Book Review
As part of my book haul this month, I picked up Kozue Miyauchi’s “Tile Efficiency Master.”
It’s a good book if you have some Japanese knowledge but don’t feel up to the task of reading pages and pages of solid text. It’s divided into staged short tests (ranked from 1st dan to 10th dan). Each dan is then divided into “Beginner” and “Advanced”. If you score enough points, you can move forward.
There are a total of 303 questions in the book so and each answer comes with a short strategy explanation so it does prove good value for money! It doesn’t provide perhaps an overall strategy overview, but I think it will build your confidence in quick decision-making at the table.
I’ve translated a few questions and answers here as examples.
Q1. 2nd Dan
Q2. 5th Dan
Q3. 10th Dan
A1. 1p All of the solitary tiles have been cut. You’re now left with 2 complete groups, 2 two-sided incomplete groups, 1 outside wait incomplete group and a pair. You’ll need to cut one of the three incomplete groups so you cut the one with the least advantageous wait. For efficiency, discard from the outside, so 1p.
A2. 9p The 9m may look like the one with least going on, but because you have 67p, you can already use the 8p. Cutting the 9p means the least reduction of tile types you can accept into the hand.
A3. 1p Cutting the 8p will give you a chance at tempai on 15 tiles (123479p). Cutting the 1p leaves you with 18 tiles that get you to tempai (2456789p).
Think those aren’t too bad? Awesome! But how about if you had to answer 18 of those questions in 8 minutes? Although this book may not give you the full strategy you need, it will help you speed up and also highlight shortcomings you have with your habits. Unlike many mahjong books, this one isn’t suitable for your commute. You should sit down with a timer and treat them like mini exams to really get the full impact of the book.
