By Jacky Chen, Founder of AURAJONG
September 23, 2026
Introduction
Early Chinese Mahjong tiles were much smaller, often only around 20–24 mm tall.
One widely told story is that in the 1980s and 1990s, some Taiwanese manufacturers used names such as First Generation, Second Generation, and Third Generation to distinguish different tile sizes. Many customers interpreted these “generations” as product upgrades and naturally preferred the newer, larger versions.
Later, the spread of automatic Mahjong tables pushed tile sizes even further. Today, 46 mm, 48 mm, 50 mm, and 52 mm tiles are common in China.
Whatever started the trend, larger tiles remained popular because many players simply found them easier to see, hold, and organize.
2. The Advantages of Larger Mahjong Tiles
Easier to Pick Up and Arrange
Larger Mahjong tiles offer a bigger surface to grip, which can make them easier to pick up and arrange.
They may also require less precise finger control, especially compared with very small tiles.
You do not have to handle every tile so carefully, and there is less chance of accidentally knocking over or disturbing your hand. The entire game can feel more relaxed.
Easily Arrange and Move the Tile Wall Using Just Your Hands
Larger Mahjong tiles generally create a more stable tile wall. When arranging or moving the wall, the tiles are less likely to shift, separate, or fall over. Instead of relying on a rack and pusher to carefully organize and move the tiles, players can simply place both hands around the wall and move it comfortably and naturally.
For American Mahjong, I believe this is especially important. Pushers are commonly used because smaller tiles can be difficult to move as a complete row without disturbing their arrangement. But when the tiles are large enough and the wall is stable enough, being able to control and move the wall directly with your hands can make the game much easier to play.
This does not mean that pushers will suddenly become unnecessary for everyone. Many players may still prefer to use them simply out of habit or convenience. But larger tiles can reduce the need to depend on a pusher every time the wall needs to be moved.
To me, this is one of the most interesting benefits of increasing tile size: it changes more than how the tiles feel in your hands. It can change the way the game is physically played, making it simpler and easier to manage while reducing the number of accessories needed on the table.
Larger Designs Are Easier to Recognize
A larger tile gives the designer more surface area to work with.
That allows for larger symbols, clearer lines, and stronger color separation. As a result, players can identify tiles more quickly.
This is particularly helpful for older players.
During a Mahjong game, we are not only looking at our own hands. We also need to see other players’ exposed Pungs, Kongs, and other tiles on the table.
When the tiles are too small, players may find themselves frequently leaning forward or adjusting their posture just to see and handle them clearly.
Easier to Notice and Easier to Find
Smaller tiles are easier to overlook. They can slip under a sofa, disappear beneath a table, or become hidden in a carpet more easily.
Larger Mahjong tiles are more noticeable in everyday use, which makes them somewhat less likely to be misplaced in the first place. And even if one does fall to the floor or end up under furniture, its larger size usually makes it easier to spot and recover.
This may seem like a small advantage, but in a home environment, where tiles are often moved, stored, and played with repeatedly, it can make a practical difference.
Less Likely to Be Swallowed by Young Children
Very small Mahjong tiles can present an additional concern in homes with young children: because of their size, they may be easier for a child to put fully into their mouth and potentially swallow.
Larger Mahjong tiles are generally more difficult for young children to fit completely into their mouths, which can reduce the likelihood of accidental swallowing compared with very small tiles.
That said, Mahjong tiles of any size should still be kept out of reach of babies and young children.
3. The Disadvantages of Larger Mahjong Tiles
Larger Mahjong tiles have real disadvantages as well.
Once Tiles Get Beyond About 44 mm, Manual Shuffling Becomes More Difficult
Without an automatic Mahjong table, manually shuffling larger tiles can become noticeably more difficult.
This helps explain why 46 mm, 48 mm, 50 mm, and even 52 mm tiles are practical in China: automatic Mahjong tables are already extremely common. The automatic table handles the shuffling and builds the tile walls, so players can enjoy the benefits of larger tiles without having to do much of the extra work themselves.
They Are Not Ideal for Travel
Larger Mahjong tiles mean more volume and more weight.
If you regularly travel, go camping, or bring your Mahjong set to a friend’s house, smaller tiles are clearly more convenient.
Travel Mahjong sets will always have a reason to exist.
Larger Tiles Require More Table Space and Larger Accessories
As Mahjong tiles become larger, the tile wall becomes longer, which naturally requires more playing space.
This is especially relevant in American Mahjong. Although larger tiles may reduce the need for racks and pushers, some players may still prefer to use them out of habit or personal preference. In that case, both the rack and the pusher would need to become much larger.
At some point, increasing tile size begins to create a trade-off: better visibility and handling, but greater demands on table space and accessories.
4. Where I Think American Mahjong Tile Sizes Are Heading
American Mahjong Tiles Will Get Larger
At its core, the reason is simple: larger Mahjong tiles can offer a noticeably better playing experience.
This view comes from my own experience growing up with Mahjong, from my family and friends, and from the many Mahjong players I have met over the years.
I learned to play Mahjong when I was young, and many experienced players around me have shared the same feeling:
If you have never played with larger Mahjong tiles, smaller tiles may seem perfectly fine. But once you have played a few games with larger tiles, going back to very small ones can feel surprisingly uncomfortable.
That difference is difficult to explain through dimensions and specifications alone. You really have to sit at the table and play with both sizes yourself to understand how different the experience can be.
I Do Not Expect American Mahjong Tiles to Exceed 46 mm Anytime Soon
The reason is simple: automatic Mahjong tables are still far less common in the United States than they are in China.
I believe 36 mm, 38 mm, 40 mm, and 42 mm tiles could become mainstream sizes for American Mahjong, with 40 mm and 42 mm being the two sizes I find particularly promising.
These two sizes sit in what I consider a very practical middle ground. They offer many of the advantages of larger Mahjong tiles while avoiding most of the disadvantages.
Even without an automatic Mahjong table, 40 mm and 42 mm tiles can still be shuffled and handled comfortably by hand. The walls are also stable enough to be moved with both hands, without necessarily requiring a pusher.
Demonstrating how a wall of 40 × 30 × 20 mm Mahjong tiles can be moved smoothly with both hands without using a rack or pusher.
For players who still prefer using racks and pushers, these sizes also avoid another problem: the accessories do not need to become excessively long.
We tested this repeatedly and eventually designed a 23.6-inch rack that works well with both sizes. A 19-stack wall made with 40 mm and 42 mm tiles is approximately 570 mm and 590 mm long, respectively, allowing the same rack to accommodate both comfortably.
Smaller Mahjong Tiles Will Not Disappear
I do not believe tiles smaller than 36 mm will become unpopular. In fact, as the overall number of Mahjong players grows, demand for smaller tiles may grow as well.
What may change is their role.
Tiles that were once commonly used at home or in Mahjong rooms may increasingly become travel Mahjong sets, taken outdoors, on trips, or anywhere portability matters.
That is one advantage larger Mahjong tiles can never fully replace.
5. I believe that more American players will gradually become comfortable with automatic Mahjong tables.
This is something I have also experienced personally.
I grew up playing Mahjong entirely by hand, shuffling the tiles and building the walls ourselves. But after automatic Mahjong tables became available, it took only a few years for them to become common in many households that truly loved the game.
In some upscale residential developments in China, developers even include an automatic Mahjong table as part of the standard interior fit-out.
Automatic Mahjong tables can significantly enhance the playing experience of American Mahjong.
Think about a typical Mahjong session:
How much time do we actually spend shuffling tiles and building walls?
Sometimes everyone has just finished shuffling the tiles and carefully building the walls. After dealing and completing the Charleston, only a few turns are played before one lucky player calls, “Mah Jongg!”
Then the walls everyone just built have to come down. Shuffle again, build the walls again, start again. All of this takes up a lot of time.
An automatic Mahjong table does not change the rules of Mahjong. It simply takes care of the tedious work of shuffling the tiles and building the walls. Players no longer have to do these tasks by hand and can focus more fully on the game itself.
By the time one round ends, the next set of tiles is already waiting inside the table, fully shuffled, arranged, and ready for the next game.
It gives players back the time that would otherwise be spent shuffling tiles and building walls.
That time can be spent having a cup of coffee, drinking some juice, talking with friends, or simply standing up, stretching, and relaxing for a moment.
This is also part of AURAJONG’s brand philosophy: making American Mahjong easier to play and giving players a better overall experience.
More Randomized Shuffling and Wall Building
There is another advantage that I think is equally important: the shuffling process itself.
Because the tiles are shuffled and arranged by the table rather than by the players, the process is less affected by human handling and is more consistently randomized.
This helps support fairness and reduces the possibility of tiles being intentionally arranged or influenced during shuffling.
These are simply my observations as someone who has played Mahjong since childhood, spent many years around other Mahjong players, and now works closely with automatic Mahjong tables. I believe the market and time will ultimately tell us whether these predictions are accurate.
I may not be right about everything, and these views may evolve as American Mahjong continues to grow and change.
More than anything, I hope Mahjong continues to bring people joy, connection, and many good moments around the table.
Copyright Notice
This article is an original work by Jacky Chen, Founder of AURAJONG. © 2026 AURAJONG. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced, republished, copied, distributed, translated, or adapted in any form without prior written permission from AURAJONG.