A tile is the basic unit of the set. American mahjong sits down to 152: craks, bams, dots, winds, dragons, flowers, and eight jokers. A common Chinese set is 144 with flowers, or 136 without them.
Name the three suits first. Craks are the wan characters, bams are bamboo, dots are circles. Winds are East South West North. Dragons are red, green, and white. Flowers are usually eight.
Ask how many tiles this set has
Sichuan 血战到底 uses 108 suit tiles. Riichi is 136, with no flowers and no jokers. Before you change tables, ask whether this set has jokers, whether it has flowers, and whether a win is 14 tiles.
The tiles lesson teaches the American 152. See also joker, flower, suit.