Quick answer
An American set has 152 tiles, including eight jokers. A 144-tile set is a Chinese set with no jokers, so count the jokers before anything else. A set listed with more than 152, such as 166, adds spare tiles. You also need four racks, ideally with pusher bars, and one current League card per player. Look for engraved, filled markings rather than printed ones, which wear.
Mahjong sets vary widely in price, and an expensive set will not make you a better player. Here is what to check before you buy anything, whatever you spend.
The tile count is the first test
An American set has 152 tiles. The three suits of craks, bams, and dots have 36 tiles each, and the rest are winds, dragons, flowers, and eight jokers. A set sold with 144 tiles is a Chinese set, and it has no jokers, which makes it unusable for the American game until eight jokers are added.
It is an easy mistake in a first purchase, because both are sold as mahjong sets. Count the jokers before you count anything else.
Why some sets have more than 152 tiles
The game is played with 152 tiles, and some sets are sold with spares on top. One 166-tile American set, for example, lists the 152 plus eight more flowers, two more jokers and four blank spares.
The League's game uses eight flowers, eight jokers and no blanks, so the extra tiles are spares. Keep them in the case to replace a lost or broken tile, unless your table has agreed a house rule that uses them.
What to check is the same whatever the total. A set with eight or more jokers has the jokers the American game needs. One with fewer needs jokers added before it can be played.
Racks, pushers, and why they matter
You need four racks, one per player, to hold thirteen tiles upright and hidden. Racks with pusher bars let you push your built wall forward without knocking it over.
A set may come with tiles but no racks, or with flimsy racks that will not hold a wall. Check whether racks are included and whether they have pushers. Buying decent racks separately is a reasonable plan if the tiles themselves are good.
Materials and tile size
Sets are sold in melamine, acrylic and other materials. Heavier and lighter tiles feel different in the hand, so if you have a preference, compare the weights listed for each set where the listing gives one.
Tile sizes vary between sets. Larger tiles are easier to read, which is worth considering if anyone at your table has trouble reading small engraving. Look for engraved and filled markings rather than printed ones, which wear.
Cases
Sets come in soft zippered cases, hard aluminum cases, or wooden boxes with drawers. The case is mostly about how you will store and carry it. A soft case is light to carry to club nights, an aluminum case is rigid, and a wooden box with drawers is heavy to move.
None of this affects play. Buy for how you will actually use it.
Inherited and vintage sets
If a set has come down through your family, check the tile count first, then look for jokers. Older American sets may predate the joker or come with a different count, and some vintage Bakelite and bone-and-bamboo sets are worth having appraised before you play with them.
You can play with a vintage set and keep an inexpensive modern one for club nights.
What you also need
The current year's card, one per player, from the National Mah Jongg League. The League issues a new card every April and the hands change, so an old card will not match the current game.
Beyond that, you need quarters if your group plays for stakes, and a table that seats four comfortably. Everything else is preference.
What comes in the box
Tiles first, then a short list of extras. Two 166-tile American sets from one seller show what a listing names. Both come with four wooden racks, dice, a wind indicator, scoring coins and a booklet.
They differ in the details. One has magnetic pushers on its racks and a soft case. The other has a wooden case and racks with brass posts, and its pushers are sold separately.
The dice start each hand. Each player rolls for the first East, and after that East rolls to choose where the wall breaks. The wind indicator is a marker you can set beside East's rack so the table can see who deals, and scoring coins let a group settle up without cash.
Neither listing includes a card. The National Mah Jongg League sells a new one each year, and each player needs their own, so it is a separate purchase whatever set you choose.
So read a listing past the tile count. Look for racks and pushers by name, and if pushers are not named, ask before you buy.
Put it into practice
New to the game? Start the course at Lesson 1, Meet the Tiles. The first three lessons are free and need no account.
Already play? Have the coach read a real dealt hand for you, free. It names the direction the hand goes for, what to keep, what to pass, and the reasoning behind each call.
Once you have a set, the next thing to learn is reading a rack. Mei, our AI coach, reads a hand tile by tile, names the direction it goes for, and says what to keep and what to pass, free.