Q 01/05

A debunked legend, used to sell mahjong sets in the 1920s, credits which ancient Chinese philosopher with inventing the game?

A) Confucius

B) Laozi

C) Sun Tzu

D) Mencius

Answer · why

A) Confucius

Confucius. A 1922 American rulebook was subtitled 'Played by Confucius 2200 Years Ago', part of a sales pitch that gave a far younger game an ancient,...

Q 02/05

The faces of most traditional mahjong tiles, dovetailed onto bamboo backs, were carved from what?

A) Jade

B) Porcelain

C) Cow bone

D) Mother-of-pearl

Answer · why

C) Cow bone

Cow bone. It was cheap and plentiful, so ivory sets were always the rare luxury, and bone stayed the standard until plastics took over in the twentiet...

Q 03/05

How many tiles does each mahjong player hold in hand between turns?

A) 6

B) 13

C) 26

D) 52

Answer · why

B) 13

13. A complete hand needs 14, so every player sits exactly one tile short until the winning tile arrives, either drawn or claimed from someone's disca...

Q 04/05

What makes up a standard winning hand in mahjong?

A) Three melds and two pairs

B) Five melds

C) Seven pairs only

D) Four melds and a pair

Answer · why

D) Four melds and a pair

Four melds and a pair. The dealer starts with all 14 tiles, so once in a blue moon the deal itself is already a winning hand, a fluke known as the hea...

Q 05/05

What does mahjong's original Chinese name, still used in Cantonese, mean?

A) Sparrow

B) Tiger

C) Dragon

D) Wall

Answer · why

A) Sparrow

Sparrow. The clatter of shuffled tiles is said to sound like a flock of squabbling sparrows.