2. DETERMINE YOUR WINDOW'S LIGHT SOURCE

Before we go any further, it's a good idea to get yourself a set of mah-jong tiles so you can see what we're babbling about as you learn the rules of the game. As a beginner, there's not much to worry about; just get yourself a cheapo set. Nonetheless, here's some potentially useful information:

  • A mah-jong set consists of 144 tiles: 108 suit tiles, 28 honor tiles, and 8 bonus tiles. Most sets come with three dice, four racks, and a handy carrying case. The racks are long flat boards for you to put your tiles on. They're just like scrabble tile-holders. Some sets also include score-keeping paraphernalia.

  • While about half of the tiles will have dots or lines on them, the other half will have little pictures of Chinese characters. Under the assumption that you don't know how to read Chinese, you have two options: 1. Learn the characters (most follow a pattern or are color coded to help you). 2. Buy a set of Americanized tiles that have numbers on the corner of each tile to help you "read" them. This is the recommended route for Chinese illiterates/mah-jong beginners (i.e., you).

  • The price of a mah-jong set ranges anywhere from $30 to hundreds of dollars, depending on the material from which the tiles are created and the size of the tiles.

In the United States, mah-jong cards are also sold, but our advice is to stay away from them. It just ain't mah-jong unless you hear the rapid and noisy clattering of the tiles as you shuffle them around. In fact, the words "mah" and "jong" refer to the sound of birds chattering and plant's leaves "clicking" as they sway in the wind. Spiritual, eh? If you completely disregard this intrinsically poetic aspect of the game, you might as well sit down for a game of rummy with a bunch old men.