Kemono Mahjong

Review by eFreeware

If you have ever gone looking for mahjong on a phone and come away with yet another tile-matching puzzle, Kemono Mahjong is the app that answers that frustration. It is a paid download from CyberDog Software that implements the real four-player game in the Japanese riichi style, and it has built a small, evidently happy audience: over 10,000 installs and a 4.8 average across 1,656 ratings.

The people most likely to want it are those who already know riichi and want a competent way to play on a phone, plus curious newcomers willing to learn a genuinely intricate game. What they get is a full four-player table, a mobile-first layout, tutorials and in-game help, and ten languages. It is not a casual matching game wearing a mahjong costume, and it does not pretend to be.

A full four-player table, not a matching puzzle

The developer is explicit that this is not a solitaire tile-matching game. What it implements is Japanese mahjong, described as a strategic variant of the classic Chinese four-player game, played under European Mahjong Association rules. That ruleset choice matters if you care about the details of riichi play, since EMA rules are a defined standard rather than a loose house interpretation.

A seat at the table means three opponents, and those opponents are computer-controlled unless you take the game online. So there are two ways to play: a match against the CPU, or a game with other people over the internet. Japanese Terms are now switched on by default for new installs, a small default that experienced players will notice immediately.

The app was first released in August 2017, and the most recent update arrived in July 2026 with bug fixes and that terms change. That is a long life for a niche paid game, and it suggests the developer keeps the thing running rather than abandoning it after launch.

How a hand unfolds on a phone screen

A game of riichi mahjong runs on drawing and discarding, building a hand toward a winning shape while watching what the other three seats are doing. The app frames that on a layout designed for mobile devices rather than a shrunken desktop table, and the tiles are drawn to be easy to read, with both traditional and simplified tile sets available if one style suits your eyes better.

That readability point is not cosmetic. Mahjong is a game of small distinctions, and a hand you cannot scan quickly is a hand you cannot play well. Having two tile sets to choose from gives you a way to settle on whichever is clearer for you.

Around the table itself, the developer has added a cast of characters and a soundtrack. Those are the elements that give the game some personality between hands, and they are the kind of thing that makes a session feel less like a spreadsheet and more like a table with people at it, even when the other three seats are CPU players.

Learning the game without a teacher

Riichi mahjong has a reputation for being hard to pick up, and the app addresses that directly with tutorials and in-game help. For a newcomer, that is the difference between a game you can start playing and a rules PDF you never finish. Being able to check something mid-hand without leaving the table is the practical version of that support.

The language list is unusually broad for a game in this niche: English, Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Polish, Thai, Chinese Simplified, Korean and Japanese. If you have been put off riichi because every decent explanation assumed you read Japanese, that spread is a real argument in the app's favor.

For someone who already plays, the tutorials are simply there if needed and easy to ignore. The more relevant feature is the rule set itself, since playing under EMA rules means the hands and calls work the way a club player expects rather than according to a simplified variant invented for the app.

What a paid mahjong game costs you

Kemono Mahjong costs $3.99 up front. There are no ads, which the developer states outright, and that is worth something in a game where a hand can take a while and an interruption is more than an annoyance. The app also offers in-app purchases.

The app is rated Everyone and sits in the Card category. The price is the main thing to weigh: this is a paid download. Whether that is reasonable depends on how much you value a rules-accurate riichi game with no advertising in it.

The audience numbers are modest but the reception is strong, which is typical of a well-made game aimed at a specific interest rather than a broad one. A 4.8 average from 1,656 ratings is the kind of figure that comes from players who knew what they were buying.

A settled choice for riichi players

My recommendation is straightforward. If you play riichi mahjong, or have wanted to learn it properly, Kemono Mahjong is built for exactly that and does not dilute the game to widen its appeal. Four players, EMA rules, CPU and online opponents, tutorials, readable tiles and ten languages is a complete package for $3.99 with no ads.

If what you enjoy is the tile-matching solitaire that shares the mahjong name, this is a different game entirely and the developer says so plainly. That is not a flaw, it is a description of what you are buying.

The in-app purchases are the one thing I would keep in mind before paying. Everything else here points to a game that knows its audience and has served it for years.

What's new

* Japanese Terms are now enabled by default for new installs * Bug tweaks/fixes.