Mahjong and artificial intelligence

Mahjong is a relatively complex four-player game with multiple variants played all around the world.

Researchers noticed that the current AI models that existed purely to calculate the shanten of a hand did not account for the discarded tiles.

These researchers developed the Block Deficiency Model, an AI that would calculate the shanten of the hand taking Kabe, tiles that are all used or discarded, into account.

Researchers took note of the complexity involved in mahjong's scoring system and attempted to make an AI that could recognize the components of a winning hand and calculate the score with the goal of helping people restrained by their old age.

[7] Researchers developed Suphx with the intention to make an AI model that could play Japanese mahjong competitively .