Mah Jong

Mah Jong seems to have originated in the territories surrounding Hangchow, Nanking, Shanghai and Ningpo. The immediate ancestor of the game was a popular card-game called Ma-Tiao ("Hanging Horse"), which was a simple set-forming card (or tile) game, which at first consisted of four suits from 1 to 9 and four bonus cards, but which later in the 19th century was played with a total of 108 cards of 3 suits, named Ping (cash -> circles), So (string -> bamboos) and Wan (myriads -> characters). This game seems to have evolved into a proto-version of Mah Jong late in the 19th century, probably in the hands of scholars, officials and aristocracy.

The game was introduced in the USA in the 1920's and gained at first much popularity.

The first rules were produced by Joseph P. Babcock, who started marketing Mah Jong sets in America and who also took out a copyright on the name "Mah-Jongg", thus claiming to be the sole authority on Mah Jong in America. These rules were based on a simplified Shanghai form of Mah Jong, which omitted most of the Limit hands and some of the double patterns (e.g., Three concealed triplets), and introduced loser scoring for uncompleted One Suit with Honors and One suit only hands, later expanding this concept to some other hands as well. This scoring practice can still be seen in many Western versions, not only in American and Australian rules, but also e.g. in the Dutch rules.

Books that will enable beginners to play within an hour's read, and enthusiasts to develop strategy and tailor their game to win in any situation.

Buy Popular Mah Jong Books - USA

Buy Popular Mah Jong Books - Canada

MAH JONG $27.99

This American version of Mah Jong features 166 playing tiles, 4 color racks, 2 dice, playing chips, and instructions. Suitable for beginner or advanced players. Please note that these tiles are plastic and 3/16" thick. These are not the standard, thick, domino-like tiles for Mah-Jong.

MAH JONG - DELUXE AMERICAN SET $99.99

This deluxe American Mah Jong set features a high impact ABS case for traveling in style! This set is an American version complete with Jokers, four wooden tile racks, and colorful tiles. Each resin tile measures 1 1/8" by 7/8" by 1/2". The locking case holds everything securely for easy travel and measures 20" by 9" by 4 1/2". An instruction booklet is included.

MAH JONG - TRAVEL $15.99

Mah Jong - Travel comes with everything you need to play this popular game. This travel set comes with narrow cards made of 100% plastic for durability instead of the traditional Mahjong tiles. Contents of Mah Jong - Travel

100% plastic Mahjong cards 3 dice Wind direction bettor die

MAH JONG SET WITH FABRIC CASE $69.99

This deluxe Mah Jong set features an elegant green fabric case with handmade trays. This set is an American version complete with Jokers, four wooden tile racks, and tiles that are made of bone and bamboo. Each tile features a bone face that is dovetailed into a bamboo backing and measures 1" by 3/4" by 1/2". The fabric case holds everything but the wooden tile racks for easy storage or travel, and measures 12 1/4" by 7 1/2" by 2". Instructions are included.

MAH JONG VINYL ATTACHE $55.99

This Mah Jong Vinyl Attache set features a black vinyl case with an easy carry handle. This set is an Asian version and each ivory colored resin tile measures 1 1/8" by 3/4" by 1/2". The case holds all the tiles and dice and measures 9" by 6 1/4" 1 3/4". Instructions are included.

Mah-Jongg

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