Understanding these categories will help level up your Mahjong game. From number tiles to jokers, here’s the lowdown on every tile you’ll see when playing Mahjong games.
Numbered (Suited) Tiles
Also called "suited tiles," these are your 1–9 ranks across three suits: Circles, Bamboo, and Characters. Each rank-suit combo has four identical tiles, for a total of 108 in a full 144-tile set. These are the bread-and-butter tiles for building runs and sets.
- Circles: Symbols look like copper coins (Cash).
- Bamboo: Sticks outline the bamboo suit—except the 1 Bamboo, which often features a bird (sometimes called the sparrow or peacock).
- Characters: Show traditional Chinese characters signifying the numbers.
Red Tiles (Japan’s Wildcards)
In Japanese Mahjong, you’ll spot red versions of some suited tiles—usually the 5s, and occasionally 1s, 3s, 7s, and 9s. They don’t have four copies; instead, they swap in for one of their standard-colour twins and boost your score if you use them. If you’re playing regulated Mahjong online in Kenya (18+ only, per BCLB rules), you can voluntarily drop flower tiles to make room for reds.
Honor Tiles
No ranks here—they’re all about winds and dragons. Honor tiles can only form sets (melds), not runs.
Winds
There are four: East, South, West, North. In some games, who draws the East wind starts the round—so getting your seat right matters.
Dragons
Three dragons land in your set:
- Red Dragon (center character, sometimes marked "C" in English packs)
- Green Dragon (green character or "F" for "fa")
- White Dragon (blank tile or blue border, nicknamed "tofu" in Japan)
Flower Tiles
Flower tiles aren’t used in melds. When you draw one, say "achana na mimi!" and set it aside, then draw again from the dead wall. They’re mainly for bonus points or quick wins in some variations. Sets usually include two quartets, each numbered 1–4.
- If the flower number matches your seat (1 = East, 2 = South, 3 = West, 4 = North), your score doubles.
- Collect all four of a bouquet to snag extra points—or even an instant win in certain house rules.
Animal Tiles
Less common but a fun twist—animal pairs that tie to classic Chinese tales. Singaporean sets have two pairs; Thai and Malaysian four-player packs have four pairs. Collecting both tiles in a pair pays out immediately. Look out for combos like:
- Cat & Mouse
- Rooster & Centipede
- Caishen & Sycee
- Jiang Ziya & Fish
- Liu Haichan & Jin Chan
- Dragon & Flaming Pearl
Joker Tiles
Jokers are wild, but their rules depend on where you play. Shanghainese Mahjong might give you four; American Mahjong often eight. Jokers can imitate suited or honor tiles—sometimes even restricted to specific ranks:
- Universal joker (any tile)
- Suit joker (only circles, bamboo, or characters)
- Dragon or wind joker
- Flower joker
- Terminal joker (only 1s & 9s)
- 147 joker (only 1, 4, 7)
- 258 joker (only 2, 5, 8)
- 369 joker (only 3, 6, 9)