Let's play Mah-Jongg

(This picture of the Mah-Jongg tiles was photographed by Craig Rumpel)

Our group of Mah-Jongg players meet every Wednesday afternoon from 12:30 to 4:00 p.m. in Room B. We play both the simple version and the one with more complicated rules. Both versions are instructive and entertaining.

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!!

Please come join us. If you are interested in playing or learning to play, call Eunice at (434) 295-5839 or contact the Senior Center for further information.