The complete guide
How to Choose a Chinese Mahjong Set
Mahjong looks hard from the outside. It is really a matching game with some strategy on top, and most people pick up the basics in one evening.
What is in the box
You get 146 melamine tiles, engraved with Chinese characters and symbols. The suite breaks down as 36 circles, 36 bamboos, 36 characters, 12 dragons, 16 winds and 8 flowers and seasons. Two blank spares are in there as well, so one lost tile does not finish off the set.
Three dice and a wind indicator come with it. Racks and pushers are not included. If your table likes playing with racks, you will need to pick those up separately.
Check the ruleset before you buy
This set is built for Chinese gameplay rules. It is incompatible with American or Western Mahjong and Japanese Riichi.
If the people you play with use Chinese rules, this is the right shape of set for them. If they play American mahjong, look for a set that comes with jokers instead.
Tiles, case and weight
Each tile measures 34 × 26 × 20 mm and has a yellow bamboo-patterned back and a scratch-resistant melamine face.
The red vinyl carry case measures 32.1 × 25.7 × 5.3 cm. The full set weighs 4.3 kg.
How a round actually runs
Traditional Chinese Mahjong is usually played with four players. Players draw from a wall built from the tiles, and the wind indicator helps track the current round.
From there you take turns drawing and discarding, building towards four melds and one pair. The first player to get a full hand calls mahjong and takes the round. Scoring depends on the ruleset your group agrees on, with bonus tiles, dragons and special combinations adding to the total.
Not sure whether this set matches the way your group plays? Send the support team a question before you order and someone will normally come back to you within one business day.


