EXCLUSIVE: ReachMahjong.com is back
Threatened many, many times but fallen flat just as many…finally, the ReachMahjong.com team of Jenn, Garthe, and Gemma have confirmed that they do indeed have a revamped site and are ready to launch this Friday (May 17th).
Many in the community won’t remember ReachMahjong.com now, but back in the day (when Yakitori Online was still around), ReachMahjong.com and MahjongNews.com were the go-to websites for riichi news. Founded by two JPML pros, Jenn and Garthe, and their student (Gemma, who would later go on to be a pro), it contained strategy and translated articles plus a very popular riichi mahjong podcast.
The three of them used their close connections with the Japanese mahjong world to aid initiatives abroad, sponsoring several European Riichi Championships and both World Riichi Championships.
The relative inactivity on RM.com has been due to the usual dull reasons; family and professional obligations meant that all three struggled with the responsibility of updating the site. But all three maintained profiles in the community. Particularly Gemma who was vital in the running of two world championships and has continued to promote riichi in Europe and America.
The silence was broken this month from the team with two instructional videos filmed by JPML, with more promised to follow.
The scene has changed dramatically since ReachMahjong.com was a major player online, and it remains to be seen whether they will be able to adapt to the changes and produce the content that the community is looking for. However, we hope that they will rise to the challenge. The more content, the better to serve the growing player base.
You can also catch up on all RM.com’s news on their Twitter feed: @reachmahjong
Make sure you check in on their new site this Friday. Jenn reassures old fans that the dragon graphic is still there, despite Gemma’s protests.