The Mah Jong Set
GREEN DRAGON TILE
BAMBOO TILE
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FLOWER
CHARACTER TILE
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WIND TILE
CIRCLE TILE
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The 144 Mah Jong tiles comprise of:
SUIT TILES
There are three suits and each suit is composed of tiles numbered from one to nine inclusive, with four tiles of each number:
Circles - 36 tiles
Characters - 36 tiles
Bamboo - 36 tiles = 108 tiles
HONOUR TILES (also used as Direction Tiles)
There are four Wind Tiles making up the Honours. Ones and Nines of each suit (known as Terminal Tiles) may also be included as Honours Tiles:
FLOWER TILES = 8 tiles
There are two varieties of Flower Tiles depending upon the Mah Jong set. The designs on these tiles may be confusing, as well as very ornate, giving the engraver the greatest opportunity to show off his skills.
SUIT TILES
There are three suits and each suit is composed of tiles numbered from one to nine inclusive, with four tiles of each number:
Circles - 36 tiles
Characters - 36 tiles
Bamboo - 36 tiles = 108 tiles
HONOUR TILES (also used as Direction Tiles)
There are four Wind Tiles making up the Honours. Ones and Nines of each suit (known as Terminal Tiles) may also be included as Honours Tiles:
- North Wind - pie - 4 tiles
- South Wind - nam - 4 tiles
- East Wind - tung - 4 tiles
- West Wind - sai - 4 tiles = 16 tiles
- DRAGON TILES (also known as Cardinal Tiles)
- Red Dragon - chung - 4 tiles
- Green Dragon - fat - 4 tiles
- White Dragon - po - 4 tiles = 12 tiles
FLOWER TILES = 8 tiles
There are two varieties of Flower Tiles depending upon the Mah Jong set. The designs on these tiles may be confusing, as well as very ornate, giving the engraver the greatest opportunity to show off his skills.
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SEASONS
Spring ........................................... Summer.......................................... Autumn ......................................... Winter ........................................... Fisherman ..................................... Woodcutter .................................... Farmer ......................................... Scholar ......................................... ______________________________ Numbered in Red |
or .................................. or .................................. or .................................. or .................................. or .................................. or .................................. or .................................. or .................................. |
FLOWERS
Plum Blossom Orchid Chrysanthemum Bamboo Wind Flower Snow Moon _______________________ Numbered in Green |
COUNTER / TALLIES
Counters are used in payment to the winner of each round of Mah Jong. Four denominations are normally used nd valued at 500 points, 100 points, 10 points and 2 points.
Each player i given a total value of 2,000 points to play with. The practice of rounding the scores off to the nearest of ten is usually used, but not totally recommended.
500s ....................................... Two
100s ....................................... Nine
10s ....................................... Eight
2s ....................................... Ten
There are two varieties of counters in use:
Counters are used in payment to the winner of each round of Mah Jong. Four denominations are normally used nd valued at 500 points, 100 points, 10 points and 2 points.
Each player i given a total value of 2,000 points to play with. The practice of rounding the scores off to the nearest of ten is usually used, but not totally recommended.
500s ....................................... Two
100s ....................................... Nine
10s ....................................... Eight
2s ....................................... Ten
There are two varieties of counters in use:
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OLD CHINESE COUNTERS
500s ....... Six black or six red dots 100s ....... Two red dots 10s ....... Eight black dots 2s ....... One red and three black dots |
MODERN COUNTERS
500s ........ Five red dots 100s ........ One red dot 10s ........ Ten black dots 2s ........ Two black dots |
CHINESE NAMES FOR THE COUNTERS
500s .............................................. T'ien ................................................. Heaven
100s .............................................. Ti ................................................. Earth
10s ................................................ Jen .................................................. Man
2s ................................................ Ho ................................................. Harmony
The naming of these counters reflects the Harmony which is supposed to unite Heaven, Earth and Man in Chinese cosmology.
DICE
Two small dice are included in each set and, sometimes, one spare set. The Chinese dice have the 1 and the 4 colours in red ... and the 2,3,5 and 6 coloured in black.
PLAIN TILES AND JOKERS
The majority of Mah Jong sets include four plain tiles to be used when any tiles are lost, mislaid or damaged. These tiles can be engraved and coloured as the replacements. It is a good idea to alternate these plain tiles with the White Dragon tiles so that they can blend 'age-wise' along with the balance of the set.
In some sets there are Joker Tiles - sometimes engraved with a horse or a rabbit. These are used to replace the 2 of Bamboo when playing a Goulash. In sets where no jokers are included, the 2 of Bamboo may be used as the 'wild' tile.
MING AND WIND DICE
A small box, known as a Ming, is sometimes included within a set. The Ming and the Wind dice are used to:
Mark the position of each Wind during the game:
The box is placed with the East Wind and West Wind dice within the box indicating which Wind of the Round is being played.
RACKS or TILE HOLDERS
Racks are not usually supplied with a set. However, some players find them convenient for holding the tiles and for building the walls before each round.
CHINESE NAMES FOR THE COUNTERS
500s .............................................. T'ien ................................................. Heaven
100s .............................................. Ti ................................................. Earth
10s ................................................ Jen .................................................. Man
2s ................................................ Ho ................................................. Harmony
The naming of these counters reflects the Harmony which is supposed to unite Heaven, Earth and Man in Chinese cosmology.
DICE
Two small dice are included in each set and, sometimes, one spare set. The Chinese dice have the 1 and the 4 colours in red ... and the 2,3,5 and 6 coloured in black.
PLAIN TILES AND JOKERS
The majority of Mah Jong sets include four plain tiles to be used when any tiles are lost, mislaid or damaged. These tiles can be engraved and coloured as the replacements. It is a good idea to alternate these plain tiles with the White Dragon tiles so that they can blend 'age-wise' along with the balance of the set.
In some sets there are Joker Tiles - sometimes engraved with a horse or a rabbit. These are used to replace the 2 of Bamboo when playing a Goulash. In sets where no jokers are included, the 2 of Bamboo may be used as the 'wild' tile.
MING AND WIND DICE
A small box, known as a Ming, is sometimes included within a set. The Ming and the Wind dice are used to:
Mark the position of each Wind during the game:
- Draw the seats for each player
- Keep track of the number of rounds played
The box is placed with the East Wind and West Wind dice within the box indicating which Wind of the Round is being played.
RACKS or TILE HOLDERS
Racks are not usually supplied with a set. However, some players find them convenient for holding the tiles and for building the walls before each round.
