Ribbon & Porcelain Mahjong Set — 160 Tiles

Ten Joker tiles: five drawings done twice over in two colorways — a woman in sunglasses with her hair up and a beaded necklace, a wide-brimmed hat with a bow tied at the band, a big old key on a tassel, a round clipped shrub in an urn-footed planter, and a gourd-shaped porcelain vase. Each one has JOKER stitched along the bottom in the same cross-stitch lettering, one run drawn in mossy green line and one in pink with cobalt. That is the whole character of the set in miniature, and it is the point of it: a mahjong set small enough to actually carry, without leaving the pretty part at home.

Dots are blue-and-white chinoiserie plates seen from above, cobalt down to pale wash, each with its own flower or border ring. Craks are coral-pink ribbon bows with long curling tails, and the higher the tile, the more bows are tied into it. Bams are lime-green stems crossing one another with clusters of small red-pink berries at the tips, and Bam 1 is a little bird in flight drawn in thin mossy green with one red bloom and a few chartreuse leaves. Winds spell N, E, W and S as cross-stitch letters built from small squares, in cobalt or deep pink, with flower dots at the corners. Dragons are a cobalt frame with a Greek-key border, a long-maned creature drawn in mossy green, and the same creature in pink-red. The eight Flowers are eight different vessels holding eight different bouquets — blue hydrangea in a striped pink pitcher, chartreuse blooms in a tall vase, pink roses and carnations in a bowl, pink tulips in a blue-striped vase, blue flowers in a small jar, red tulips in a ribbed one. There is not a single Chinese character anywhere on the set. The artwork is carved, sunk into grooves with softly rounded rims.

Set: 160 tiles

Play style: NMJL-ready — American mahjong

Material: Acrylic

Faces: Milky white with a smooth soft gloss and slightly translucent rims

Backs: Pale sky blue patterned all over with parallel bands of small white zigzags like cross-stitch; some tiles add cream or pale yellow bands

Edges: Two bands — thin milky white above a wide pale blue, with the white stitching running onto the edge

Artwork: Carved — lines sunk into grooves with softly rounded rims

Lettering: Latin only — JOKER and N, E, W, S; no Chinese characters anywhere

Dots: Blue-and-white chinoiserie plates seen from above, cobalt to pale wash, each with a different flower or ring

Craks: Coral-pink ribbon bows with long curling tails; more bows on the higher tiles

Bams: Crossed lime-green stems with clusters of small red-pink berries; Bam 1 is a small bird in flight in mossy green with a red bloom

Winds: N, E, W, S drawn as cross-stitch letters built from small squares, in cobalt or deep pink, with corner flower dots

Dragons: Cobalt frame with a Greek-key border; a long-maned creature in mossy green; the same creature in pink-red

Flowers: 8 tiles, each a different vase or bowl with a different bouquet — hydrangea, chartreuse blooms, roses and carnations, tulips, blue flowers

Jokers: Five designs in two colorways: woman in sunglasses, wide-brimmed hat with bow, tasseled key, urn planter with clipped shrub, gourd-shaped vase; cross-stitch JOKER at the base

Players: 4