Mahjong Meta is a Web3 Japanese (Riichi) Mahjong game that was officially launched on 7 August 2023. As a blockchain game on the Ethereum network, there are unique features in Mahjong Meta that makes it stand out from all other exisiting Riichi Mahjong games - 1) the Web3 elements with NFTs and tokens and 2) a novel game mode involving auto Mahjong battle using creatures called Tama which is helpful for players new to Mahjong to familise themselves with the rules of Mahjong.
Here I will go through the various features and Mahjong Meta, including the NFT and tokens, and share my thoughts on the game. If you would want to give this game a go, please consider using my referal link - https://game.mjmeta.io/?time=1692703002593&InviteShareUrl=ztTp-r5bqpZnGtUcayAFwA
Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is financial advice. Do your own research before making any financial decisions. I currently hold NFTs and tokens of Mahjong Meta (as you will need those to access certain features in the game).
Game Play
Ranked mode
At the base level, Mahjong Meta is similar to other Riichi Mahjong games like Mahjong Soul, Tenhou, and Riichi City where there is a ranked mode that you can climb up the ladder. For those more serious players out there, you may be interested to see the points for ranking up in the official blog post
The unique part about Mahjong Meta is that you can queue into Ranked mode with or without stakes. With stakes on, you will pay an entry fee (100 MJU = 10 USD for East Round for Beginner and Novice - more for higher ranked players). You will receive certain amount of MJU tokens after each game with stake on, and of course the amount of token received depends on the results of the game. In general, at Beginner level, you are expected to win or lose a few USD every game.
I personally think that playing with stakes on makes the game a bit more exciting and I tend to play more seriously compared to other Riichi Mahjong games even though the stake is not very high at the Beginners level. This is certainly the additonal element about web3 games that would appeal to certain types of players. While it may not be for everyone, I can see that Mahjong Meta will attract a certain crowd who enjoys the element of the game with stakes on.
If you just have to have a chill game and not care about stakes, you can choose to turn off stakes before you queue, though my experience is that most players would like to play with stake on, so it would be difficult to find players with stakes off at the time of writing.
By coming first or second in a match, you will have a chance to obtain Gachaballs which you may obtain items that can be sold in the marketplace for MJU. Gachaballs can even be obtained with stakes off (though the chance is a lot lower), meaning it is possible to completely free-to-play-and-earn.
At the time of writing, you can also earn some MJM tokens through gameplay, which is the governance token that is yet to be released. This is to reward players who join the game early to help with the early growth of the game. Jump in if you want to earn some MJM tokens before it is released! Check out the official blog post for more information.
Tama Master
Tama Master is an interesting combination of mahjong and auto battler genres, where you use your Tama, a NFT creature that you can purchase in the in-game marketplace, to battle other players. It is an auto-battler, meaning your Tama will automatically play the games of mahjong against other player's Tama. You can equip your Tama with Skill cards which has specific rules that your Tama will follow, e.g. there is a skill card which says "Discard terminals first". Skill cards are also NFTs that you can buy and sell on the marketplace.
Same as the Ranked mode, Tama Master can be played with or without stakes, and also have a chance to obtain Gachaballs. You can choose to just let your Tama play in the background or you can choose to watch your Tama play. If you choose to watch, you can change your Skill cards on to go depending on the situation in the game.
I personally quite like the Tama system which combines the NFT technology with game feature pretty well. Your Tama is like your digital Mahjong pet that you can level up to equip more powerful Skill cards, send them to battle other Tama, and there is also a breeding system! I have not explored the breeding feature yet and it is yet to be seen whether breeding of Tama will get out of control like some other NFT games out there.
Cosmetics and Mahjong House
There are many cosmetic items you can buy from the marketplace or obtain from Gachaball or as gifts if you hold certain NFTs. You can buy or rent a Mahjong House (which gives you some discounts on Tama battling), decorate your House with Furniture, and of course Fahsion items to make your character looks nicer. These items are all NFTs meaning you can trade with other players on the marketplace. Flipping items on the marketplace can be a way to earn some tokens if you are good at it.
Economy
Tokens and NFTs
There are two main tokens in Mahjong Meta - MJU and MJM. You can read more about it in the official whitepaper. In brief, MJU is a stable token where 1 MJU=0.1 USDT/USDC. It is the utility token that is used for activities in game, e.g. entry fee, buying NFTs etc.
MJM is the governance token which can be earned from various ways, mainly from playing the game and through an Active Point Rewards System. It is said that MJM will be used for leveling and breeding NFTs, but I have yet to check that part out.
As for NFTs, I mentioned about the in-games items including Tama, Skill cards, Mahjong House, Furniture, Fashion items etc. Besides those in-game NFTs, there are also 2 sets of collectable NFT items called 0xMahjong and 0xTama, which are available from . At the time of writing, the floor prices of 0xMahjong and 0xTama are 0.43 ETH and 0.0408 ETH respectively. There are a total of 1500 0xMahjong and 6000 0xTama minted. The holders of these NFTs gain certain in-game rewards such as Fashion items etc.
Free-to-Play-to-Earn
Part of the gaming experience for some web3 gamers is the potential to earn. In Mahjong Meta, it is possible to start playing completely free without any tokens and NFTs. You can keep playing without stakes and hope to earn gatchaballs (currently 3% drop rate at Beginners level if you come first in the match or 1.5% if second). You can then open up the gatchaball and sell the NFT for tokens. It is a tough grind as the probability of drops is very low without stakes but it is possible if you just want to play the game for free and not caring much about the earnings. Once you earn enough tokens to enter staked matches, you can then earn gatchaball with 20% drop rate if you come first in the match (or 13% if you come second).
For players who play staked games, assuming you win and lose roughly equal amount, your overall token should remain largely the same while every time you come first and second, you have a chance to get gatchaballs which will give you NFTs that can be sold for token. By playing (and trading MJU and staking MJM), you also earn Active Points which will reward you with some tokens every week.
The Mahjong Meta team is giving out MJM and MJU every week to reward players who are active in the game through the Active Point System. The main MJU sink is the fee (6% at the base level) for all transactions including entry fees and trading on the marketplace with 30% of the fees going back to the reward system.
As a seasoned web3 gamer and Mahjong enthusiast, I personally think that the Mahjong Meta project is doing a great job in integrating NFTs into the game to enhance the gaming experience. While the game is not as polished compared to other existing Riichi Mahjong games, I would choose to play Mahjong Meta because of the play-to-earn aspect. The project has just launched for around 2 weeks in the time of writing, so it is difficult to say much about the sustainability of the tokenomics and game economy at this point. From a gamer perspective, Mahjong Meta adds web3 elements to a traditional game of Riichi Mahjong which will attract certain types of players who like play-to-earn and leveling and breeding NFTs (for Tama) . It has to be said that the web3 elements are not for everyone, and I can see that many Riichi Mahjong player will be put off by the friction in getting into web3 with setting up and linking wallets etc. Having said that, if Mahjong Meta turns out to be a successful project and managing to attract the attentions of many Riichi Mahjong players, I can see Mahjong Meta as a way to onboard many Mahjong players onto web3, which would be great for the whole web3 gaming ecosystem.
If you do decide to give Mahjong Meta a go, please consider using my referal link - https://game.mjmeta.io/?time=1692703002593&InviteShareUrl=ztTp-r5bqpZnGtUcayAFwA. Thank you so much for your support!
Good luck; Have fun! Hope you get a lot of Ron and Tsumo!
