Babcock's Rules for Mah-Jongg/Chapter 1

by Joseph Park Babcock

 

I

The Mah-Jongg Set

The Tiles: MAH-JONGG is played with a set of 136 pieces of bone or ivory with bamboo backs. The faces are engraved with designs in color. These pieces are referred to as "Tiles." There are thirty-four kinds of tiles and four of each kind make up the set.

Fig. 1. The Bamboo Suit

The thirty-four different kinds of tiles are as follows: First, there are three suits designated by "Bamboo," "Dots," and "Characters" (see Figs. 1, 2, and 3). Each of these three suits runs from one to nine. Thus, the various tiles are referred to as one bamboo, four dots, seven characters, etc. In the three suits, therefore, there are twenty-seven different kinds of tiles, four alike of each kind, making a total of 108.

Fig. 2. The Dot Suit

In addition there are the "Honor Tiles," consisting of the four Winds, the East, South, West, and North Winds (see Fig. 4), and also the tiles called the "Red Dragon," "Green Dragon," and the "White Dragon," or more simply Red, Green, and White (See Fig. 5). The Winds and Dragons total 28 tiles.

The beginner should study the tiles and be able to classify correctly all the tiles in the set before proceeding with the play. The design of the one bamboo (a bird) and the one dot (a large circle) should be noted carefully so that no confusion occurs in assigning these tiles to their proper suits.

Fig. 3. The Character Suit

Extra white tiles are included with each set for use in case a tile should be lost or damaged.^[1] Care should be taken to set aside these extra white tiles before beginning the game—only four white tiles should be used in playing.

The Counters: Improved Standard Counters of Chinese style are furnished with each set, to be used for scoring. At

Fig. 4. The Four Winds

the close of each hand the winner receives counters from the three losers, who then receive from each other the difference between their scores, as explained in the rules.

Fig. 5. The Three Dragons

The counters furnished with the set have four values. Before play has started each of the four players receives

		Points
Fig. 6		2 counters with five red dots (each 500 points) or	1000
Fig. 7		9 counters with one red dot (each 100 points) or	900
Fig. 8		8 counters with ten black dots (each 10 points) or	80
Fig. 9		10 counters with two black dots (each 2 points) or	20
The Counters		29 counters in all to each player	2000

The Dice: Two dice only are required in playing the game. An extra pair is supplied with each set to replace any that may be lost.

The Mingg and Wind Discs.

A small cylindrical box known as the "Mingg" is usually included with each set. This Mingg contains four Wind Discs.

These may or may not be used, but the Mingg will be

Fig. 10. Mingg, Four Wind Discs, and Dice

found useful to mark the position of East Wind during the play.

The use by the Chinese of the Mingg, and the four Wind Discs in drawing for seats and keeping track of the number of rounds played is explained fully under Chinese Methods of Play (Pages 63–67).

The Seasons: Eight extra tiles of special design, known as the "Seasons," are usually included with the MAH-JONGG set (see Fig. 38). The use of the Seasons is explained in Chapter 10. The Seasons are an innovation but lately introduced into the game, but their use has never become popular with the Chinese and they are not recommended for play.

1. Publisher's Note.—Each set of tiles is the individual handicraft of Chinese ivory-carvers, and no two sets are exactly alike. So it is not possible to duplicate a lost tile. The extra White Tiles match the others in size exactly, so if you lose a tile, send an extra white tile of your set to the MAH-JONGG Company of China, Chinese Post Office Box No. 1, Shanghai, by registered mail, with letter stating which tile is lost, and the design will be engraved upon the White Tile you send and returned to you with our compliments without charge. If you enclose twenty cents return postage in American stamps, it will be appreciated.