TileTutor
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BasicsBeginner4 min6 steps

The tiles

Three suits, four winds, three dragons and eight flowers.

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Step by step

  1. 1

    A Hong Kong set has 144 tiles. Most of them are the three number suits, running one through nine. These are the characters — man.

  2. 2

    Bamboo — sok. Same one to nine, four copies of each.

  3. 3

    Circles — tung. That is the third and last number suit.

  4. 4

    Then the honours: four winds — east, south, west, north — and three dragons: red, green and white.

  5. 5

    Honours cannot form runs. They only ever appear as a pair, a pung of three, or a kong of four.

  6. 6

    Flowers are bonus tiles. When you draw one you set it aside and take a replacement tile.

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Characters (man)
1-9, four copies of each.
Bamboo (sok)
1-9, four copies of each.
Circles (tung)
1-9, four copies of each.
Winds
East, South, West, North. No runs.
Dragons
Red, Green, White. Pung or pair only.
Flowers
Set aside, draw a replacement tile.