Riichi Nomi Club Free Mahjong Play & Must Haves @Anime NYC 2026
Back to: Anime NYC 2026 Main Page (Aug 2026)
With last year’s overwhelming success, the Riichi Nomi Mahjong club once again set up dozens of tables for attendees at Anime NYC to come and enjoy playing the game – for free!
Each table has spots for 4 players and everything needed to get started – tiles, tenbou sticks, a really nice junk mat, dealer marker and game reference sheets. This might sound overwhelming for first-time players, but tutorials are available with on-site instructors. Plus, you can play with your friends or come alone – they will set you up with other people to make it a fun experience.
If you like the game, you can join the Riichi Nomi club, a 501(c)(7) social non-profit. It’s based in NYC with both local play every Tuesday and Sunday, and online play every Monday and Wednesday. Membership fee includes entry to tournaments, access to cool merch, and in general, fun things involving Riichi mahjong.
These guys really love the game and put a lot of thought into their activities and even their merch. So we thought it’d be fun to highlight some of these, along with their recommended gear:
Riichi Nomi Desk Mat
This mat was initially designed for Riichi City (an online mahjong game) for in-game use. It was such a big hit (people liked the logo, the rat and the beautiful cityscape of New York) that it was produced for real in-person play as well. It’s big, red and can also be used as a big mouse pad.
Enamel Motel Keychain (blue and red)
There are two versions (red and blue) with the rat mascot on either a seven pin tile or an east wind tile, depending on color. “Riichi Nomi Mahjong Club” is printed on the gold back.
This is a single-sided upgrade of the original, using metal instead of plastic for higher durability. The original was double-sided (one side blue, the other red) and made of plastic, which was given out at the first ever in-person Riichi Nomi Open.
Fun fact, the rat is considered the (un)official mascot animal of the Riichi Nomi Club because rats are everywhere in New York. Plus, the seven pin is considered the lucky tile of the club.
Amos Begin Starter Set
It’s a solid starter set for people looking to play. It comes with the Red Fives, Tenbou (point sticks), dealer marker… everything else you need to set up and play a game of Riichi mahjong. (FYI: Riichi tiles are commonly much smaller than those used in Chinese mahjong.)
Amos is a quality brand that everyone recommends because they have really good longevity. The tiles are pretty good quality with a decent weight to them and they don’t scratch and scuff easily – they’ll basically last forever. Most of Claire’s sets (Riichi Nomi’s president) are Amos as well.
Junk mat
Junk mats are very important for playing Riichi mahjong with little trays for point sticks to keep track of your opponents points, as well as your own. It has a soft, smooth, green surface to shuffle the tiles on to prevent scratching or damaging your tiles or the table.
It’s similar material to a desk mat, but different; kind of like the fabric on top of rubber so it doesn’t move around when you’re shuffling and playing on it. It’s always recommended to use one in Riichi mahjong.
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More Info: https://www.riichi.nyc
Social Media:
Discord: https://discord.riichi.nyc
FB: facebook.com/RiichiNomiNYC
IG: instagram.com/nycriichinomi
X: x.com/nycriichinomi
YT: youtube.com/@RiichiNomi
Event: Anime NYC 2026 (Aug 2026)
