The set on the table
Mahjong tiles explained
Air Mahjong uses a 152-tile American set. Three suits, four winds, three dragons, eight flowers, and eight jokers. Knowing which of those can stand in for each other saves most of the confusion in a first hand.
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Bamboo is the suit; the number is part of the identity. Four copies of each rank exist. A 1 Bam is often drawn as a bird on physical sets; our teaching diagram uses one bamboo stalk.
Tile counts and matching rules at a glance
- Bams. Bamboo is the suit; the number is part of the identity. Four copies of each rank exist. A 1 Bam is often drawn as a bird on physical sets; our teaching diagram uses one bamboo stalk.
- Craks. Craks, cracks or characters name this suit. Four of each rank exist. A 6 Crak matches another 6 Crak, not a 6 Bam.
- Dots. Dots are also called circles. Four of each rank exist. Count the dots and read the label; suit and rank must both match.
- Winds. East, South, West and North are four distinct identities, four copies each. Three Easts make a pung; East–South–West do not.
- Dragons. Red, green and white are separate identities, four copies each. White is a real dragon, sometimes shown as an empty frame or called “soap.” It is not a wild tile.
- Flowers. Eight flower and season tiles have different pictures. In American play here, all belong to one matching family. Any two can make a natural flower pair. They stay in your rack.
- Jokers. Eight jokers can fill eligible identical groups of three or more. They cannot fill singles or pairs, travel in the Charleston, or be claimed after they are discarded.
Total: 108 numbered tiles + 16 winds + 12 dragons + 8 flowers + 8 jokers = 152. Simplified teaching artwork; labels identify each tile.
Craks, bams, and dots
Each of the three suits is numbered 1 through 9, with four copies of every number. That is 108 tiles. Craks are the character suit, bams are bamboos, and dots are circles. A 6 crak matches another 6 crak. It does not match a 6 bam or a 7 crak.
The card talks about “one suit” or “two suits” because the same numbers in a different colour are a different hand. Garden steps wants four consecutive pungs in a single suit. A 2, 3, and 4 split across craks and dots is a different line, or no line at all.
Winds and dragons
Four winds — East, South, West, and North — and four copies of each, sixteen tiles. East matches only East. A pung of winds is three Easts, or three Souths, not one of each. A line such as Four winds garden asks for a pung of every wind, which is twelve wind tiles plus a flower pair.
Three dragons — Red, Green, and White — four copies of each, twelve tiles. They do not match each other. White is a dragon like the other two, not a blank. On the card, “any dragon” means you choose red, green, or white and then stick to that choice.
Flowers
Eight flower and season tiles, one of each picture. In this game they are one family: any flower matches any other flower. Two different flowers are a pair. A discarded flower can be called for a flower pung if the card still wants one. You will never see two copies of the same picture, because only one of each exists.
Flowers stay in your rack and count toward the fourteen. They are not the bonus tiles of Hong Kong mahjong, which are set aside and replaced. Passing a flower in the Charleston is legal. Whether it is wise depends on the line, which the strategy notes take up.
Jokers
Eight jokers. A joker may stand in a pung, a kong, a quint, or a sextet. It may not complete a pair, and it may not stand in for a single tile a line asks you to hold alone. You cannot pass a joker in the Charleston or the courtesy pass. You may discard one, and nobody is allowed to call it.
Only four copies of any suit tile, wind, or dragon exist. A quint of 8 bam is therefore four 8 bams and at least one joker. A sextet of a number needs at least two jokers. Flowers are the exception: eight of them match, so a flower group can be built with no joker at all. The rules explain redeeming a joker that is already exposed.
Groups, and what is not a group
A pung is three matching tiles, a kong is four, a quint is five, and a sextet is six. A pair is two, but a pair cannot be an ordinary exposure. Ordinary calls expose complete groups of three or more that fit the card. The card sometimes asks for specific numbers — such as 2, 4, 6 and 8 — or for seven consecutive pairs, and you collect those numbers yourself. You do not chow.
Suit tiles are worth nothing by themselves until a line wants them. There is no intrinsic score for a dragon or a flower. The points live on the line, which is why scoring starts from the printed number rather than from the tiles.
Common questions
Do all flowers match?
Yes. Any of the eight flower and season tiles can sit with any other in a flower group. Identical copies do not exist, so a flower pair is always two different pictures.
Can a joker finish a pair?
No. Jokers belong in groups of three or more. A pair of dragons, a pair of flowers, or a pair of numbers has to be natural tiles. Singles on a concealed line are natural too.
Why would a quint need a joker?
The set has four of each number, wind, and dragon. Five of a kind is only possible if a joker fills the fifth place. A flower quint is different, because any flower matches and there are eight of them.
Are craks and bams just characters and bamboos?
Yes. Craks are the character suit, bams are bamboo, and dots are circles. Air Mahjong uses the American names on the card and on the rack.
More guides
- Learn mahjongThe map of these guides, and which game they describe.
- How to play mahjongOne hand, from the dice and the deal through the Charleston to Mah Jongg.
- Mahjong rulesLegal calls, the Charleston, concealed lines, and the wall game.
- Mahjong scoringThe printed value, discard and self-pick payments, and the jokerless double.
- Mahjong strategy tipsChoosing a line, passing with a purpose, and when to leave a discard.
- Play mahjong online freeOpen a free table in the browser with friends or with the computer.
One decision at a time
Get comfortable with the tricky parts.
- The mahjong Charleston, one pass at a timeLearn the Charleston passing order with an actual Air Mahjong rack, a keep-or-pass explanation, blind-pass rules and a worked example of why 14 tiles may not win.
- American mahjong joker rulesSee exactly how a joker exchange can complete Crosswind, where jokers are legal, why a natural pair still matters, and which tempting swaps are not allowed.
- How to read a mahjong cardRead a real American mahjong rack against Crosswind, identify missing and unused tiles, and check group sizes, suit relationships, joker limits and concealment.
- When can you call a mahjong discard?Follow a real Air Mahjong hand from a legal pung call through the next discard to a winning pair. Learn the decision order and the claims that fail.
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