All Simples

What is All Simples in Japanese Mahjong?

All Simples is a one-han yaku in Japanese Riichi Mahjong. This yaku focuses on excluding all terminal and honor tiles from your hand, making it a common and versatile strategy. All Simples is a one-han yaku that requires all tiles in your hand to be between 2 and 8. It is particularly popular due to its flexibility—it can be declared open or closed—and simplicity, making it a common tool for quick hands or to combine with dora for unexpected point boosts. Whether you opt for a fast open Tanyao or a more strategic closed approach for higher payouts, mastering this yaku is an essential skill in Riichi Mahjong.

How to Achieve All Simples？

Only Tiles 2–8: Every tile in your hand must be from 2 to 8 in any suit (pin, sou, or man). No 1s, 9s, or honor tiles (winds and dragons) are allowed.

Flexibility in Hand Structure: The hand can consist of any valid combination of sets (sequences, triplets, or quads) and a pair, as long as all tiles are within the 2–8 range.

Open or Closed: All Simples can be claimed with both open and closed hands, making it one of the few yaku that do not require a fully concealed hand. An open All Simples is still worth one han.

Scoring: All Simples always contributes one han by itself. However, if you keep your hand concealed, you can potentially combine it with other yaku—such as Riichi, Fully Concealed Hands, or Pinfu —for extra han.

What is the Strategy and Risk of All Simples?

Beginner-Friendly Yaku: All Simples is often seen as a “go-to” strategy for newer players because it’s relatively straightforward to execute and can be opened without losing the yaku. Being able to call tiles (chow/pung) expedites hand completion and makes All Simples a frequent scoring option.

Speed vs. Value: While All Simples alone may not yield a high-scoring hand (it only grants one han), it can be a fast way to go out, particularly if you open your hand. This can be advantageous for chasing small, quick wins or for pushing a round forward.

Combining with Dora: Even if All Simples doesn’t have high inherent value, it pairs well with dora (bonus tiles). Drawing or calling dora tiles that are within 2–8 can elevate the hand’s overall value significantly.

Keeping it Closed: Although All Simples can be opened, if you choose to maintain a concealed hand, you can layer additional yaku on top—like Riichi or Fully Concealed Hands—further boosting your hand’s total han. This approach, however, might slow down your completion.

Flexibility vs. Defense: All Simples is very flexible in tile usage—any 2–8 tile can potentially contribute. However, be cautious about revealing too many tiles if you open your hand early, as opponents might read your strategy and adjust their defense or aim to block you.

All-Simples Efficiency: All Simples often utilizes sequences (chows) of 2–3–4, 3–4–5, etc. Such runs are easy to complete from an efficiency standpoint, potentially giving you multiple two-sided waits.

Opponent Observation: When you see another player aggressively calling tiles between 2–8, they may be going for All Simples. Be mindful of discards that could help them complete simple sequences.