Generated from the game's tile data
Mahjong Turtle Tile Guide
This reference renders every face defined in lib/tiles.ts. Use the text label below each specimen as the stable name: Unicode Mahjong glyph artwork can vary by operating system, browser, and installed font.
Which collection appears on a board?
The classic Turtle layout uses 144 tiles: 34 standard faces appear four times each, plus four individual flowers and four individual seasons. The generator organizes that collection as 72 supported matching pairs.
Smaller layouts use deterministic subsets from that supported pair pool. Their layout size determines how many pairs are assigned, so not every layout contains the full classic 144-tile collection. A 48-tile layout, for example, receives 24 seeded pairs rather than every face shown below.
Supported tile specimens
Color is not needed to identify any specimen: every rendered face has an adjacent text label, and matching depends on the face's stored match key rather than its color.
Characters
9 faces · 4 copies each in the classic setNumbered 1 through 9. A character tile matches only the same numbered character face.
Bamboo
9 faces · 4 copies each in the classic setNumbered 1 through 9. A bamboo tile matches only the same numbered bamboo face.
Circles
9 faces · 4 copies each in the classic setNumbered 1 through 9. A circle tile matches only the same numbered circle face.
Winds
4 faces · 4 copies each in the classic setEast, south, west, and north are separate faces. Each wind matches only itself.
Dragons
3 faces · 4 copies each in the classic setRed, green, and white are separate faces. Each dragon matches only itself.
Flowers
4 unique tiles in the classic setPlum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum share the flower match key, so any flower matches any other flower.
Seasons
4 unique tiles in the classic setSpring, summer, autumn, and winter share the season match key, so any season matches any other season.
Recognize a legal pair
- Confirm that neither tile is covered from above.
- Confirm that each tile has at least one open horizontal side.
- Compare the labels: standard faces must be identical; flowers match flowers; seasons match seasons.
A correct face match still cannot be removed if either tile is blocked. Review the static availability diagrams in the exact free-tile rule, then practice on the classic Turtle board or follow the strategy learning path.