Mah-jongg provides fun, relaxation, camaraderie

Outside the kitchen slider, the winter’s day is doing its thing – snowing – while inside the house there’s the sound of clicking tiles mingled with the soft, warm sounds of feminine laughter and intimate conversation.

It’s the Friday Afternoon Mah-Jongg Ladies, enjoying their weekly gourmet potluck and an afternoon sitting around the kitchen table, and card tables, too – for an afternoon of mah-jongg.

Suddenly the air is punctuated with a gleeful exclamation of victory, “mah-jongg!” Somebody has drawn her winning tile. This victory cry is always followed by a collective, albeit barely audible, sigh as the other players deflate.

Mah-jongg, is sometimes called “a game of a hundred intelligences.” It’s generally considered a game of skill, although some players will swear it’s all luck. As a mah-jongg player myself, my answer to that question depends upon when you ask me. When I’m winning … I would answer that it’s a game of skill. But on days when I don’t even come close to a “mah-jongg,” I’d probably grumble that it’s definitely a game of luck.

Mah-jongg, a three to five person game, has been played for centuries in Asia but its earliest origins are somewhat hazy. The game, as we recognize it today, developed in the early 1800s in China.

But it wasn’t until the game was introduced to an international colony in Shanghai around the turn of the century, that mah-jongg really took off – its popularity becoming worldwide.

During the Roaring 20s, mah-jongg took America by storm and was all the rage. It was being played on street corners, in clubs and in homes all over the country. Game manufacturers went into 24-hour shifts to keep up with the demand for mah-jongg sets. Bovine bone was exported from Chicago and Kansas City all over the world to be used in manufacturing the tiles.

The mah-jongg craze faded, but its devotees kept the game alive. Once the domain of elder women, the game is gaining a new surge of popularity. Moviegoers will remember seeing it played in the movies The Joy Luck Club and Driving Miss Daisy.

Playing mah-jongg is like mental jogging, which may explain its continuing rise in popularity. Brain researchers encourage us to do complex tasks to keep our brains sharp as we age. Mah-jongg certainly qualifies. And it confers another important benefit for healthy aging – being socially involved with friends.

The Friday Afternoon Mah-Jongg Ladies are mostly retired business-women, including a teacher, a lawyer and a full-time student. Six members of the group are former Red Hot Mamas. Although they range from 40 to 70 years of age they’re a compatible and happy group … and quite lively!

When asked what is the allure of mah-jongg, most agreed they play for the fun, relaxation and the camaraderie, but also, mah-jongg is a beautiful and challenging game where everyone can play at their own level of competence; beginners can play alongside experts.

Further evidence of how much some people love this game is a weeklong “Mah-Jongg Madness” Caribbean cruise held each December. Mah-jongg mavens clamor for one of the 300 tickets to be part of this annual mah-jongg frenzy. It’s mah-jongg for breakfast, lunch and dinner … and for some, all night, too. There are thousands of dollars at stake in prize money. This is serious mah-jongg.

Not to be outdone, our Friday afternoon mah-jongg madams get creative with their summertime play venues. Often, they play their game while cruising beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene on the big cruise boat – their gourmet buffet tucked away in picnic baskets. Other lazy summer days might find them happily playing under a shady tree in the garden.

The mah-jongg game starts with all tiles stacked, two-tiles high, forming a “wall.” This symbolizes the Great Wall of China. Following a time-honored ritual, each player picks up 13 tiles from the Great Wall, placing them on a rack in front of them. This is their hand.

These rituals lend mystique to the game as do the charming mah-jongg tiles themselves. Each has a Chinese character engraved on them to designate their suit – characters (or cracks), bamboos and dots (or pearls). There are also flowers, winds and dragons.

During the game, the competitors try to assemble a winning hand by collecting tiles to form certain patterns made up of pungs (three of a kind), kongs (four of a kind) or chows (sequence) – grouped as illustrated in their rule books.

The rules of the game have varied widely throughout the centuries and today the rules established by two mah-jongg organizations are the most recognized: The National Mah-Jongg League in New York and the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Officers’ Wives Club) Rules, also known as Wright-Pat.

The game’s new surge in popularity has generated an industry catering to the needs and whims of mah-jongg buffs: unusual mah-jongg sets, jewelry made of mah-jongg tiles, clothing, stationery, napkins, carrying cases, glassware – everything imaginable decorated with the tiles.

The Friday Afternoon Mah-Jongg Ladies Club is part of the local charity group, Cancer and Community Charities – the Three C’s. Each member of the mah-jongg group makes a charitable donation of $1 per week and at year’s end their total is matched by a local business. Thus, the Friday Afternoon Mah-Jongg Ladies can make a charitable donation of $900 to $1,200 each year to their sponsoring organization, the Three C’s … in the name of the mah-jongg goddess.