How Many Tiles Are in a Mahjong Set?
Short answer: a standard American mahjong set has 152 tiles and a traditional Chinese mahjong set has 144 tiles. The difference is the 8 jokers used in American mahjong.
Mahjong tile count at a glance
| Tile group | American | Chinese |
|---|---|---|
| Bams (1–9 ×4) | 36 | 36 |
| Craks (1–9 ×4) | 36 | 36 |
| Dots (1–9 ×4) | 36 | 36 |
| Winds | 16 | 16 |
| Dragons | 12 | 12 |
| Flowers / seasons | 8 | 8 |
| Jokers | 8 | 0 |
| Total | 152 | 144 |
Why do some sets have 166 tiles?
Some modern sets add extra jokers and spare blank tiles so you can replace a lost tile or play house-rule variations. The core game still uses 152 tiles. Always check the product description to see the exact contents of a set.
The suit tiles
There are three suits numbered 1 to 9, with four copies of each number: Bams (bamboo sticks, the 1 Bam is usually a bird), Craks (a number with a character) and Dots (circles). Together they make up 108 of the tiles.
Honor tiles
Winds (North, East, West, South) and Dragons (Red, Green, White) are called honor tiles. There are four of each, for 28 honor tiles in total.
Flowers and jokers
American sets include 8 flowers and 8 jokers. Jokers are wild in any group of three or more identical tiles. Learn the rules in our how to play mahjong guide.
Do I need racks to play?
Racks aren't required, but they keep tiles upright and hidden and make building the wall much faster. See mahjong racks.
Looking for a complete set? Browse mahjong tile sets or American mahjong sets.