FAQ 7f: All About Mah-Jongg Tables

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FAQ 7f. Mah-Jongg Tables

Ordinary playing-card tables are quite suitable for Mah-Jongg -- such a table can optionally be covered with cloth (pinned together underneath so the cloth doesn't slide around while shuffling). Tables should be no smaller than 33" square, no larger than 36" square. Round tables of 36" diameter are also acceptable.

An ordinary playing-card table.

In Asia, they even make special Mah-Jongg tables -- with a lip around the edge so tiles don't fall off while shuffling.

A mah-jongg table. Note drawers, cup holders, and ashtrays.

Hong Kong players also use a triangular piece to indicate which player was "Original East" (AKA "Home Base" or, in American mah-jongg, "Pivot"), to make it easier to know when the prevailing wind is supposed to change and when the game is supposed to end. My mah-jongg table even has a soft-plastic flap in each corner, to hold this triangular marker.

A recommended accessory when hosting a mah-jongg game is a set of party tables.

A set of party tables.

First set up the table, and place two party tables "kittycorner."

Table, with two party tables kittycorner.
(Kitty optional.)

Add four comfy chairs...

Table, party tables, and chairs.

Add a mah-jongg set. And you're all set!

Now all you need is players.

Here's the corresponding mah-jongg setup, with Chinese table and Hong Kong mah-jongg set:

In Japan and China there are companies that make special tables that shuffle and build walls for you.

There are also fancier (more expensive) models that even keep track of the score for you.

But there are a few problems with these tables:

New ones are very expensive. Refurbished machines go for well over $1000 USD in Japan!
Used ones are hard to find in America.
They are not suitable for games other than Asian styles (these tables are only suitable for Japanese or Chinese mah-jongg).
They cost a lot.
A lot of money is needed as a prerequisite.
You can't use them for American-style mah-jongg.
Did I mention the price? New machines can cost upwards of $6000 USD in Japan.

I got lucky in 2004, and bought a used Cosmo Jansui machine for $52 on eBay. It wasn't in operational condition.

It lit up, but it wouldn't "wash" the tiles.

I had to order parts (including a new set of tiles) from Japan, with the help of friends, and do some more troubleshooting. Eventually I got it working.

Click this image to see the machine working. Large file - over 7 megabytes.

You can read the full story, and see more pictures, HERE.

For more pictures of Japanese dealing machines, visit my "Mah-Jongg Friends" page, and you can also see photos on Uwe Martens' site where he reported the work he and Andre Marohn did on their Kakinuma machine.

There's a Chinese company, AoToMo, that offers automatic tables - too bad I can't read Chinese. http://www.aotomo.com/mjwh/index.html and www.chinamj.com.cn .
And here are some more sources you can try if you want to obtain a dealing machine. No guarantees that any of these are still up to date.

JOLLY INTERNATIONAL, INC.
2215 E. Huntington Dr.
Duarte, CA 91010
www.jollyoptics.com
(626) 930-0760
Teena - (866) 565-5988 (July 2003 #) $1,999

BURT TANAKA
Work:           (415) 566-6751
Fax:             (415) 566-5211
Other:         (415) 298-6751
E-Mail:        tanakaburt[AT]hotmail.com
1284 27th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94122-1507

HARBIN GONGDA HOPE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.
CHINA:
No. 15 Fuhua St.
Nangang District, Harbin
China 150001
Tel 0086 (451) 6222-324 or 6416-478
Fax 0086 (451) 6222-325
Email: hongpu@hope.hit.edu.cn
USA:
Harbin Gongda Dengen (HGD) Co., Ltd.
2390 Tilden Way
Henderson, NV 89014
Tel (702) 617-3482
Fax (702) 617-3482
Email: zwang[AT]nscee.edu

KAKINUMA Mah-Jongg Equipment Sales Corp.
Tokyo office
FAX: 81-3-3454-3560
http://www.jin.ne.jp/kakinuma/
Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
兵庫県神戸市中央区元町通6-6-10
Tel 81-78-371-4181
Fax: 81-78-371-1081
mailto:kakinuma[AT]jin.ne.jp

DOME (Majantaku Dome)
www.udom.co.jp/fourwinds/table/table.html

JOYS Kabushiki Kaisha
Tokyo, Japan
FAX to: 011-813-3803-5766 (Yokohama office: 011-81-45-201-0615)

Here's a Hong Kong company who makes and/or imports mah-jongg tables (just tables, not dealing machines):

YAU LUKHONG
Tel: 852-2637-1120
Fax: 852-2647-4475

New, April 13, 2008:
ZHEJIANG JINJIANG CO., LTD. says they sell automatic mahjong tables for around $600-800, plus $100 freight to the US from China.
Website: http://www.zjcgroup.com.
Email: louiskingyao[at]gmail.com

New, May 7, 2008:
HANGZHOU ZHAOFENG ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTS FACTORY offers a table at:
http://www.ecplaza.net/tradeleads/seller/3992208/aotomo_fullautomatic.html#none
Contact Mr. Guanrong Du
Homepage http://aotomo.en.ecplaza.net/
Telephone 86-571-8504-0367
Fax 86-571-8504-1685
Address No.238 Jichang Rd,Jianqiao, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 310021
Table's advertised price: US$680

Name = Steve Sera
Email = kurumayasan-usaⒶhotmail.com (copy and paste this into your email program and change Ⓐ to the @ symbol)
Posted = March 11, 2008
Service offered:
Do you live in the Los Angeles area and own a Japanese automatic mahjong table? Steve Sera is a highly skilled and experienced mechanic, has spare parts for many table models, and even better, he makes house calls! Email him and tell him Tom Sloper sent you.

Name: Norm Daley
Email: ngdaley@mlode.com
Date: 01 Feb 2002

Comments

Tom, For players, frustrated by tiles falling off the table or with not enough playing surface on a standard 30 inch card table, I have an idea, probably not original, but very easy to build. Get a piece of 3/4 inch plywood, affix a 1 X 2 inch piece of wood of your choice around the outside edge with 1 inch of the board above the plywood for a "lip". Cover with either a cloth easily found on any mahjonng site or one of the Organizations or simply plastic shelf paper. All you have to do is place this on top of a standard card table or any other table for a "custom" mahjonng playing surface. Probably cost you about $25 and easily storable. Norm

Here are some suggestions for those handymen wishing to build their own mah-jongg table:

The table surface should be no smaller than 31.75" (81cm) square. 33" (84cm) or 34" (86cm) are also good sizes. The smaller size is best if you use small tiles and/or play with fewer tiles (Japanese style, for instance) - the larger size is best if you use larger tiles and/or use racks. If the table is intended for American-style mah-jongg, you might want to make the playing surface as large as 36" square.
There should be a raised lip around the table surface to keep tiles from sliding off.
The tabletop should ideally be something like felt, only durable (don't use shoddy felt). And if the tabletop is removable for cloth replacement, that would be a good idea.
The table surface should be no lower than 27.5" (70cm) from the floor, and no higher than 28.75" (73cm) from the floor.
If you feel like spending extra time to make it really deluxe, make small drawers on each side for players to keep chips (or money), rule booklets, etc. But don't make the drawers too deep vertically - that would make for less leg room underneath.
You could even build swing-out surfaces (like kitchen cutting boards) for placing drinks and snacks on - but party tables are probably best instead (the idea of swing-out drink/snack surfaces is probably overkill).

In Feb. 2004, reader Will Harper added that wooden MJ tables have been spotted "at a 99 Ranch supermarket in [California's] Orange County. Ranch 99 markets are all through the Southland (L.A., Riverside, Orange, [and San Bernardino] counties)."

And in August 2004, a friend emailed me a link to http://www.agyris.net/v3/ugt/ where you can read about the Agyris Gaming Table (the "ultimate gaming table" - mainly intended for Role Playing Games - I don't know if it's suited for mah-jongg, since I'm too lazy to ready the site, but you might want to, for all I know!).

In October 2004, I went to San Francisco to attend a wireless game conference. I stayed with friends, met an internet mah-jongg friend, and went mah-jongg shopping in Chinatown. I found not just sets but also tables for sale there.

In December 2004, Stephane informed me of a Chinese furniture store in Oakland, California where wood mah-jongg tables are available. http://www.sfrosewood.com/.

From: Filipe Silva lafey@netcabo.pt> Date: May 31, 2004
Subject: MJ Table
>Tom,
>Here's a rather poor picture of my table with the Japanese set. Thought you'd like to see it. Ok, ok it's not "automatic" but...

>How's it going with the Jansui? Have you checked the TT sheet? If it's made of rubber it will certainly go bad with usage (-) and age (+).
>Old floppy drives had a rubber belt (who drove the heads) that had to be substituted from time to time because it simply melt (don't know if this is the right word but I can't find a more accurate adjective).
> Cheers,
>Filipe

Hi Filipe,
Your mah-jongg setup is shaping up nicely!
I have to sit down at the Jansui with my toolbox to remove the TT sheet and have a look. I haven't done that yet.
Cheers,
Tom

From: Filipe Silva - lafey@netcabo.pt>
Date: June 1, 2004
Subject: Re: MJ Table

> I'll give you a few more information on the table.

> [The given dimensions are approximate - if anyone wants to build a similar table I can check the real dimensions]

> -The design is inspired on a picture I saw in Perlemen & Chan book.

> -The table is made of 9 wood pieces plus cloth/mat:
>-A square 95 by 95 cm, 8 mm thick board.
>-Four 95 by 95 pieces of wood to serve as outer raised lip (2 by 2 cm thick)
>-Four 92 by 92 wooden rulers for the inner lip and chip holders (8 mm thick)

> -The table cloth/mat is made in Hong Kong. I got two (one meant to be a spare) of these mats from a friend there for 20 EUR including postage. They measure 92 by 92 cm. There are two kinds of these mats available - with or without sponge backs - mine both have sponge backs. The second was unfortunately ruined while I tried to apply it on the table.

> -The outer raised lip is nailed between itself and the square board.

> -The chip holders were drilled then rounded and smoothed with a file.

> -After the table was built, but before I got the mat attached - I gave 2 hands of varnish (for interiors) on the outer lip - oh - never varnish near cats - ask me how I know... The inner lip was painted/treated with a product called Cuprinol (trade mark?) I had here. It gave the inner lip a nice walnut color. Afterwards I gave two hands of varnish on it too. Again - do not - paint/varnish/spray near cats...

> -The mat was attached to the square board using double-faced cloth carpet tape. The inner lip/chip holder is attached to the mat with the same tape. This double face tape is extremely strong - no space for mistakes when applying the mat (that's how I ruined one...). I applied the mat almost cm by cm while I peeled off row by row of tape.

> -The table is actually a tabletop. The legs are a cheap pine table I have. When I want to play I just get the tabletop on the table. I can also store the tabletop on the vertical.

> Cheers,
>Filipe

>Subject: Success! I found a table!
>Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2004 08:49:21 -0600
>From: "Gilbert, Aidan O." [AGilbert@FFSPC.Com]
>Tom:
>
>After a year of looking for the right mah jong table, I have found and purchased a table which is really terrific!
>
>As you probably recall, I was looking for a higher end solid wood table to replace my folding card table. I wanted something nice that would be up all the time, instead of something that needed to be taken down.
>
>I considered antique tables on eBay, but wanted a 36" square table, and most of the antique tables are only 30" or 32" square.
>
>I searched all the high end stores in Chicago -- Fields, Bloomindales Home, Crate and Barrel, Room & Board, Restoration Hardware, Pier 1, and the big furniture stores. I ended up selecting a table from Cost Plus World Market. (A picture is attached.)
>
>I had to make one concession -- the table is 40" square -- but I am sure I will learn to live with it. The table (called the Sourav table) is solid sheesham wood with a dark stain. The table top is had chisled, so it is slightly irregular. I was worried that this would be bad for play, and even made sure I could take the table back if it affected play. Well, it does affect play, but in a delightful way. The tiles slide across the table so fast, and they make this lovely loud clatter -- the tiles wash beautifully. I was absolutely amazed.
>
>The table, chairs, and four seat pads cost about $900. Money well spent. My birthday is January 2, and my wife is throwing a mah jong birthday party for me. (Seven of my mah jong friends and a dim sum banquet!)? I can't wait to show the table off!
>
>Aidan

Great, Aidan! Thanks for sharing. Happy mah-jongging! - Tom
Tom Sloper

Los Angeles, CA (USA)
Dec. 18, 2004

From: Michael Freed
Email: mfreed@socal.rr.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 8:18 AM
Subject: Accessories For Sale
Items For Sale: American Maj Jongg Table Converter
Photos or web page: http://www.simplesite.com/laboroflove