About Amercian Mahjong Tiles

One Set American Mah Jongg set consists of 152 tiles of different types

Numbered Tiles

These tiles have a symbol (based on the suit) and a number. There are 3 suits (craks, dots and bams) and the numbers run from 1 to 9. There are 4 instances of each tile.

Craks

Dots

Bams

Note: the one-bam is usually represented as a bird.

Winds

There are 4 types of wind tiles: North, East, West, South. There are 4 instances of each wind tile in the game.

Dragons

There are 3 types of dragons: Green Dragon, Red Dragon, White Dragon (also called Soap). There are 4 instances of each dragon tile in the game.

Each dragon is associated with a suit

• Bams with Green Dragons
• Craks with Red Dragons
• Dots with White Dragons (Soap)

We will discuss these associations in more detail when we discuss how to read the card.

Note: the white dragon is also used to represent a zero in the game.

Flowers

There are 8 flower tiles in the game. In some sets, they are represented as different varieties of flowers and may also have seasons printed on them. These differences are irrelevant for American Mah Jongg and all flower tiles are interchangeable. This illustration is the flower used in the I Love Mahj online game.

Jokers

In addition to the regular tiles mentioned above, a Mah Jongg set also includes 8 jokers. Jokers are a wildcard and can substitute for any tile when building a hand. However, there are some restrictions. More on that later.