Mah jongg is a rummy-like game played with tiles rather than with cards. The traditional tiles were made from bone or ivory; modern sets use tiles made of plastic. A full mah jongg set contains 136 or 144 tiles, depending on whether the players use flowers or seasons. Some sets include 20 flowers.

The names and numbers of the pieces are:

Bamboo, 36 tiles, four of each number, from 1 to 9
Circles, 36 tiles, four of each number, from 1 to 9
Characters, 36 tiles, four of each number, from 1 to 9
Honors, 12 tiles, with four green, four red, and four white dragons
Winds, 16 tiles, four each from east, south, north, and west
There may also be eight flowers and seasons, four of each, or eight of either

The bamboos are sometimes called "sticks," or "bams;" the circles are called "dots;" the characters are known as "cracks," or "craks." A mah jongg set also has a pair of dice and a number of tokens or chips used for scorekeeping. A rack holds the tiles upright and keeps their faces hidden from the other players.

Object is to Get Sets of Tiles

The game usually has four players. As in rummy card games, the object of the game, is to obtain sets of tiles. There are three kinds of sets: a "chow," which is a run or sequence of three tiles in the same suit in numerical order; a "pung," which is a sequence of three tiles in the same suit and rank, for example, three identical circles; and "kong," which is a pung, plus the fourth matching tile.

The game is won by the first player to hold a complete hand, which is four sets and a pair of like tiles for a total of 14 tiles. As in rummy, the strategy of mah jongg is to play on the offensive, to complete a winning hand as quickly as possible, and to play defensively, blocking other players by not discarding tiles that are useful to them; and to build a hand with the highest score possible.

Players start by drawing 13 tiles; one player, the “east wind,” takes 14 tiles and begins play by discarding one tile. After that, the other players each draw a tile. A tile that is drawn may be the last discarded tile, or it may be a loose tile from the “wall.” Play moves in a counterclockwise direction. Scoring is relatively complicated.