Mahjong is a popular recreation game that was originated from China. Today, it remains as one of the most popular games in Asia, especially in Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. As a matter of fact, Mahjong has spread itself across many countries, even to the Western countries. Because of this, many online versions of mahjong have been created, and even tournaments have been created for this game.
While many articles have been written to discuss on the various mahjong strategies, this article presents a different side of the game; it focuses on mahjong tables instead.
Why discuss about mahjong tables?
As many fellow players would know, a mahjong game begins with the shuffling of the tiles manually. However, there are some places where mahjong is not being played in an enclosed area, or for people who are staying in apartments, the sound from the mahjong games might be imposed to neighbors as unwanted (and often annoying to some) noise.
Besides the noise factor to consider, some mahjong players prefer to hasten the game to allow more game rounds to be played. Partially, the speed factor can be increased by reducing the pre-game setup steps. The pre-game setup steps include items such as shuffling and racking up the tiles, and the throwing of dice.
Lastly, one major factor of mahjong is the ‘feel’ factor. The type of tiles, weight of tiles and the different types of tables affect the ‘feel’ of the mahjong game. This is why some people actually carry their own set of mahjong tiles with them when a game session is arranged.
Because of these factors, different table manufacturers have seen the need to design and build different types of mahjong tables to suit the different needs of the mahjong players.
The different types of mahjong tables
Generally, there are 4 different types of mahjong tables:
1. Fold-able Tables
2. Standard Tables
3. Mini Tables
4. Automatic Tables
Fold-able tables allow you to fold the tables up to a small form (some even 1:10 ratio of its original table size), hence allowing easy storage of the mahjong table. Due to the small size that the tables are capable to achieve, this allows them to be carried around with ease.
Standard tables are the most common type of mahjong table. Usually these tables can be folded once for saving of storage space, however the fold-able tables outshine the standard tables in this niche. A standard table is usually 33″ or 34″ in dimensions.
The mini tables are usually one-third the size of a standard mahjong table. Usually mini tables are not for playing, but for decoration or even used as gifts or souvenirs. They are usually packaged with mini mahjong tiles and sold as a set. Due to the miniature size, cute stickers or imprints are a common sight on mini mahjong sets.
Lastly, automatic tables allow the automation of mahjong game in many ways, in particularly the pre-game setup. Some of the features include: Shuffling of Tiles, Racking of Tiles and Throwing of Dice.
