 5+ frames. The easiest frames to do are for the completion point are: Baby Split, In the Dark, Poison Ivy, Bucket and Picket Fence. The video on the right showcases how to use it in order to win all 10 frames. Here it shows you how to clear all of them:

Mahjong

Mahjong tends to be the most daunting minigame in Yakuza for a multitude of reasons:
1) the game assumes you already know how to play mahjong
2) you don't so you look at the help menu. the game does not explain anything.
3) it's difficult to find information even online on mahjong that actually makes any sense, and plus this isn't typical Chinese mahjong, it's the Japanese version
4) the AI is wild even if you try beginner mode games.

Here is a video tutorial that might be helpful too:

Mahjong may seem like a difficult game, and like any game it can be incredibly complex at a professional level, but you don't have to be a neurosurgeon to play Mahjong acceptably well in Yakuza.

The Basics of Mahjong

First off, think of the Mahjong tiles like a deck of cards. A regular Western deck has suits like Hearts and Spades, in addition to wild cards like the Jokers and Aces.

Mahjong is the exactly same and it has THREE SUITS:

Aside from that, there two types of special wild cards, like the Joker, called "Honor tiles."
The first are called "Winds" and the second "Dragons"

WINDS:

These each have a direction like "East" but you don't need to actually learn their specific names, just how to tell them apart from the Japanese number tiles and Dragon tiles since they look a little similar.

DRAGONS:

The dragons may look similar to winds, but the winds will always be black and the Dragons come in three colors: "Red" "Green" and "White" AKA the blank tile.

So, what patterns should you be looking for?
The game's tutorial shows you lots of fancy hands to confuse you, kind of like how in Poker there are ridiculously lucky hands like a Royal Flush that you will never ever actually experience unless you're a fictional character or a god.

In fact, there are only 3 simple patterns you need to know to win consistently. Here are the patterns you will ACTUALLY use and should actively look for while playing:

1. PAIR

Match two of the exact same tile. This can be any tile in the game. There are 4 sets of every suit, including Honor Tiles, so you can make a pair with all mahjong tiles except winds.

To get a winning hand you need: 4 sequences or triplets + 1 pair.

This is an example of a winning hand. You can win with this hand, because you have:

• A sequence of bamboos with the numbers 1-2-3
• A triplet of dot with the number 1
• A pair of Japanese 6's
• A 3 dragon triplet
• A sequence of dots with the numbers 7-8-9

That's 4 groups of three and 1 pair!
That's all you need to win the game.

Remember when I said that there's 4 sets of each suit in the game? Take all those tiles, mix them all up, and split them into 4 different decks for each player.

As you go around the table, each player gets their turn to automatically draw a tile from their own deck. So, if the rng gods bless you with the tiles you need from your own deck, you can win just like that!

However, you can only keep exactly 14 tiles in your hand at all times, so after gaining a new tile, you have to pick one to discard. Once it's been discarded, you can't ever get it back.

For example, let's say you have these tiles in your hand:

On your next turn, your deck gives you this:

That completes the Japanese Number 1-2-3 sequence. Now you have a decision to make. You have to let go of a tile so that the new one can replace it (can also be the new tile you picked up, but obviously we want to keep that one). But if you mistakenly throw away a tile that could have won you the game later, that'd suck! There are multiple options, such as:

• Discard the lone Wind tile, since even if you got another Wind tile, it wouldn't do much for you and you've already got a couple pairs and potential triplets.
• Discard the Japanese number 9. Even though we have other Japanese numbers, they're not even close to that 9 to make any kind of pattern, so unless you happen to get another 9 or 8 in there, it may be useless. In Mahjong, 1s and 9s are more difficult to match because they are what's called the "terminal numbers" - they can only be matched with one set of numbers in a sequence. 1 can only make a 1-2-3, and likewise 9 can only make 7-8-9. Compare this to a 5: you can make 3-4-5, 4-5-6, or even 5-6-7.
• Discard the Japanese number 1. This is the one that I would choose, but it might not seem obvious as to why. Now that you've picked up a 2 and completed a 1-2-3 combo, that other 1 is now just extra space! It may be possible to get another 1-2-3 sequence in the same suit, but since you already made one, the chance of it happening again is much lower. The only other possible combination would be a 1-1-1 triplet. You'd be betting on the chance that you will get ALL the Japanese Number 1 tiles in the game (there can be only 4 in total during the game). It could happend but you'd have to bet that you're the only one that has at least 3 of the 4.

Then, it's everyone else's turn. This add and discard process repeats until either someone wins or everyone's deck runs out.

As other players discard tiles of their own and lay them out on the table, you have a chance to steal that piece as they discard them ONLY IF it makes one of those special 3-tile (or 4-tile) combinations in your current hand! Likewise, other players can steal from your discarded tiles as well.

So, if you've stumbled through this minigame, you'll sometimes come upon the option to press X to declare "Pon", "Chi", or "Kan". A good general rule if this is offered is "don't", but let me explain that in more depth.

This is the concept of stealing tiles from your opponents' discards. When your opponent discards, if the tile he throws out can complete a meld in your hand, you have the option of taking that tile to complete the meld:

• "Pon" is taking the third tile of a triplet.
• "Chi" is taking the third tile in a run.
• "Kan" is taking the fourth tile in a quad and also has some extra things that happen. More on that in a second.

Pon and Kan can be done on any opponents' discard. Chi can only be done on the player to your left, given how often it could come up.

Once you steal, those tiles are flipped over, put aside, and cannot be changed for the rest of the hand. It's still a legitimate meld, but your hand is no longer "fully concealed" and is declared "open". Being fully concealed allows you to go out even if you don't have any special qualities to your hand, but stealing a tile means your options for going out are now more limited. It's the risk you take for grabbing something you've already seen.

Now, should you never steal? There's a long and interesting answer to that, but it basically boils down to "what are you trying to make"? If you have a particular hand in mind, especially a high-scoring hand, maybe you should steal to finish it, even if it means fewer points. If you're kinda just going with whatever, then maybe you should hold off even if the opportunity has presented itself. If someone has declared Riichi, meaning they're one tile away from going out, maybe steal a little bit more to see if you can beat them to it. Just take care when doing so.

Okay, "Kan". When you declare a quad as Kan, you end up doing two things. First, you'll take an extra tile, because you're now down one tile having used it to make a fourth, but you still need to make four melds. Second, a new dora indicator tile will be flipped on the dead wall. Good news is that you can now make dora with two possible tiles. Bad news is that so can any of your opponents. Declaring kan is a risky move that you may want to reserve only if you're getting close to the end and want to see if you can tack a few more points on.

You actually do not have to steal to declare Kan. There's the concept of a "closed kan", which you can do if you actually get dealt the four tiles instead of stealing the last one. If you can make a closed kan, then your hand is still declared "concealed", but you still get the benefits of declaring a kan, including the extra dora indicator and a spare tile. Furthermore, you can also declare a "late Kan" if you previous declared a Pon and the fourth tile of that Pon appears.

So, as I said in the beginning, I highly recommend that you stick with drawing from your own pile for the most part if you're a player just starting out for the first time. Do NOT attempt to steal other pieces until you're actually comfortable with the game, because it'll just be tons of suffering. Not only will you lose out on most points/winning hands, but you will also miss most opportunities for the completion points. If you steal, the game gets somewhat more advanced because you have to figure out what kind of hand will win the game for you (the 3 triplet/sequence - 1 pair sometimes won't work here).

Dora

Dora is a small factor but worth noting. See that one face-up tile on the dead wall? That's the dora indicator tile. If you have the next tile in the sequence in your hand when you go out, it's "dora" and worth extra, and if you have multiples of that same tile, it's worth even more. Now, "next tile in the sequence" is different depending on what the indicator is. For the most part, it's one number up if you have a suited tile, and if the indicator is a nine, the dora is a one of that same suit. In the case of winds, the dora is the next wind in a clockwise direction, so if the indicator is West then the dora is North. In the case of dragons, the sequence is "green-red-white"; which is alphabetical order if you need that mnemonic.

Red Dora is an option you can turn on before the game starts. With this on, two of each of the number five tiles (six in total) will be colored red. If you get them and can work them into a meld, they'll be worth extra.

Riichi

So let's say now that you're playing mahjong and you've only drawn from your own deck. This is what you have:

You're ONE TILE away from winning! You only need either a Japanese Number 5 or 8 tile to complete your hand and win! If you've been drawing ONLY from yourself (so no stealing), you can activate a winning state called "Riichi." The game won't activate for you automatically, so once you see you've gotten close to a winning hand, you actually have to press Right Click to see the "Riichi" option appear. This is how Riichi works:

If you're in a situation where you need one more tile to win and you're still concealed, press Square and you can declare riichi. You will then (in a flashy cutscene), lay down a 1000-point stick, basically betting 1000 points that you can complete your hand. My advice is to tap Square every so often as you get late in your hand to see if you can declare, just in case you missed it yourself. Once you actually declare, the music will kick into high gear you will not be able to change your hand any more, and are just waiting on draws for the tile (or tiles) you need to come in. If you go out on that hand, then you'll get extra for having declared riichi. Also, if you go out having declared riichi, "ura dora" comes into play, meaning that the tiles beneath any dora indicators are also dora indicators, doubling your chances at dora. These tiles are mysteries until the actual going out.

One thing to note is that the game gives you a helpful guide on what you'll need to go out if you declare in the upper right corner. You'll see valid tiles and the number of which are still unknown as to whether they're in play or not. For instance, seeing a five of bamboo with a "3" next to it means that you'll need a five of bamboo to win, and three of them are still unaccounted for by you. They could be in the draw wall. They could be in someone else's hand. They could be in the dead wall for all you know. All you know is that they aren't in your hand or discarded. This may go without saying, but always go for the highest possible amount of tiles that could work for you, because in some cases you'll have options on which tile to discard to declare riichi.

When you're about to complete your hand, the first question to ask yourself is: will this be a valid hand to go out on? The game provides a LONG list of valid hands that you can go out with, but I'll try to simplify it as much as possible here with some questions for your hand:

• Have you declared "pon", "chi", or "kan"? If so, your options become more limited for what you can use.
• Do you have dora or any red dora applied?
• What is the prevailing wind (starts at East) and your current seat wind (in front of you)? If you have trips of those, that's points.
• Dragons are worth points entirely on their own.

Lastly, do you qualify for any of the more complicated hands that don't require melds? There are two important ones: Seven Pairs and Thirteen Orphans. Seven Pairs is not all that difficult to make. It's literally what it says: you have six pairs and a loner in your hand and the extra tile you draw makes the seventh pair. Thirteen Orphans is a hand that has one of each honor tile, and the one and the nine of each of the three suits. Pretty tough to make.

In all likelihood, you'll probably have a hand with some runs, some trips, and a pair, or at least close to that, and if you haven't declared pon, chi, or kan, then you can go out simply on that once you complete all the melds.

In the end, there are two ways to go out: "ron" and "tsumo".

"Ron" is stealing someone else's discarded tile to complete your hand. In the case of ron, you can steal from anyone, even if that steal was used to complete a run. You'll use their tile to complete your hand and all the points you win will be taken directly from them.

"Tsumo" is getting a winning tile by drawing it. You'll complete your hand and the points you win will be taken equally from your opponents.

If you play for a bit, you may notice that the AI is totally screwy. Sometimes, all 3 opponents will call Riichi within the first 3 turns. Sometimes, you just happen to get a perfect winning hand from the start. It's all rigged. You just have to be patient and wait for the right moments, or just reload repeatedly till the game decides it's your turn to win.

Gameplay Hints

And here I've made a quick list to go through while you play of hints to keep in mind:

Early Game:

• Look for pairs and two-tile runs in your dealt hand. Set up the melds early and often.
• Note the Dora, your wind, and the prevailing wind. They'll be worth points if you focus on them.
• If your hand seems garbage, go for something funky, like Seven Pairs or Thirteen Orphans.

Mid Game:

• Watch the discards. If you have two of something in your hand and a third has been discarded, you have that much less chance of getting the fourth.
• Pon, Chi, or Kan only if necessary to make a high scoring hand or block someone winning.
• Don't be afraid to change your strategy. If you see a lot of discards of a particular type, abandon going in that direction and try to get different melds. You might be surprised.

Late Game:

• Riichi if you can. Maybe tap Square every so often to see if you can declare it.
• Watch what hasn't been discarded. Someone's probably waiting for one of your tiles to go out. It's a high level way to play, but as hands become more obvious to you, it'll be in your interest to watch.
• If there are about twenty tiles left to draw and your luck's not looking good, try to at least get "one away" from winning (or "tenpai"), even if means you'll have to steal to get it. If a draw occurs, anyone in tenpai will get a split of 3000 points as consolation, taken from those who were not in tenpai.
• Sometimes you just lose and there's very little you can do about it. That's life and luck. Shake it off and move on to the next hand.

These are the challenges on the Completion List:

• Quarter Match
• Kuitan: ON
• Two-Han Minimum: OFF
• Red Dora: ON

Go out with Riichi Ippatsu: This is a situation that occurs when you declare riichi, and then get the tile you need within the next go-round, either going ron off the next turn of the other three players, or tsumo on your next draw. It's entirely luck whether you get it, so just keep trying.

Go out with Mangan 5 times: This is a bit more complicated. Earlier in this section, I've mentioned stuff being worth "extra" or "points". Really, scoring elements to your winning hand are applied as what's called "han", and how many han you have determines how many numerical points you get. Mangan is earned easily by having five han (or more in this case for completion), but can also be earned on four or three han if you have certain types of melds. To reduce complication, I'll simply say that you have to have good hands to get Mangan, so go for high scoring hands.

Go out with Haneman 1 time: Haneman is earned with having a hand with six han (or more for completion sake). You are guaranteed to get this when using a cheat item!

Go out with a Full Straight: This is a set where you have one through nine of any one suit, and then another meld and a pair. Seems really tough but there are ways to work towards it. For one, don't try for this unless you get at least five different numbers of one suit in your deal. Next, you are allowed to have an open hand, and the three parts of the full straight are techincally three separate runs, so you're allowed to "chi" to make the 123, the 456, or the 789. Don't chi for any other combinations though, as those won't make the full straight legitimate. After that, it's all the luck of the draw.

Karaoke

The best minigame. Use this to relax after playing Mahjong.

• Get 900+ in TONIGHT
• Get 900+ in Iji Sakura 2000
• Get 900+ in Bakamitai -Sorrow-
• Get 900+ in Otometal MY LIFE- Haruka
• Get 900+ in Moment de la Petite Sirene - Yui
• Get 900+ in EURO de x3 SHINE - Rina

In the last three songs, you must pick Lively Interjections in order to get a 900+ score.

Shogi

I'm sorry if you came all the way here expecting to find a well explained tutorial on how to play Shogi. Truth is, I don't know how to play it myself lol. But I beat the AI on the highest difficulty, with 0 knowledge about this asian chess rip-off.

Win 5 shogi games without a take back: First thing, remember to disable take back or just don't use it. Now, you're going to want to install a Shogi app on your phone. I personally installed "Shogi Entry" on iOS, but you should have more choice if you're on android. Select the highest difficulty, both on Yakuza and on the mobile phone app. Now let the opponent in Yakuza move first (or just flip the phone if you're going first) and copy each move from your phone app to the yakuza game and vice versa so you can have the AI on the phone beat the Yakuza AI. Repeat 5 times. That's it. Really, that's all there is to it.

And that's it for the minigames. Congratulations.

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