By: Bimol Bee
Submitted: 2012-01-20 10:12:37 | Word Count: 682
The game of mah jong has become extremely popular in many countries of the world in the last several years. However, it was subjected to some changes from the representatives of different cultures who tried to fit it to their taste. Nowadays, it has become possible to play Japanese, American, Chinese, and even Eurpoean versions of this interesting game. So, you should be ready to face this or that version of mah jong game depending on the place where you purchase or play it. Usually, different versions of mah jong game also offer mah jong sets of somewhat different designs.
Now it's time to speak about different designs of mah jong game, as studying them will help you to understand the main influences to which this unique game was subjected during its travel all over the world. It's interesting to know that earlier all mah jong sets were made of ivory. Afterwards, people started to use many other materials to create mah jong sets. Mah jong game was one of the first items which were made of the traditional ivory and tiles of white color. As you can see, this game was produced from small elegant pieces each of which had its own unique design that was drawn on them. As a rule, the design of mah jong game set was determined by its user, a family, or even a klan at that period of time. In the course of time, however, with the spread of mah jong game, there appeared numerous other mah jong design sets.
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It's possible to meet mah jong designs which are skillfully produced from animal bone. This material offers durability and stylish color, as well as the glossy finish which usually can tell much about the owner of this or that game set. This was many years ago when ivory was used for the production of mah jong game sets. Nowadays, a great number of mah jong games is manufactured from plastic. This is usually hard white or ivory plastic of high quality that is able to make the tiles look traditional. As ivory is illegal in many countries of the world, plastic is widely used to duplicate its characteristics and does it very skillfully.
Nevertheless, it doesn't really matter what material the tiles of your mah jong game are made of, as they don't greatly influence the design of the game. There're definite characteristics which can determine the version or design of the mah jong game. The tiles of this game are set up like cards which have suits and numbers, but the design on the back of each tile can be exclusive. Any person can make custom tiles with significant symbols on the back.
Although you can see that the size of the tiles can differ from set to set, but still there are traditional dimensions of mah jong design. In this way, the tiles should be about 1-1/2 inches long and 1 inch wide. These tiles should be located on racks for better viewing and easier playing. Every tile has numbers and a suit printed on it, very often these are the Chinese characters reminding the game's roots.
There're also other parts of various mah jong design sets which can be changed or customized. The box where the tiles are stored can be made with the usage of such materials as wood, metal, velvet, etc. Besides, mah jong sets have dice that is usually colored and sized to denote a custom design. Everything is made in such a way to bring much pleasure to the players of this game.
Summing up, it's necessary to mention that various mah jong design sets differ just like the people playing it. This also concerns the rules of the game, its price, its manufacturer and certainly its look in general. You can get a very elegant set as well as a rather funky one. As the mah jong game is thousands of years old, you can also get its traditional variant. That is possible to do via the Internet.
