The Mah Jong Tile Set
The tiles comprise:
36 Circle tiles in 4 sets of 9 tiles numbered 1- 9. The picture on each shows
the appropriate number of circles.
36 Character tiles in 4 sets of 9 tiles numbered 1- 9. The pictures show the
Chinese symbol for the number represented.
36 Bamboo tiles in 4 sets of 9 tiles numbered 1- 9. The picture on each shows
the appropriate number of bamboos except for the One of Bamboos which often
is denoted by a sparrow or rice-bird and doesn't feature a bamboo at all.
1, 5, 7 and 9 of Bamboos are represented by a picture of both red and green
bamboos. The other bamboo tiles are represented by green bamboos only.
16 Wind tiles - 4 tiles for each of the 4 winds.
12 Dragon tiles - 3 Red dragons denoted by a bright red character, 3 Green
dragons denoted by a bright green character and 3 White dragons which are
usually denoted by a completely blank tile.
4 Flower tiles - The Four Flowers are numbered 1 - 4 and are optional - if
used, they give bonus points when drawn. Depiction of the flowers varies hugely
between sets.
4 Season tiles - The Four Seasons are numbered 1 - 4 and are optional - if
used they give bonus points when drawn. Depiction of the seasons varies hugely
between sets and they are usually not recognisable as a season by people who
can't read Chinese.
Circles, Characters and Bamboos are known as "suits". The suit tiles
numbered 2 - 8 are known as the "minor" tiles. The remaining suit
tiles, 1 and 9 are known as the "major" tiles. The Wind and Dragon
tiles are known as "honour" tiles.
In addition to the tiles, two dice are required. The 1 and 4 are red on traditional Chinese dice; the remaining numerals are black.