Centuries of fun: Mahjong growing in popularity
A clacking sound filled the dining room of Cheryl Hopper无毛视频檚 East Washington home as she and three friends swirled mahjong tiles on a table.
Every other Tuesday, the women assemble there to play Mahjong, a centuries-old game that has become downright trendy.
无毛视频淚 love playing. It无毛视频檚 like a shot in the arm for me, it无毛视频檚 so much fun,无毛视频� said Hopper, who learned to play about a year-and-a-half ago after a longtime friend invited her to tag along to a Mon Valley restaurant where a group plays every other Friday. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e known about mahjong for years and I无毛视频檝e always wanted to learn how to play, but for a long while I couldn无毛视频檛 find anybody who played. Now, there are several groups.无毛视频�
Likened to the card game rummy, mahjong (sometimes spelled mah jongg and pronounced MAH-jaang), is a four-person tile game in which each person tries to be the first to make a winning combination of sets and pairs.
In American mahjong, each player is dealt a hand of 13 tiles 无毛视频� engraved with Chinese characters and symbols from different suits (bam, dots and craks) as well as wind, flower and dragon tiles.
Each player takes turns drawing and discarding tiles until one player completes a hand and calls out 无毛视频渕ahjong.无毛视频�
Oh, but if it were that easy.
Mahjong is a game of strategy, skill, and a little bit of luck 无毛视频� you may never get that tile you need to complete the hand you无毛视频檝e carefully cultivated on the rack before you, said Kathy Jones, who along with Mary Ann Sember started a mahjong club at the Jewish Community Center 无毛视频� South Hills in Scott Township in 2022.
Since Jones and Sember taught mahjong classes (four-week long, two-hour sessions), the club has grown from three members to 70.
They taught classes for 60 straight weeks because so many people wanted to learn how to play..
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a great game. I like that it challenges your brain, and I like the camaraderie and the friendships that you build,无毛视频� said Sember. 无毛视频淎s a matter of fact, I knew none of the people here when we started the club, and after the first year, three of us went on a cruise, and we played mahjong onboard.无毛视频�
Michael and Colleen Brennan of Peters Township picked up the game two years ago 无毛视频� Jones taught them at Monday无毛视频檚 Brewing Company in Peters Township 无毛视频� and the couple plays two times a week, at the JCC on Tuesdays and at the Galleria on Thursday nights.
For Michael Brennan, the game 无毛视频渨as overwhelming to start.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t was very hard to pick up on. It无毛视频檚 not the way I think. I think very linearly, which is different from the card patterns we follow,无毛视频� said Brennan, an engineer. 无毛视频淎nd it无毛视频檚 kind of like baseball 无毛视频� you无毛视频檙e not going to win every game and you无毛视频檙e not going to get a hit every at-bat. You无毛视频檙e going to lose a lot of games, so don无毛视频檛 get frustrated with that.无毛视频�
Brennan said she enjoys the social aspect.
There are so many people you meet here. Look how many groups are here,无毛视频� she said, as she glanced around the JCC, where 14 tables were filled with mahjong players. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a cognitive game that keeps your brain stimulated, and I do like that, too.无毛视频�
The Jewish community, in particular, has played a large role in popularizing mahjong.
Helene Schroder, who plays with Hopper无毛视频檚 Tuesday group, grew up playing mahjong with her family in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York.
无毛视频淢y mother taught me when I was 9 years old. It无毛视频檚 a very Jewish game that my mom played, that无毛视频檚 how I learned. It has now become more mainstream, but when I was growing up, it was something the Jewish community played,无毛视频� said Schroder.
Mahjong has made appearances in television shows and movies, including 无毛视频淭he Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,无毛视频� 无毛视频淐razy Rich Asians,无毛视频� and 无毛视频淒riving Miss Daisy.无毛视频�
The game also has found new popularity among young people.
Each year, the National Mah Jongg League publishes a new card full of new combinations, and players must match one of those combinations. This year, the league celebrates its 87th anniversary.
Mahjong has also become a staple at Eva K. Bowlby Library in Waynesburg, Greene County, where players gather on Wednesday afternoons.
At a recent get-together, a group of regulars 无毛视频� Greene County residents Barb Creighton, Suzanne Cole, Sandy Whetsell, Jo Hoy and Nancy Oja 无毛视频� taught first-time player Jane Headlee, of Waynesburg, the basics of the game.
The group loves the concentration, the (mostly) friendly competition, and the connections the game provides.
Some of the players at the library 无毛视频� a dozen or more at times 无毛视频� have been friends for years while others have just recently met, and they come from all walks of life.
无毛视频淲e have a good time,无毛视频� said Hoy, who started playing about a year ago after she saw mahjong lessons advertised at the library 无毛视频� and nearly quit after the first lesson.
无毛视频淚 remember after the first day I played, I thought, 无毛视频業无毛视频檓 never going back because I无毛视频檒l never get this because my brain can无毛视频檛 handle it. But after I went home and thought about it, I said, 无毛视频楥hallenge yourself,'无毛视频� said Hoy, laughing. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 so glad I went back. I really like it. It无毛视频檚 challenging in a good way.无毛视频�
Hopper无毛视频檚 Tuesday group met through an advertisement she placed in a mahjong site where you can meet fellow mahjong players.
无毛视频淚 serendipitously found this group, and I无毛视频檓 over here every other Tuesday to play. It无毛视频檚 a smart group of women,无毛视频� said Carolyn Carson of Collier Township, who plays in other mahjong circles, too. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e chatty. It is challenging and a whole lot of fun.无毛视频�
To meet the demand of people wanting to learn how to play, local players, including Jones and Hopper, have offered to provide instruction to teach future mahjong players the ins-and-outs of the game.
There are several mahjong books and online apps for players to sharpen their skills, but the best way to learn is to play.
Joan Charlson of Canonsburg, who won two games on Tuesday after a drought of several weeks, attempted to learn how to play for two years before she met Jones, who offered to teach her.
无毛视频淚 tried learning over and over. I gave up. I took lessons, I paid for lessons, I had a book, I just couldn无毛视频檛 get it. Then I met Kathy and we started talking and she said, 无毛视频業无毛视频檒l teach you to play,无毛视频� and the rest is history. Here I am,无毛视频� said Charlson, who also plays at the Galleria and with another small group and was wearing a mahjong dragon bracelet for good luck.
Charlson was a willing student, once bringing the mahjong card in a plastic bag that she propped against a water bottle and studied with Jones while they treaded in deep water in the JCC pool.
无毛视频淪he lets out a little shriek of joy every time she wins, and I无毛视频檓 so tickled,无毛视频� said Jones. 无毛视频淚 dearly love her. She tried so many times, and now she无毛视频檚 the resident expert.无毛视频�
At the JCC, players usually bring their own mahjong sets. The tile sets can range in price from affordable (if you无毛视频檙e just dipping your toe into mahjong waters, you can find sets on Amazon or Mac.Bid), to quite expensive, depending on the material, craftsmanship, and brand.
Margie Simons, a regular player at JCC whose parents, grandparents, aunts and other relatives played mahjong while she was growing up, owns three sets that were passed down to her: two were made in the 1950s and one, from her godmother, dates back to 1918.
She plays mahjong on those antique boards every Monday for five hours with three childhood friends 无毛视频� Jones, who lived two doors down when they were kids, and sisters Elaine Goldblum and Marcia Cantor.
无毛视频淲e play without fail. How cool is that, that we无毛视频檝e known each other all our lives and we get together to play?无毛视频� said Simons, noting the group starts around noon and plays until about 5 p.m. They play at least five games an hour.
Games can take as little as 15 minutes to complete, so players can squeeze in several games during an hour.
无毛视频淪ome people can play a gazillion games in an hour and love it, and other people like to play three or four games in an hour, and laugh and talk,无毛视频� said Sember. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 something for everyone in this game. I无毛视频檓 always happy to play.无毛视频�