Mah Jongg (or Maahj, as it is often called) is a fascinating, rummy-like game played with tiles rather than cards. The game originated in China but its exact origins are shrouded in story and myth. Some claim it was the game of Chinese royalty, played in secret to keep the knowledge to themselves. Others claim it was invented by a Chinese General to amuse his troops during long months of battle. More recent investigations point to early versions of this popular tile game appearing as recently as 150 years ago in China as a variant of card games. Whichever story you choose, there is general agreement that the game we play and love originated in China, and popularized in the United States by Joseph Babcock at the beginning of the 20th century.
There are several versions of Maajh, but each fall under two broad categories: American Mah Jongg and Chinese Mah Jongg. American Maajh differs from International Maajh in several ways:
Mah Jongg is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, with millions of dedicated players around the world and a variety of Internet and computer versions. A very small amount of time and effort is required to become familiar with the elementary principles of the game.Your patience in mastering the fine points of Mah Jongg will be repaid many times by the keen enjoyment invariably derived from the game.
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It is important to remember that there are many different kinds of Mah-Jongg. The rules that follow are known as modern American rules. Mah-Jongg is played with four players, and a fifth person may be a bettor. The object of modern American (sometimes called "Jewish") Mah-Jongg is to make the tiles match up with a hand on a Mah-Jongg card.
Cards are created and published by The National Mah Jongg League, 450 7th Avenue, New York, New York 10123 - (212)246-3052 - Card costs $8. Large print card for $9.00. You may order on line at www.nationalmahjonggleague.org
The cards change yearly.
The modern American Mah-Jongg set has 152 tiles.
The tiles consist of:
CRAKS - 1 through 9 - four each.
Four red dragons
Four each of:
8 FLOWERS - I have only 6 flowers
8 JOKERS - I have no Jokers, only 6 mandarins.
The tiles are mixed, turned face down, and each player makes a wall in front of their rack - nineteen tiles long and two tiles deep.
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This set has nothing marked JOKER, but it has mandarins and extra tiles.
It appears to depend on which version of Mah Jong you are playing and which tiles you need.
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THESE TILES, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ONES I HAVE MENTIONED, ARE ALL THE SAME COLOR AND TYPE, ALTHO THEY MAY APPEAR IN MY PHOTOS TO BE QUITE DIFFERENTLY COLORED.
WILL BE SHIPPED WITH FREE INSURANCE.