SINGAPORE — Chinese New Year has finally arrived, and it’s time to double your ang pow earnings in a game of mahjong with your aunties and uncles, while trying to segue from questions about when you’re getting married or having kids.

But instead of bringing out the old mahjong set, some have decided to spend this Chinese New Year gambling away on cool mahjong sets that are decorated or themed according to video or role playing games out there, or some of the hottest pop culture items out there, including Pokemon.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT. If you’re a regular player grinding on World of Warcraft (WoW) or just a Warcraft fan, then you’ll probably need this mahjong set. It’s a commemorative WoW-themed set that comes with a WoW placemat, chips and tiles, and special Hordes and Alliance dice, all packed into a neat wooden case. Make sure you have a wallet full of ang pow takings though, online stores such as Blizzard sell it for about US$250.

WOW: MISTS OF PANDARIA. This was the first WoW-themed mahjong set, and it was based on the Mists of Pandaria expansion, conceived by WoW’s China operator, NetEase. This fully playable mahjong set includes Mists of Pandaria-themed chips, dice, tiles and a playmat that has the actual game map printed on it. The set, in its beautiful wooden maroon case are currently going for crazy prices on Ebay.

AUTOMATIC MAHJONG.

 You’ve probably seen this in those Hong Kong gambling movies, but wouldn’t it be cool to impress your uncles and aunties with an automatic mahjong table? You simply push the tiles into the hole in the middle, and the table automatically shuffles and places the tiles out, completely arranged for you. The only dilemma is the lack the unforgettable sound of shuffling tiles on a table but you’ll probably get more games in (and more winnings) instead.

DIABLO III. Have an annoying aunty who reminds you of the Butcher? After traversing into the depths of the sanctuary, it’s time to pull out this special Diablo III Reaper of Souls-themed set to play against her. Just like the rest of the themed mahjong sets, this one also comes with Diablo-themed chips, dice, a playmat and special bonus handheld Black Soulstone artefact for you to conquer the mahjong table. 


NINTENDO. Before Nintendo made childhood fun with games such as Super Mario and Donkey Kong, it started off as a company producing playing cards, hanafuda and mahjong sets. While these original early Nintendo mahjong sets are selling for a bomb online, back in 2013, the company decided to look to its roots and re-release its classic mahjong set. There are Nintendo-stamped chips, and it comes in a red box with the Nintendo logo on.

POKEMON PONJAN. In Japan, there’s a basic version of mahjong for kids called ponjan. Unlike the actual game, it’s played with only three types of tiles: cars, boats and airplanes. The Pokemon ponjan by Takara Tomy swaps this for Pokemon characters instead, with Pokemon chips shaped like Pokeballs. Or if Pokemon is not to your liking, there’s a Disney-themed version too.

FACEBOOK MAHJONG. We’re not talking about playing a digital mahjong game on Facebook, but rather, an actual physical customised Facebook mahjong set found only in Facebook’s Singapore office. When employees are done gambling their angpows away, the tiles are kept in a huge Facebook box coloured in its familiar blue shade. We’d love to be invited over for a game too.

A version of this first appeared in Stuff Singapore.