In a recent Wall Street Journal feature by Jamie Waters, the ancient game of mahjong is experiencing an unexpected renaissance across America. What was once a quiet, cultural pastime in Chinatown backrooms has now spilled into trendy bars, social clubs, and even luxury retreats, some costing as much as $2,500 for a curated weekend of tiles, tea, and tactics.
As I read the article, I found myself transported, not to Connecticut retreats or Manhattan lounges, but to a very different time and place. A time when the clatter of mahjong tiles was not just recreation, but refuge.
A Game Learned Too Early, Yet Never Forgotten
I was only five years old when I first learned mahjong. Not in a classroom, not in a formal setting, but in the midst of uncertainty, during the dark days of the World War II in the Philippines.
We played in jungle hideouts, escaping the realities of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. The game was more than strategy; it was survival. The familiar click of tiles against bamboo tables became a kind of reassurance that life, in some small way, still had order.
In those moments, mahjong was not about winning or losing. It was about endurance, distraction, and community.
Mahjong as a Filipino Pastime: Joy and Complexity
In the Philippines, mahjong evolved into something uniquely its own. It became a staple of social gatherings played in homes, street corners, and fiestas. Like many traditional games, it straddled a fine line between harmless pastime and something more complicated.
Over the years, in my blog posts, I have reflected on how mahjong became intertwined with:
- Family bonding, where generations sat together for hours
- Friendly gambling, often small stakes, sometimes not so small
- Addiction, where the thrill of the game could quietly take hold
This duality is important. Mahjong, like life itself, carries both light and shadow. It brings people together, but it can also isolate. It sharpens the mind but can tempt the vulnerable.
America’s New Mahjong Moment
What fascinated me most about today’s resurgence is how the game has been reimagined.
In cities across the United States, mahjong is no longer confined to immigrant communities. It has been rediscovered almost reinvented as a social experience:
- Young professionals gathering over cocktails and tiles
- Curated retreats promising mindfulness and mastery
- Designers creating aesthetically pleasing, modern tile sets
In many ways, America is encountering mahjong for the first time, not as inheritance, but as discovery.
And yet, I wonder: can a curated retreat ever capture the essence of what the game meant in a jungle hideout, or in a modest Filipino home where laughter and tension mingled freely?
The Sound of Tiles Across Time
What remains unchanged, however, is the rhythm. The unmistakable sound of tiles being shuffled, stacked, and claimed.
That sound connects:
- A frightened child in wartime Philippines
- Families gathered under dim lights in Manila
- And now, players in chic American lounges
Mahjong is not just a game. It is a thread that weaves through history, culture, and personal memory.
A Reflection for My Readers
As someone who has been writing since 2009, chronicling food, culture, history, and the quiet moments in between, I see mahjong as more than a subject. It is a metaphor.
It teaches patience. It demands awareness. It reminds us that life, like the game, is part skill, part chance, and part timing. And perhaps that is why it endures.
From jungle hideouts to Connecticut retreats, from childhood survival to modern leisure-mahjong continues to evolve, yet never loses its soul.
Final Thought
In a world that constantly reinvents itself, there is something deeply comforting about a game that has already seen it all, war, peace, migration, reinvention and still invites us to sit down, take a tile, and begin again.
- Birth of the Game: Developed in the mid-to-late 1800s in China, likely around the Yangtze River Delta, Mahjong evolved from older card games like madiao. It was, and remains, a game of skill, strategy, and calculation.
- Name Origin: "Mahjong" (or "sparrow") comes from a local Chinese dialect term for the bird-like clacking sound the tiles make when shuffled, known as the "twittering of the sparrows".
- The "Jungle" of Misinformation: When Joseph P. Babcock introduced Mahjong to the West in the early 1920s, he tailored the rules and added Western numerals to the tiles. Many early sets and manuals propagated "inaccurate fantasies" about its history to make it seem more ancient to Western audiences.
- Initial U.S. Craze: By 1920, Mahjong arrived at American ports, including Abercrombie & Fitch, which sold out almost immediately, becoming a staple of "roaring twenties" high society.
- The League: In 1937, the National Mah Jongg League was formed in New York to standardize the rules of American Mahjong.
- Key Differences: American Mahjong is distinct from Chinese or Japanese versions. It uses 152 tiles (including 8 jokers) rather than 144, uses racks, and features a yearly scorecard of valid hands.
- Cultural Bridge: In the mid-20th century, Mahjong became a vital cultural tradition, particularly among Jewish-American women. It served as a vital tool for community building and socialization, allowing women to connect and form strong networks in post-World War II suburban areas.
- A New Craze: In the 2020s, Mahjong is seeing a significant resurgence, with searches for games increasing nearly 200% between 2023 and 2024.
- Posh Retreats: Luxury hotels and resorts have adopted Mahjong, offering tournaments, "Mahj and Margaritas" packages, and weekend retreats at places like The Greenbrier and Sea Island Resort.
- Millennials and Gen Z: Modern social clubs, like the Green Tile Social Club in New York, are attracting younger players who appreciate the tactile, screen-free social interaction, often viewing it as a "social lubricant" for making new friends.
- Hollywood Glamour: Celebrities like Julia Roberts, Blake Lively, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have helped popularize the game, transforming it into a high-octane social scene.
https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2024/02/chinese-mahjong-scoring-tables-by.html
https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2023/10/playing-mahjong-philippine-style-here.html
https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2023/07/basic-asianhong-kong-mahjong-versus.html
https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2023/07/a-new-activity-here-at-thd-asian.html
The above are my previous articles on mahjong. My Favorite tile Game. Here's a short video, why mahjong is getting popular even with younger generations.
https://youtu.be/JCcfzHS1GKA?si=augS9WAr2tiMGXyu
Status of My Mahjong Games Today:
When I moved to THD 3 years ago, there were several tables of American Mahjong played by several seniors Jewish female residents. There was no Asian Mahjong. I organized it and now we have three tables of Hong Kong style ( 13 tiles, no joker) and one Philippine style ( 16 styles with 2 jokers). Occasionally, I play Chinese style ( points system) when I visit my son in Benecia. The Chinese style, point system is the most conflicated style of the three styles in spite of the absence of Jokers.
Lastly, here are 5 major news stories today, based on the latest headlines from AP and NPR coverage for May 20, 2026:
The Senate advanced a bill aimed at ending the Iran war, signaling growing pressure in Washington to de-escalate the conflict.
Barney Frank, the former congressman and gay-rights pioneer, died at 86.
The Trump-backed Republican primary challenge in Kentucky ousted Congressman Thomas Massie, a notable upset in GOP politics.
AP reports that the White House and federal courts remain focused on Trump-era policy fights, including tariffs and major legal disputes.
NPR highlighted a mix of domestic and international developments, including ongoing political fallout from the Iran conflict and other breaking U.S. news.
