Mahjong Tiles - All to Know

Most of us in the UK know Mahjong as a popular tile-based game, and it's certainly a unique one. But what makes it so engaging, especially when played online? The answer often lies in the Mahjong tiles themselves – they add a fascinating layer to the gameplay.

Many players, perhaps more familiar with classic casino games like slots or roulette, might not be fully aware of the different types of Mahjong tiles. That's where this guide comes in handy. We'll break down everything you need to know about Mahjong tiles, so you can get stuck into the action without any confusion. Let's dive in!

How Many Tiles Are in a Mahjong Set?

The number of tiles in Mahjong games can differ slightly depending on the specific regional variations played. While some versions, particularly those originating from Southeast Asia or adapted for the US market, might include extra tiles like "flower" or "joker" tiles, a standard set generally contains at least 136 tiles, often totalling 144. Some players also use blank tiles to substitute any that might be broken or lost.

Understanding the Categories of Mahjong Tiles

Mahjong tiles are typically grouped into six main categories: Suited Tiles, Red Tiles, Honour Tiles, Flower Tiles, Animal Tiles, and Joker Tiles.

Suited Tiles

Often referred to as "number tiles," suited tiles feature both a suit and a numerical rank, usually from one to nine. There are three primary suits, historically associated with currency. Each rank within these suits has four identical tiles, making for a total of 108 suited tiles (36 per suit). When referring to a tile, you'd typically mention its rank followed by its suit. The tiles numbered one and nine in each suit are known as "terminal tiles." Suited tiles are fundamental for creating "melds" in the game; a sequence of three or more tiles of the same suit in numerical order.

• Circles: This suit is represented by a collection of circles. In monetary terms, these circles symbolise "cash" or copper coins.
• Bamboo: Apart from the 'one Bamboo' tile, which is often depicted as a bird (sometimes a sparrow or peacock, depending on the set), this suit is represented by outlines of bamboo sticks. Historically, early sets might have featured a string of coins with a knot instead of a bird on the 'one Bamboo'.
• Characters: This suit is distinguished by the use of Chinese characters.

Red Tiles

These are unique to Japanese Mahjong sets. Red tiles appear as red versions of standard tiles from the suited categories. They don't typically have four duplicates like their regular counterparts. The 'Red 5' tiles were introduced first during the 1970s, followed by 'Red 1s' and 'Red 9s', though these are less common. Later, 'Red 3s' and 'Red 7s' also appeared. In some rare instances, a special red-and-white 'Dragon' tile can act as a wild card if certain gameplay conditions are met.

• These tiles are often optional and can be excluded from play.
• When a red tile is used, one of its ordinary, non-red counterparts is typically removed from the available tiles.
• Using them can lead to a higher score in certain game variations.
• Because flower tiles aren't as commonly used in Japanese Mahjong, sets often omit the "Four Gentlemen" flower tiles to make space for these red tiles.

Honour Tiles

Like suited tiles, Honour tiles can be formed into melds. However, they do not have a rank or suit. They are further divided into two distinct categories:

Winds

There are four Wind Tiles, representing the four cardinal directions:

• East
• West
• North
• South

Dragons

There are three types of Dragon Tiles:

• Red: The traditional Chinese character for center or middle is written on a red tile. In sets intended for English speakers, the initial letter of the Wade-Giles may alternatively be represented by a black letter C in a tile corner. These tiles were absent from one of the earlier sets. Red Dragon, a classic Chinese character, may be seen on several tiles.
• Green: Even in sets where the Character tiles are printed in simplified Chinese, green is a tile with a traditional Chinese green character. Other sets, most notably American, substitute a green dragon for the character or an F in black in the tile's corner to indicate the initial letter of the translation. In the first sets, this tile wasn't present. The classic Chinese character Green Dragon may be seen on several tiles.
• White: Although most contemporary sets use tiles with a blue border like White Dragon to differentiate them from replacement tiles, white is a tile that can be without any marks, like White Dragon. A black letter B could also be included in the tile's center in English sets. These unmarked Japanese tiles are sometimes referred to as "tofu" in some Japanese mahjong groups.

Flower Tiles

In mahjong melds, Flower tiles are not utilized. These are put aside after being drawn, and the player then gets to draw again, but from a dead wall. These tiles frequently include stylized images of flowers in a variety of shades. Yet, there are also additional, non-floral motifs that differ from set to set.

Quarters

If a set has flower tiles, it often has two quartets of them, each with a different label's color and design. In ordinary Chinese sets, one quartet will have blue Arabic numbers, and the other group will have red Chinese numerals. Each quartet has four separate tiles that are each numbered from 1 to 4 or clearly labelled.

• Seats are assigned to numbers such as 1 = East, 2 = South, 3 = West, and 4 = North.
• If the number on the flowers equals the seat number, the winner's score is doubled.
• However, there are advantages to gathering a whole quartet, and in certain versions, gathering all the flowers results in a win right away.
• Several games do not include them or view them as optional, since they provide points for purely random events.

Animal Tiles

The player's seat is immediately matched by the animal tile, which is unnumbered flowers. These tiles are typically found in pairs and feature classic Chinese stories as their topics. If two tiles in a pair or all of the animals are gathered, payment is made right away. Thai and Malaysian sets for four players include four pairs of animal tiles, compared to two pairs in Singaporean sets.

Some of them are the following:

• Cat and Mouse
• Rooster and Centipede
• Caishen and Sycee
• Jiang Ziya and Fish
• Liu Haichan and Jin Chan
• Dragon and Flaming pearl

Joker Tiles

Subject to regional limitations, joker tiles can be used to substitute any suited or honor tile while assembling a hand. Certain variations of Southeast Asian and Chinese mahjong, particularly Shanghainese mahjong, occasionally include four jokers. Also, there are eight jokers in American Mahjong.

Common Unique Jokers:

• Circle joker
• Character joker
• Universal joker
• Red jokers
• Suit joker
• Dragon joker
• Wind joker
• Flower joker
• Honor joker

Rank Restricted Jokers:

• Terminal Joker: Replaces one or nine of any suit.
• 147 Joker: Replaces one, four, or seven of any suit.
• 258 Joker: Replaces two, five, or eight of any suit.
• 369 Joker: Replaces three, six, or nine of any suit.

Conclusion

Remembering everything can be a little confusing, but players can just start with the Mahjong Tiles meaning and then move forward. After reading, the players will be able to somewhat understand Mahjong Tiles as they will only be able to understand it fully when they are playing the actual game at top online casinos.

There are six different types of Mahjong Tiles, and all of them are interesting to know about. They have sub-categories, too, so it’s better to learn about them slowly.