What is the standard size of mahjong tiles?

How big are standard mahjong pieces?

Size 7.5: 38 mm × 28 mm × 22 mm (1+1⁄2 in × 1+1⁄8 in × 7⁄8 in)

What is A1 size mahjong tiles?

A1 Size Light Blue Colour Mahjong Tiles (Size 37mm)

What is A2 mahjong size?

Solid Colour Mahjong Set (A1 size 37mm / A2 Size 35mm) | Shopee Singapore.

Are all mahjong sets the same?

Likewise, even though there are regional differences in mahjong play in China, everyone in China plays with standard Chinese mahjong sets. Jewish-American mahjong players almost always play using American mahjong sets. American mahjong sets are commonly referred to with the alternate spelling "Mah Jongg"

What is the difference between Chinese and American mahjong tiles?

Traditional Chinese mahjong sets have 144 tiles, while American version is played with eight additional joker tiles and different score cards. In the American game, the first person to match a hand of 14 tiles and thus "call mahjong" ends the game, whereupon tiles are scored and a winner is declared.

Which version of mahjong is most popular?

Hong Kong: This is also known as the Cantonese version, and it is believed to be the most popular version of mahjong.

What size are large mahjong tiles?

FOR PROFESSIONAL MAHJONG PLAYERS - This Chinese mahjong set features its x-large tiles and each tile measures 1 7/12" x 1 1/5" x 7/8" (3.9cm x 3cm x 2.5cm) and the Black Travel case and Black trays are compact for easy transport.

How many mahjong tiles are there?

A set of 144 Mahjong tiles consists of 36 tiles in the Dot/ Circle suit, 36 in the Bamboo suit, 36 in the Character suit, 16 Wind tiles, 12 Dragon tiles and 8 bonus tiles (4 Flowers and 4 Seasons). Players are seated around a squared table, signifying the four directions East, South, West, North.

How many tiles does a mahjong set have?

A set of Mah Jong tiles consists of 144 tiles typically around 30 x 20 x 15mm. Traditionally, they are made from bone or ivory but modern sets are usually plastic. The tiles comprise: 36 Circle tiles in 4 sets of 9 tiles numbered 1- 9.

How much does a mahjong set cost in Singapore?

The type of mahjong table and tiles you should get all depends on how often and professionally you play. People who play often (more than once a week) can invest in an automatic table but the price can cost around S$1,000 and up.

How heavy is a mahjong set?

Product Description. Classic Chinese MahJonng Set with 146 cream white melamine tiles, 3 ivory dice, a wind indicator, color coded chips, and 1 easy to follow English instructions packed in a brown PVC case with a handle. This set weighs 12.2 pounds.

What are the Mahjong tiles called?

Mah-Jongg tiles are comprised of three suits of One through Nine: Craks (also called Characters, Wan, or Ten Thousand), Bams (also called Bamboos or Sticks), and Dots (also called Balls or Circles), and other tiles known as Winds, Dragons, and Flowers (in American Mah-Jongg, Seasons tiles are referred to as Flowers).

What does Mahjong mean in English?

mahjong in British English or mah-jongg (ˌmɑːˈdʒɒŋ ) noun. a game of Chinese origin, usually played by four people, in which tiles bearing various designs are drawn and discarded until one player has an entire hand of winning combinations. Word origin. from Chinese, literally: sparrows.

Is mahjong a skill or luck?

Luck is always a factor, but to a large extent in mahjong you create your own 'luck' (or lack thereof) through the decisions you make during the game. Mahjong is a game of skill and luck, where most of the skill is built around maximising the chance that you can get lucky.

Who invented mahjong?

The sparrow or a mythical “bird of 100 intelligences” appears on one of the tiles. The name mah-jongg was coined and copyrighted by Joseph P. Babcock, an American resident of Shanghai, who is credited with introducing mah-jongg to the West after World War I.

What are good mahjong tiles made of?

Bone -- Bone is by far the most common material used in antique Chinese Mah Jongg sets, and it is usually dove-tailed with bamboo. [Tom adds: Most bone mah-jongg tiles are made from ox or cow shin bone, but it is possible that bone of other animals may have been used as well.

What material are mahjong tiles made of?

Traditional mahjong tiles are made of bamboo, ivory and bone, but tiles made from natural materials tend to discolour or crack with time, which makes fair play impossible as players can identify covered tiles by their imperfections.

What is mahjong paper?

The mahjong paper. It has occured to me that readers from outside of Singapore may have never heard this term “mahjong paper” which I had taken for granted was used universally to refer to a large white sheet of paper for art and craft purposes, or for wrapping books to protect their covers when you go to school.

Why does my Mahjong set have 16 flowers?

The set above has just the standard count of exactly eight flowers, but it is not unusual for sets to come with 16 or more flowers. Flower tiles might represent flowers, seasons, trades (occupations), virtues, historical scenes, games, or animals. Flower tiles might be marked with Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, or even 5.

What does red dragon in Mahjong mean?

the red dragon (chun), symbolizing the middle or animal order (including humans), the green dragon (fa), symbolizing the lower or plant order of life, the white dragon (pai pan – white tile), symbolizing the higher or spirutual order of beings.

What are the 3 suits in Mahjong?

Mahjong Tiles Have Meaning Each tile set contains 3 simple suits (stones, characters, and bamboos), 2 honor suits (winds and dragons), and 1 optional suit (flowers).

What are flowers in Mahjong?

Did you ever wonder about the flowers on the Mah Jongg tiles? These flowers represent the four Confucian plants: bamboo (summer), chrysanthemum (autumn), orchid (spring), and plum (winter). They are known as the Four Gentlemen of China.

How many winds does mahjong have?

It has its own terminology and suits - there are 108 suit tiles, 16 wind tiles, 12 dragon tiles, four flower tiles and 4 season tiles – total 144 [in some sets there are 4 white 'joker' tiles – if these are not available the 2 Bamboos are used as the joker tiles] If no one goes Mahjong a deciding game called a 'Goulash ...

How do you distribute mahjong chips?

Distribute the TilesThe dealer, or the player in the East position, takes the four tiles from the player's left of the break (or, from the side opposite the Dora). Player's follow suit, taking four tiles at a time, in the standard order (East-South-West-North).

How do you win Mahjong?

You can win mahjong by either yelling 'mahjong' and stealing the last tile you need from someone who has just discarded it, or by drawing the last tile from the deck. A single tile cannot be used in two sets at once.

How many tiles are used in American mahjong?

There are 152 core tiles, however, sets may include extra tiles such as blanks and seasons (to be played as flowers) and extra jokers. Players can establish table rules for whether or not to play with extra tiles.

Can you play mahjong alone?

Mahjong solitaire can be played either solo or with a partner, in which case the aim is to accumulate the most pairs, to be the last one to match a pair, or to score the most points.

What is American mahjong set?

American mahjong, also spelled mah jongg, is a variant of the Chinese game mahjong. American mahjong utilizes racks to hold each player's tiles, jokers, and "Hands and Rules" score cards.

What is the best hand in mahjong?

Mahjong Combination: All Honours (字一色)If you have a hand made up of either the four Winds or three Dragons, you have an All Honours winning hand. This combination only appears once every 5,200 round.

What is a Bam in Mahjong?

Coincidentally, “bamboo” in Mahjong has been shortened into “Bam” in English, an explosive onomatopoeia word that sounds like its meaning, as from fireworks. This cleverly translates and connects an idea of the game between two very unrelated languages.

What is Chinese Mahjong?

What is mahjong? Mahjong is a game played with a set of 144 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols. It developed in the late 19th century, during China's Qing dynasty, but became popular in the 20th century. It is conceptually similar to the western card game Rummy.

Is Japanese mahjong same as Chinese mahjong?

While the same basic ideas apply (Build a hand with 4 sets and a pair, more difficult hand patterns score more), there are special additions to Japanese mahjong that make it more viable to play defensively and allow for a greater depth. In Chinese mahjong, the best defense is a strong fast hand to beat out the others.

Why are the Flowers numbered in mahjong?

Some tile sets will have the seasons and flowers numbered 1-4; these numbers correspond to the wind direction it is associated with: 1=East, 2=South, 3=West, 4=North. Some tile sets have bonus tiles adorned with different pictures with no relation to season or flower.

What is the difference between American and Western mahjong?

The main characteristic of the American game that differentiates it so much from the Chinese is in the variety of special hands available for play. The Chinese game recognizes around 20 ways of going out. In the various English-language books on Western Mah-Jongg you will find many special hands described.

How many Flowers are used in American mahjong?

There are typically eight Flowers, but they can number from four to 24 (in the early 1950s), but most typically there are eight.

Can you play mahjong without flowers?

Flower tiles are an optional game play element. In American mahjong flower tiles are used just like any suit or honor tile, in which they can be used as pairs or triplets towards completion of your hand. Note that American mahjong does not follow the gameplay instruction below.

Can you use jokers with flowers in mahjong?

No. Jokers can not be used in a pair. They can only be used in a group of three or more like tiles.

Can you pick up a pair for mahjong?

You never play a pair to the table before calling MahJongg. The pair is kept in hand until you go out, or completed by the last tile you pick up before going out.

What do dragons do in mahjong?

In Mahjong Dragons are Honors tiles, sometimes helping to increase point totals (in certain ways of play). On tiles they can be figural images of that creature (the MOST fun!) or Chinese written words (characters), or sometimes the letters C, F, P or B.

What is the joker used for in mahjong?

Jokers can be used as a wildcard to complete any Pung, Kong, Quint or Sextet only. A Pung, Kong, Quint or Sextet may be composed of all Jokers! Thus it can't be used to replace a single tile or to complete a pair. 2.

What is a crack in mahjong?

Mah Jongg in a Nutshell It is played with a set of 144 tiles, which are decorated with Chinese characters and symbols. The tilesí three suits are bamboo (sticks), dots (wheels), and cracks (numbers). Mah Jongg is played in hands, with a minimum of four hands to make up a round, and four rounds, a game.

What does dora mean in mahjong?

Dora (ドラ) are bonus tiles that add han value to a winning hand. Every kind of tile can become a dora tile. A dora tile adds the same number of han value as the amount of its corresponding "dora indicator" tiles.

What does Ron mean in mahjong?

Ron is the call when the winning tile is discarded by another player. This winning tile can be called regardless of which player discards it, and regardless of whether it forms a meld or completes the player's pair. Tsumo is the call when the player draws the tile themselves out of the wall at the start of their turn.

What does furiten mean in mahjong?

“Furiten” is a state where you are unable to win a hand by ron. However, while in furiten, you can still win by tsumo. Your hand can be furiten due to a few different reasons. The main one is if you previously discarded one of your winning tiles. This puts your hand in permanent furiten.

Is it hard to learn mahjong?

And, although Mah Jongg is a difficult game to learn and master, avid players say, you can excel in the game. "It is not the easiest game, but you can learn it," Link added. "You don't learn it in one sitting. It's something you learn and build on what you learn."

Is mahjong more complex than chess?

Is Mahjong harder than chess? Chess is probably harder overall than Mahjong because there is no luck involved in chess. Some variants of mahjong are harder than others but the luck factor is still there. The rules of Mahjong, however, tend to be more complex and it is harder to learn than Chess.

What do the symbols in mahjong mean?

The game of Mahjong is full of meaning around fortune and prosperity! 筒子 Coins: They represent, well, coins! In Ancient China, coins were copper and circular with a square hole in the middle. 索子 Bamboo: Bamboo is known to have the meaning of peace.

What do you say when you win in mahjong?

SOMEBODY WINS That's four groups and a pair: a complete hand. Immediately say, "Mah-Jongg!" Lie all your tiles down on the table, face-up. (If you use racks, place them on the top shelf of the rack.)

How much is a good mahjong set?

Inexpensive mahjong sets can cost as little as $50, whereas high-end options can cost more than $600. If you're looking for a solid mid-range option, expect to pay between $100 and $250.

Does playing mahjong help your brain?

However, studies have shown that playing Mahjong helps a person keep their mind sharp, and the game is recommended for the elders to keep their memory-preserving neurons in a healthy state. In addition, the use of cognitive skills in the game helps to cure or slow the effects of Dementia.

What is the hardest mahjong layout?

Circle Mahjong is one of the hardest boards around, combining two mahjong circles into one game. This is for all you mahjong experts out there!

Is every mahjong game solvable?

Matching the wrong pair can lead to unsolvable situations later on. In games like Mahjong Solitaire Epic, all Mahjong puzzles are possible to win. There is always at least 1 solution, but certain boards are tougher than others, requiring you to match specific tiles in a specific order. Try to look two steps ahead.

What are dragon tiles in mahjong?

The Chinese name for the Dragon tiles means "three fundamental tiles" (三元牌). They are also known as the arrow tiles (箭牌). The English name ("Dragons") was an invention by Babcock. They are like wind tiles except melding them will always score bonus points regardless of the prevailing or seat wind.

What are the mahjong suits?

Mah-Jongg tiles are comprised of three suits of One through Nine: Craks (also called Characters, Wan, or Ten Thousand), Bams (also called Bamboos or Sticks), and Dots (also called Balls or Circles), and other tiles known as Winds, Dragons, and Flowers (in American Mah-Jongg, Seasons tiles are referred to as Flowers).

Is mahjong a skill or luck?

Luck is always a factor, but to a large extent in mahjong you create your own 'luck' (or lack thereof) through the decisions you make during the game. Mahjong is a game of skill and luck, where most of the skill is built around maximising the chance that you can get lucky.

How do I choose my hand in mahjong?

It's better to play a hand where the pairs or single tiles are in place and you need Kongs or Pungs rather than the reverse. If the hand needs two pairs and you have one pair and one of the tiles of the other pair, that is usually fine. If you have a choice between two hands, let this tip guide you in deciding.

What is the original mahjong?

Mahjong (Chinese: 麻將; Pinyin: májiàng) is a traditional Chinese game for two to four players, though mostly played by four players. Sometimes it is played as a gambling game. Tactics, observation and memory are required to master the game.

What tiles are in a mahjong set?

Complete Mahjong Set: An impressively elegant Mahjong set consisting of 36 dot, 36 bamboos, 36 character, 12 dragons, 16 winds, 16 flowers, 10 jokers, 4 blank spare tiles along with 3 large dice，100 money chips and instructions on how to play.

How many tiles are in mahjong hand?

A set of Mah Jong tiles consists of 144 tiles typically around 30 x 20 x 15mm. Traditionally, they are made from bone or ivory but modern sets are usually plastic. The tiles comprise: 36 Circle tiles in 4 sets of 9 tiles numbered 1- 9.

What are flowers in Mahjong?

Did you ever wonder about the flowers on the Mah Jongg tiles? These flowers represent the four Confucian plants: bamboo (summer), chrysanthemum (autumn), orchid (spring), and plum (winter). They are known as the Four Gentlemen of China.

Is Mahjong played clockwise or counterclockwise?

Each player sits down at their respective position (called the wind position) at the table in positions of an inverted compass: East is dealer, the right of the dealer is South, across is West, and the left is North. The order of play is traditionally counter-clockwise.

Can you play 2 handed mahjong?

Absolutely! When playing Mahjong with two players, players use two racks with the goal of declaring Mahjong twice. Each players builds two walls, one against each pusher. Another option is to not build walls and pick from the shuffled tiles in the middle of the mat.

What is the bird in mahjong?

The tiles have two through nine sticks on it. The number one tile ​does not have a bamboo stick on it. Instead, it has a bird sitting on bamboo, so this set is sometimes also called "bird." There 36 bamboo tiles in a set.

What material are mahjong tiles made of?

Traditional mahjong tiles are made of bamboo, ivory and bone, but tiles made from natural materials tend to discolour or crack with time, which makes fair play impossible as players can identify covered tiles by their imperfections.

What does mahjong mean in English?

mahjong in British English or mah-jongg (ˌmɑːˈdʒɒŋ ) noun. a game of Chinese origin, usually played by four people, in which tiles bearing various designs are drawn and discarded until one player has an entire hand of winning combinations. Word origin. from Chinese, literally: sparrows.

How many winds does mahjong have?

It has its own terminology and suits - there are 108 suit tiles, 16 wind tiles, 12 dragon tiles, four flower tiles and 4 season tiles – total 144 [in some sets there are 4 white 'joker' tiles – if these are not available the 2 Bamboos are used as the joker tiles] If no one goes Mahjong a deciding game called a 'Goulash ...

What is a pair called in mahjong?

Goal. The goal of the game is to get a mahjong, which consists of getting all 14 of your tiles into four sets and one pair. A pair is two identical tiles. A set can either be a "pung," which is three identical tiles, or a "chow," which is a run of three consecutive numbers in the same suit.

How do you cheat in Mahjong?

The easiest way to cheat is when tiles are hand-shuffled and each player builds his or her own wall. Tiles can be placed strategically so the player building the wall knows each tile he's stacked up. Turning all the tiles face down beforehand doesn't prevent it.