Meet the Tiles

Before we play, let’s get to know the pieces. A set has 152 tiles. That sounds like a lot, but they fall into just a handful of easy groups, and you’ll recognize them all faster than you expect.

The American Mahjong Tile Set

SuitDots (circles) — numbered 1 to 9, four of each. Look for circles.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

SuitBams (bamboo) — numbered 1 to 9, four of each. Look for bamboo.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

SuitCracks (characters) — numbered 1 to 9, four of each. Look for a number over a character.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

HonorsThe four Winds — four of each.

East

South

West

North

HonorsThe three Dragons — each pairs with one suit. The White Dragon is nicknamed “Soap.”

Red Dragon

Green Dragon

White Dragon (“Soap”)

FlowersEight Flower tiles — used inside certain hands, not set aside as bonuses.

Flower

Flower

Flower

Flower

WildEight Jokers — wildcards that stand in for a tile inside a group of three or more.

Joker (wildcard)

Original visual glossary composed for Find My Mahjong. 152 tiles: 3 suits × 9 × 4, 16 Winds, 12 Dragons, 8 Flowers, 8 Jokers. Tile art is public domain.

The three suits

Most of the set is three number suits, each running 1 to 9, with four copies of every tile. Bams show stylized bamboo. Dots show clusters of circles. Cracks show a number sitting above a Chinese character. When a player says “three Bam” or “seven Dot,” they just mean that number in that suit.

Winds, Dragons, Flowers, Jokers

There are four Winds — North, East, West, South. There are three Dragons — Red, Green, and White; each Dragon links to one of the suits. The White Dragon has a fond nickname, “Soap,” because the tile often looks like a plain white or blue-framed bar. Flowers are used inside certain hands, not set aside as bonuses. And the eight jokers are wildcards you’ll come to love.

Add it up — three suits, Winds, Dragons, Flowers, and jokers — and you get all 152 tiles. Don’t memorize them tonight. Glance at the pictures, and recognition will come with play.