Although the game Mah Jong as it is generally played today can only be traced back to the end of the last century, the line of games that evolved to Mah Jong is long and extensive. The cards used in these games resembled the money used in those days. From around 800 AD card games were played which resembled the way Mah Jong is played, in the fact that you have to collect combinations of tiles.

In Mah Jong these combinations are known as Chows, Pungs and Kongs. A Chow is a consecutive sequence of three tiles of the same suit. A Pung is three identical tiles of the same suit. A Kong is four identical tiles of the same suit.