Aotenjo has officially launched! A huge thank you to all our fellow mahjong enthusiasts for your continued support and interest!
To celebrate the launch, we're offering a 12% discount, bringing the price down to $8.71 USD. This launch discount will last for 14 days until February 2nd (the fifth day of Lunar New Year)—don’t miss out!

This release is in Early Access. As we previously mentioned, our goal for the EA version was to establish a solid core gameplay and framework, offering a substantial, replayable experience.
Depth and variety are the heart of any deckbuilding roguelike. Instead of developing in isolation, we believe in actively engaging with the community—it aligns with our team’s "surfing the wave" philosophy. We’d love to hear your feedback and hope this launch version meets expectations, giving you an exciting way to enjoy the Lunar New Year holidays!

Our team started out as a group of passionate mahjong players, captivated by the endless combinations and beauty of mahjong hands—something unmatched by other card games. Our goal was to create a game that’s not just for mahjong veterans but also accessible to newcomers, helping more players discover and fall in love with mahjong.
Since our announcement, we've been pleasantly surprised by the enthusiastic response from players in Japan, Korea, and Western regions. We're thrilled to be sharing the fun of this traditional Chinese game with players worldwide!

If you're new to the game, we recommend checking out our past Developer Logs. These cover gameplay mechanics, current content available in the EA version, and our roadmap for future updates:
Dev Blog 1
Dev Blog 2
Dev Blog 3
Dev Blog 4
Dev Blog 5

During the launch period, our team will maintain a high update frequency, ensuring a smooth player experience by quickly iterating on the current version before moving on to our next content update.
Need Help? Join Our Official Community!
If you encounter any issues while playing, don’t hesitate to join our Official Discord[discord.gg] and share your feedback.

[Event Time]
Jan 20 - Jan 26, 8 PM PST

[Event Overview]
A deep Mahjong deck-building competition that challenges both your strategy and... a bit of luck!
As Aotenjo enters Steam Early Access, we are calling all players to join in a week-long global showdown. Not only are there daily raffle prizes, but also grand ranking rewards!

[How to Enter]
1. Game Mode:
Play Aotenjo. You must select the "Blue Mahjong" mode and the "Ascension Goose”. Please note: Other modes will not be counted for scores.

2. Submit High Score Screenshot:
Players need to take a screenshot displaying their high score, with the "seed" visible as a contest identifier (the seed info should be included in the screenshot).
Here is the sample screenshot:

3. Twitter(X) Post Submission:
Post your screenshots on Twitter(X) with
hashtags: #AotenjoHighScore #PlayAotenjo, and tag @playaotenjo in the post.

During the event, the official account will publish a daily high score leaderboard. Special note: if multiple players share the same high score, the one who posted first will be ranked higher.

[Prizes]
Jan 20 - 26 Daily Lucky Draw
Each day, three players will be randomly selected from those who post their high score screenshots on Twitter with hashtags. Each will receive a $10 Steam Card.

Jan 27 Winner Time!

• Grand Champion: $500 Steam Card
  
• Runner-up: $300 Steam Card
  
• Third Place: $150 Steam Card
  
• 4th-8th Place: $50 Steam Card

For more information or to discuss with other players, join the Aotenjo Discord[discord.gg]!

Once again, we want to extend our gratitude to everyone who participated in the beta tests and Steam Next Fest, providing invaluable feedback. We hope you all have great luck at the mahjong table—may your hands be limitlessly high!

Hey Mahjong Masters!

The launch of Aotenjo: Infinite Hands is just around the corner—only 3 days to go! Mark your calendars: the game officially releases on Monday, the 20th, at 11 AM (UTC+8)—no delays, we promise!

In our last dev blog, we shared details about the Early Access launch and our 2025 update roadmap. This time, we want to introduce some handy tips for new players! While Aotenjo is a mahjong-inspired roguelike deckbuilder, it doesn’t require deep mahjong knowledge to enjoy. The mechanics are designed to be approachable, and you’ll pick them up as you play!

We highly recommend starting with Green Mahjong. It has a streamlined rule set, a built-in tutorial, and 5 extra discards (we’ll explain these later). The difficulty is also relatively low, making it the perfect starting point.
Once you’ve mastered Green Mahjong, you’ll unlock more complex styles! The Early Access version includes six mahjong types: Green, Blue, Galaxy, Bamboo, Rainbow, and Schemer Mahjong—each with unique mechanics and challenges!

The core gameplay is simple:

1. Each round, add new tiles to your hand and score points based on your tile combinations.
   
2. After four rounds, your total score determines whether you clear the level.
   
3. Any points beyond the required target convert into in-game currency—which you can spend on upgrades in the rest phase.

Just like traditional mahjong, Aotenjo is about planning, adapting, and maximizing your score. So don’t hold back—aim for big hands and rack up those points!

Scoring in Aotenjo follows a system similar to classic mahjong: Base Points × Multipliers.
Base Points (符, Fu)

Each tile has a fixed score value, and here’s an easy way to remember them:

• Character, Bamboo, and Dot tiles:
  1 & 9 = 9 Fu, 2 & 8 = 8 Fu, 3 & 7 = 7 Fu, 4 & 6 = 6 Fu, 5 = 5 Fu
  
• Honor tiles (East, South, West, North, Red, Green, White) = 10 Fu

(Don’t worry if you can’t memorize this! You can always hover over tiles in-game to check their Fu value.)

Fan comes from specific tile combinations—these are called Patterns (番种, Yakus).
You might recognize famous ones like Full Flush (清一色) and Thirteen Orphans (十三幺)—the rarer and harder a pattern is to complete, the higher the multiplier!

Unlike traditional mahjong, in Aotenjo, you can upgrade your patterns by purchasing Pattern Books, increasing their fan and boosting your score potential!

To sum it up:

• Discard low-value or unwanted tiles
  
• Keep high-Fu tiles
  
• Aim for high-Fan pattern

Master this, and you’ll be on your way to victory!


Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, your tiles just won’t come together. That’s where Aotenjo's special items come in!
These items can temporarily modify tile values, suits, or even grant unique effects—making them invaluable for crafting powerful hands. For example:

• "Cooked Rice": Temporarily reduces the number value of a Dot or Bamboo tile by 1.

Use these wisely to turn the tide in your favor!
Another way to optimize your deck is by making permanent changes to your wall (your entire deck of tiles). At the end of each round, you can choose different locations to visit, each offering unique benefits:

• Malice-Sawmill: Spend money to remove unwanted tiles from your deck.
  
• Bamboo Forest: Buy new tiles to add to your deck.
  
• Howling Mountain: Spend money to enchant tiles with special effects.
  
• Wan's Treasure Shop: Purchase useful gadgets for your run.

Your currency is key to shaping your deck—so choose your path carefully!

Artifacts are powerful items that provide permanent buffs throughout your run. They can:

• Boost Pattern multipliers
  
• Increase overall scoring potential
  
• Evolve specific tiles

At the Artifact Shop, you can buy various Artifacts—rarer ones cost more but provide stronger effects!
Additionally, Pattern Packs are a great way to level up your patterns, unlocking rare multipliers and enhancing your strategy. We recommend prioritizing the Pattern Packs that match your preferred playstyle!

Unlike traditional mahjong, where you need to form a complete 14-tile hand, Aotenjo breaks it down into four rounds. In each round:

• You play a Triplet/Sequence + a Pair per turn.
  
• The previous Pair is replaced each turn—use this to cycle out unwanted tiles.

Some pro strategies to keep in mind:

1. Your final move is crucial! Each turn scores points, but the last turn includes ALL previous tiles, so set up for big Pattern early and cash in at the end!
   
2. Use the Pair slot strategically—discard unwanted tiles by playing them as Pair in early turns to set up a strong hand for the final Play.
   
3. You don’t necessarily need Malice-Sawmill to remove tiles! Some items and artifacts can shrink your deck, helping you focus on key tiles faster.

To all our closed beta and open test players—thank you for your support! We’d love for you to share your own gameplay tips in the comments and in our Official Discord[discord.gg].

Aotenjo: Infinite Hands will launch with a 12% discount for the first two weeks at $8.71 USD!