Mahjong Sets

Mahjong is a traditional Chinese game, which literally means “the game of a hundred intelligences” (in Chinese). There are various versions of mahjong today: the Chinese, the Japanese and the American, each with its own set of rules. Mahjong is a game that involves skill, intelligence, estimation as well as luck. It has been traditionally a gambling game and is still played today in clubs and special mahjong houses.

There are also international mahjong tournaments held across the world. Ma Chiao, Mo Tsiah, Ma Cheuk, Ma Jong, Ma Chiang, Ma Chong, Man Chu, Mah Diao, Pung Chow, Mah Chong, Ching Chong, Mah Cheuk, Ma Chiang, Kong Chow, Mah Deuck, Lung Chan, Mah Lowe, Pe Ling, Baak Ling are other names for Mahjong.

A typical Mahjong set contains 144 tiles, 2 season tiles, 4 “red 5″ bonus tiles, 1 table wind Tessera, 4 dice, scoring tallies, storage trays and a carrying case. The set may contain 136, 144, 148 or 152 tiles though the most common are the 136 and the 144 tile sets. The most common tiles are: the circle suit (contains circles), the bamboo (contains bamboos), character suit (Chinese characters representing ten thousand coins each), wind tiles (representing north, south, east and west), dragon tiles (red, green and white), flower tiles (containing art work) and joker tiles (used like a wild card, as a substitute for any tile).

The tiles are made of ivory, ebony, white bone, wood or plastic, depending on the quality and the price. The case is also made of oak or teak wood. Good quality mahjong sets made of ivory or oak are priced at hundreds of dollars while normal plastic or white bone tiles in tin or faux leather boxes are cheaper, starting at $20. A traditional box contains a cabinet with four drawers for storing the tiles. Modern boxes just contain one box with four trays inlaid in the box.

Each tile is around 1 1/2 inch x 1 inch x 3/4 inches in size and rectangular in shape. They have hand-engraved designs etched on them and painted in colors. These tiles are of 34 kinds, in five different suits or designs – wan, circle, bamboo, wind and prime (4X34=136) and 8 flower tiles.

Mahjong sets are available in most stores that have sports and games equipment. They can also be bought online through the hundreds of websites that provide comprehensive information and details about mahjong sets.

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