This thread reminds me of Why do mirrors reverse left and right?
But also, there was a recent thread about mahjong. It is really simple: the dealer is always seated East. The player to the right of the dealer is South. Across from the dealer is West, and the player to the left of the dealer is North. Play proceeds East → South → West → North. Same for dealing the tiles, but do not forget to draw them proceeding clockwise, obviously.