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Sundays, 2:00–5:00 p.m. (American) Wednesdays, 12:30–4:00
p.m. (American) Thursdays, 1:30–4:30 p.m. (Western) Fridays,
9:00 a.m.–noon (American)
Mah Jongg, “The Game of a
Thousand Intelligences,” is interesting and challenging, simple yet
complex, competitive, social, and relaxing. All levels of players
are welcome at any session, with lessons available for beginners. If
you are interested in playing or learning to play, call Eunice at
(434) 295-5839 for further information.
The game of Mah-Jongg is the U.S. adaptation of the 19th Century
Chinese game Ma Chiang. This game was invented by Joseph P. Babcock.
He used the rules of Western card games and mixed in features of the
Chinese game. He patented his games in 1920.
This game is usually played by four people. They use 144 tiles
which consist of 3 "suits" ( Bambous, Cracks, and Dots) numbered 1
through 9. There are a few more honored tiles that represent the
"Seasons", "Flowers" and "Jokers".
There are different levels one can learn to play, from very easy
to the very difficult . After the "deal" by one player, each person
has 13 tiles. The dealer has 14 and must begin by discarding one. If
nobody wants it, the person at his/her right can pick one tile from
the "wall" and either keeps it, or discards it. When one player has
14 tiles that match the Mah-Jongg pattern, they would win
"Mah-Jongg!"
At the highest level, players have to go through different
strategies to manipulate the tiles to match the hand designated by
the National Mah-Jongg League. The League publishes these cards
every year. This is a challenging game that requires a fair amount
of luck also.
It is Very
Enjoyable!! |