Tile guide
The American mahjong tiles
An American set has 152 tiles. Here's every one, how many there are, and how to recognise it.
| Tiles | Kinds | Copies of each | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bams, Craks, Dots | 3 suits × 9 numbers | 4 | 108 |
| Winds | North, East, West, South | 4 | 16 |
| Dragons | Red, Green, White (Soap) | 4 | 12 |
| Flowers | All interchangeable | 8 | 8 |
| Jokers | Wild | 8 | 8 |
| All tiles | 152 |
Winds
North (北), East (東), West (西) and South (南). American sets print N, E, W or S in the corner. On the card, winds are often written as "NEWS".
Dragons
Red Dragon (中) goes with Craks, Green Dragon (發) with Bams, and the White Dragon, called Soap, with Dots. Soap also stands for zero in hands that spell out the year.
Flowers and Jokers
There are eight flowers. Sets may show different flowers or seasons on them, but all eight count as the same tile. There are eight jokers, which can stand in for a tile in any group of three or more. Learn the joker rules with the joker quiz.
Test yourself
Ready? The tile quiz shows you a tile and asks you to name it, or the other way round.