Mahjong Equipment
Mahjong can be played either with a set of Mahjong tiles, or less commonly, a set of Mahjong playing cards (sometimes called Mhing). Playing cards are often used when travelling as it reduces space and is lighter than their tile counterparts, but are of a lower quality in return. In this article, "tile" will be used to denote both playing cards and tiles.
Many Mahjong sets will also include a set of chips or bone tiles for scoring, as well as indicators denoting the dealer and the wind of the round. Some sets may also include racks to hold tiles or chips (although in many sets the tiles are generally sufficiently thick so that they can stand on their own), with one of them being different to denote the dealer's rack.
Computer implementations of Mahjong are also available: these allow you to play against computer opponents, or against human opponents on the Internet.
A set of Mahjong tiles will usually differ from place to place. It usually has at least 136 tiles, most commonly 144, although sets originating from America or Japan will have more. Mahjong tiles include:
* Circle suit: named as each tile consists of a number of circles. Each circle is said to represent copper (tong) coins with a square hole in the middle.
* Bamboo suit: named as each tile (except the 1 Bamboo) consists of a number of bamboo sticks. Each stick is said to represent a string (suo) that holds a hundred coins.
* Character suit: named as each tile represents ten thousand (wan) coins, or one hundred strings of one hundred coins.
* Wind tiles: East, South, West, and North.
* Dragon tiles: red, green, and white. The term dragon tile is a western convention introduced by Joseph Park Babcock in his 1920 book introducing Mahjong to America.
* Flower tiles: typically optional components to a set of mahjong tiles, often contain artwork on their tiles.
Cheap Airfare | Cheap Holidays | Cheap Hotels | Hotels in Las Vegas | Las Vegas Hotels