Mahjong is a game of both skill and luck that originated in China many centuries ago and was brought to the West in the 1920's with the publication of Joseph Park Babcock's "Rules of Mah-Jongg." American mahjong (also sometimes spelled "Mah Jongg" or called "Maajh") is unique from Asian mahjong in several ways. American mahjong utilizes racks, jokers, "Hands and Rules" score cards and has several distinct gameplay mechanics. Although an American mahjong set can be used to play Chinese Mahjong, the rules that follow are for the American game. Mahjong is always played with four players seated around a table. Tiles are shuffled, die are cast, and rituals involving the allocation of tiles and then the exchange of tiles begin. 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. The excitement of mahjong lies in the decisions that you will constantly have to make. Is it preferable to discard a tile and thus gain an advantage, or would it be more prudent to stay with a decent hand? There is the exhilaration of winning a hand as well as regret at not having been bold enough to have made a different choice. Like poker, you will learn a lot about your opponents as you play mahjong and adjust your strategy according to their strengths and weaknesses. What American Mahjong Set Contents Include

• 152 tiles
• 2 Dice
• 4 Scorecards (not included)
• Scoring Sticks or Coins
• 1 Wind Indicator (optional)
• 4 Racks (optional, but highly recommended)
• 4 Pushers (optional, but preferred by players)

Tiles

Your Mahjong set has 166 tiles. 152 are used in play and the rest are spares. The 152 tiles are divided into four groups with their subgroups:

1. SUITS (108 tiles) Circles or Dots (36 tiles - 4 of each) Bamboos or Bams (36 tiles - 4 of each) Characters or Craks (36 tiles - 4 of each)

2. HONORS (28 tiles) Winds (16 tiles - 4 East wind, 4 South wind, 4 West wind, 4 North wind) Dragons (12 tiles - 4 white dragons "Soap", 4 Green dragons, 4 red dragons). The white dragon tile on the left is also known as "Soap". Soaps can be used as zeroes when putting together certain hands.

3. FLOWERS and SEASONS (8 tiles - 1 of each)

4. JOKERS or Wild Tiles (8 tiles - all identical) Jokers can substitute for any tile in a Pung (3 identical tiles), Kong (4 identical tiles), Quint (5 identical tiles) or Sextet (6 identical tiles). They cannot be used to substitute a tile in a Pair (2 identical tiles) or any single tile.

Dice

Two dice are used to determine the dealer (East) as well as to determine where to break the wall (explained later).

Score Cards

Scoring is determined by a list of hands determined by the National Mah Jongg League (NML). These score cards are published by the NML and updated annually. Each player keeps a card as reference for building hands and creating strategy.

Wind Indicators

Wind indicators come in different variations and are used to display the current wind (the player who starts off the round). The wind indicator is optional and not required for gameplay. It is also referred to as a better and is alternately used by a fifth person to place bets on which player will win. For wind indicators with only Chinese characters, the translations are as follows:

東 - East (E) 南 - South (S) 西 - West (W) 北 - North (N)

Scoring Sticks and Coins

Scoring sticks or coins (round chips) are used to keep track of points and scoring. You can assign whatever point or monetary value you want to them and distribute in whatever quantity you want. The following is a suggested amount to be given to each player before the game starts:

Racks and Pushers

Racks and pushers, while not mandatory, are highly recommended. Racks are assigned to each player to hold their hand of tiles. Alternately, you can line the tiles up on the table in front of you.

Pushers are "arms" that attach to each person's rack. They are very helpful when it's time to bring your portion of the wall to the center of the table for playing. Using a pusher also prevents you from accidentally exposing your hand while bringing your wall forward.