I just couldn't resist!

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by or2az » Mon May 26, 2014 4:32 am

That would be cool but I doubt they would know riichi mahjong. I would have to play chinese.
Anyway, Tom Sloper lists 5 sizes of tiles (small, 7, 7.5, 8, 9) in his FAQ #7a. http://www.sloperama.com/mjfaq/types.htm
They don't conform to any unit of measurement (like millimeters). The numbers just let you know how one stands in relation to the others.
Hard to believe there are 2 sizes bigger than the ones I got.
Also, how would one go about buying scoring sticks if one wanted to?
And when would one use the 5000 and 10000 point sticks?

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by Barticle » Mon May 26, 2014 1:40 pm

Ah, so this could be a standard scale of size. I'm only familiar with this scale from Japanese sites:

http://shopping.c.yimg.jp/lib/choro/ran622_05.jpg

Even discounting the tiny pocket-sized sets, the variation in mahjong tile sizes is quite remarkable - some Chinese tiles are massive. One time I found a mahjong set with surprisingly big tiles in the back of a store in London's Chinatown... and then I spotted the even larger set beneath it! :shock:

YMI are a major retailer in the States; you can buy scoring sticks direct from their website or via their eBay store. I'm sure Tom has a list of suppliers too.

http://www.ymimports.com/b/8268640011

Say you play with 25k starting scores each player would start with 1 x 10k, 2 x 5k, 4 x 1k and 10 x 100 to make it easier to pay (and receive!) various totals.

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by Scott Miller » Mon May 26, 2014 8:22 pm

If those tiles are actually ivory, that would make them very valuable (thousands?).

Not sure how they could be 75% ivory, they look to be one-piece tiles... perhaps the group-effort translation is slightly off.

Look carefully at your tiles for any kind of "grain". If you see any... get a little bit excited... and do some more reading on ivory "grain" called Schreger lines to help you identify ivory... or ever get a jeweler to look at them. If they turn out to be ivory, that would be an amazing garage sale find... especially if you are in the Stats, where importing new ivory is illegal... making any existing ivory that much more valuable.

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by or2az » Mon May 26, 2014 8:53 pm

We concluded that the 7.5 was the size of the mahjong tiles rather than 75%. I think it was referred to as "medium large" in sloperama FAQ #7a.
The label therefore reads, we think, "7.5 size yellow ivory" but I dont think it is really ivory. The case is not very good quality and I have read that ivory tiles most likely come in good quality cases, but I will do some research just in case.
Thanks for pointing that out.
Can you add anything to the label translation?

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by Shirluban » Mon May 26, 2014 9:50 pm

From the second picture, I can tell for sure it's plastic.
"Ivory" must refer to the color, not the material.
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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by or2az » Tue May 27, 2014 12:18 am

Agreed. There is a color called "yellow Ivory" and it looks like my tiles. Case Closed.

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by or2az » Tue Jun 10, 2014 5:38 pm

I just picked up an incomplete set of poker chips at a garage sale for 50 cents. There are 42 white, 25 red, and 18 blue.
If I ever get the chance, I plan to use them as follows: White=100pts, Red=1000pts, Blue=5000pts
The distribution per player would be:
10 white.. (10x100=1000)....total of 40 chips, 2 extra
4 red.... (4x1000=4000).....total of 16 chips, 9 extra
4 blue...(4x5000=20,000)...Total of 16 chips, 2 extra
This gives each player 25,000 pts.
Would I run into any problems with this setup?
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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by Shirluban » Tue Jun 10, 2014 6:36 pm

For 25000 points, the classical distribution is:
10x 100
4x 1000
2x 5000
1x 10000

Your distribution is essentially replacing the 10k stick by two 5k ones, and that couldn't hurt.
So... go for it. :)
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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by Barticle » Wed Jun 11, 2014 5:59 pm

Practise a nonchalant coin-toss with a red chip for that effortlessly cool look when you reach. 8)

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by or2az » Wed Jun 11, 2014 9:51 pm

I assume I should catch it.....let it land gracefully in my flat open palm for that really cool look BEFORE it lands on the table.
Oh, by the way, when you list your location in England followed by ( and usually 一向聴地獄), I translated that as iishanten hell...Is that correct????
Care to explain?
Last edited by or2az on Thu Jun 12, 2014 12:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by Barticle » Wed Jun 11, 2014 10:34 pm

Yes, and don't we all spend a lot of time there? ;)

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by Referee » Thu Jun 12, 2014 12:59 am

Iishanten jigoku is a very familiar place, yes.

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by or2az » Sun Oct 19, 2014 7:22 am

Well, I just couldn't resist.....again!
Wandered into an indoor swap meet (flea market) in Phoenix, Arizona, and spotted an american mahjong set priced at $70 but right next to it was a small box containing a chinese set. I figured that out since it had 144 tiles and 4 blanks (and the box said "made in china"). Now even though I still have not used the other set I bought, the $5 price tag seemed like too good a deal to pass up, so I didn't. These were smaller tiles (1''x3/4"x7/16") or (2.6cmx2.0cmx1.0cm) and still wrapped. Have not found any size tiles on the internet that correspond to this. It also had 3 teenie weenie dice and the smallest round wind indicator I've ever seen.
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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by Barticle » Sun Oct 19, 2014 10:41 am

That's an amazing bargain - better than the first one!

This is a nice clean set - no extra markings on the suit and honour tiles. If the colour matches, you could use the spares as authentic blank Japanese white dragons if you wanted.

The tile size is similar to standard Japanese ones except they would usually be thicker to help them stand (see size L on the pic I posted 26 May). You might sometimes see smaller sets like this marketed as travel sets.

If there's one thing that's more tactile than mahjong tiles it's mahjong tiles still wrapped in blocks. :) Will you unwrap them?!

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Re: I just couldn't resist!

Post by or2az » Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:37 pm

I will probably unwrap them. They are lighter, much smaller, and a lot easier to carry around than the other set if I need to just explain the basics to anyone. The tiles do seem to stand up okay for playing purposes and maybe I'll experiment on these for the red fives.
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I do like that there are no numbers or letters on the tiles (and like you said, real white dragons). Seems more exotic.
I'm not sure what the tiles are made of though. Tom mentions the following in FAQ 7a in the link of my top post above (5/25) but I don't know. Could be plastic.

Bone and bamboo tiles can vary in size:
H = 2.4 to 2.9cm (15/16" to 1-5/32")
W = 1.75 to 2.2cm (3/4" to 7/8")
D = 1.1 to 1.2cm (15/32" to 1/2")
And smaller bone and bamboo tiles are also not uncommon (usually made for use as "travel sets").

Maybe if he sees this.......

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