Mahjong wind tiles: north, east, west and south

The four winds

East 東, south 南, west 西 and north 北. Sets made for American players print the letter in a corner, so you do not need to read the characters.

Winds belong to no suit. On the card, winds and flowers are always printed in blue.

NEWS means one of each wind. Each letter is a single tile, so NEWS can never contain a joker, and you cannot call a discard to expose it.

Pungs and kongs of a single wind (such as EEE) can use jokers, like any group of three or more identical tiles.

When the card shows particular winds without a note, use exactly those winds.

Players are named after the winds, starting with East, the player who rolls the dice and discards first. Turns go to the right (counterclockwise).

In American mahjong your seat wind does not change the value of a hand, unlike in Chinese mahjong.

Using a joker in NEWS.
Calling a discard to complete NEWS. You can only call for a pung or bigger, or to win.
Mixing up W (west) and the white dragon.

How many wind tiles are there?

Sixteen: four each of north, east, west and south.

What does NEWS mean on the mahjong card?

One each of north, east, west and south. They are single tiles, so no jokers.

Can you use a joker with winds?

Yes in a pung, kong or bigger group of one wind. No in NEWS or for a single wind.

Does your seat wind matter in American mahjong?

Not for scoring. It only tells you who is East (the dealer) and the order of play.