Mahjong Playing Cards - Balsa

Thickened mahjong cards made for outdoor play, putting the whole game in a pocket where a tile set could never go.

The whole game in a pocket, which no tile set manages
Thick enough that no card becomes readable from the back
Nothing to build, so a hand starts as people sit down
Quiet, which matters where a shuffle would carry

$24.99

(0 reviews)

delivery_truck_bolt Estimated delivery: -

package_2

Flat $9.95 shipping · 30-day returns from delivery

Where cards go and tiles do not

A tile set needs a flat, stable, reasonably large surface. Cards need a lap. That single difference opens up trains, planes, park benches, hospital rooms, hotel beds and every kitchen counter that is already half occupied.

For a lot of players, a card deck is not a compromise on the tile set. It is the reason they get to play at all during the week.

Thickened stock

A mahjong deck runs to well over 100 cards, which means far more handling than a standard pack. Thin cards bend, and a bent card is identifiable from the back, which in a game built on hidden information is a real problem rather than a cosmetic one.

Thickness is the specification that decides how long a deck stays fair.

What changes in play

No wall, so a hand starts immediately. Discards stack rather than spreading across a table. Scoring is unchanged.

What is missing is the weight and the sound, which for many players is a large part of the appeal. Cards are the second set, almost never the first.

Care

Keep them dry and boxed. Replace a creased card rather than playing it. A deck missing cards is unplayable, so count them back in as you would tiles.

1 set of thickened mahjong playing cards

Set weight: 0.6 lb (0.28 kg)

Type	Playing cards
Feature	Thickened, for outdoor use
Colour	White
Weight	0.27 kg (0.6 lb)

Mahjong cards carry the same suits and honours as tiles, printed on a deck. They go where a set cannot.

Deck size. Check the stated count against the game your table plays: the pieces in use are not the same from one variant to the next.

Finish. Plastic and coated decks wipe clean and survive a table with drinks on it. Uncoated card is lighter and cheaper, and it softens with use.

What they are good for. A plane, a hotel room, a small table, or teaching someone the suits. What they cannot give you is the weight and the sound of tiles, which is most of why people play at home.

Orders are processed within 1 to 2 business days, with tracking on every parcel. Delivery across the United States takes 10 to 25 days and costs $9.95, one flat rate charged once per order whatever the number of items.

Changed your mind? You have 30 days from delivery to request a return, unused and in its original packaging. Approved refunds go back to your original payment method within 3 business days.

style

Mahj in your handbag

The whole tile set, in a deck. Plane tray, hotel room, poolside: anywhere a set won't go.

water_drop

Wet hands welcome

Waterproof decks that survive an afternoon by the pool and a spilled drink.

school

Teach anyone, anywhere

The easiest way to show a friend the game before she commits to a set.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, with a purpose printed mahjong deck rather than a standard pack. The suits, the honours and the scoring are unchanged; what disappears is the wall, so a hand starts the moment people sit down instead of after 3 minute build. Discards stack rather than spreading, which is why a deck plays on a lap or a tray where a tile set needs a full table.

There are, usually in PVC rather than card stock, and they suit a poolside or a boat. This deck takes the other approach for outdoor play: thickened stock, which resists the folding that ruins a pack far more often than water does. A creased card is a marked card in a game of concealed hands, so thickness earns its place even on a dry table.

It is a shorthand for reading waits. Within a suit the numbers fall into three families, 1-4-7, 2-5-8 and 3-6-9, and a hand waiting on one member often accepts the others as well. Holding 1234567 in a single suit, for instance, completes on the 1, the 4 or the 7. It is a way of spotting your own outs and guessing what an opponent is sitting on, not a rule of play.

Specialist game retailers stock them, and we ship this deck ourselves. Since photographs rarely show it, the two things worth confirming before ordering are the card stock and the count. This deck is thickened for outdoor use, and thickness is what stops a card bending, because a bent card becomes identifiable from the back and that quietly undermines a game built on hidden information.

Play in Style with The Mahjong Section

A mahjong set is handled more than almost anything else in the house: every tile passes through four pairs of hands, several times a game.

That is what we select for. Tiles that read clearly from the far side of the table, edges that stay clean, and a case that still closes after a few seasons of being carried around.

A Set Worth Collecting

Sets differ in ways that only show at the table: the weight of a tile in the hand, how a crak reads from three seats away, whether the case survives the trip to a friend’s house.

When we have the figures, we publish them: tile count, tile size, weight and material. When we do not have one, we leave it out rather than guess.