Why is mahjong’s popularity exploding in Houston and across the US?

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00:00Why is a scene like this playing out across the country in community centers,

00:12event spaces and anywhere that can fit a few tables? Four players, a table full of

00:18tiles and just one goal. This is Mahjong. Florence Wong has been coming to Houston's

00:41Chinese Community Center for the last three months to take part in Mahjong meetups. At

00:46the events, instructors help beginners learn the rules and facilitate games.

00:50It's a welcome refresher for Florence who said she hadn't played since she was five

00:55or six years old. In March I was in Hong Kong with my cousins and stuff on my mom's

01:01side of the family and they were playing it and then I was like oh but they were

01:06like experts because they always, they're hardcore. The idea of relearning or

01:12mastering Mahjong to be able to play with family isn't unique. I grew up Chinese

01:17family so we learn, I play Mahjong with family but I oh I learn from family from

01:24parents and from siblings but I always the the slowest one because I really not

01:30get it that quickly. Cecilia Yip makes the roughly 90-minute trek from College

01:35Station to take part in the events and relearn Mahjong. I feel like I can relearn

01:40everything since I'm older now I'm wiser now so I want to do it. The Community

01:45Center started the event during Asian American Pacific Islander Month in May.

01:49The first event drew more than 25 people while the second had 40 and required a

01:55waitlist. Mahjong's popularity prompted the center to continue the event as a

02:00monthly series. Mahjong has been played in America since the 1920s but has had a

02:05resurgence in popularity on social media and in popular culture there are many

02:19different types of Mahjong from Hong Kong to Japanese or American. The Chinese

02:25Community Center teaches the traditional Taiwanese style. There's no single origin

02:29story for Mahjong but it's been around for centuries. It can be played anywhere

02:33there's a table from homes to the streets in restaurants and parlors. It's that

02:39social aspect and the ease of access that has made Mahjong a mainstay

02:43according to Shimei Lin the former CEO of the Chinese Community Center.

02:48My grandchildren they were their neighbor gonna come to them and say hey we have a

02:53set of Mahjong we don't know how to do it and this can be an Italian family and my

03:00oldest and we say okay let's do it together and actually we do know Jewish

03:07people also play Mahjong and so our goal we always been talking about this is

03:13having a tournament between CCC and the JCC. The gatherings allow players to

03:19reconnect with their culture or even share it with other players. I be able to

03:24speak my Mandarin to people around here and also I can speak English helping

03:30people they try to learn how to play Mahjong. I feel I'm not only learn from

03:37the Mahjong but also share the culture with other people. In the between we

03:41shuffle the tiles on the table that time people start talking about their life

03:47and they are sharing the what's going on happened to the family. Sometimes people

03:53love to go to a family when they host the Mahjong because that lady gonna offer us

03:59real good snacks. For Shimei who is a Mahjong instructor at the events learning the

04:05game came through exposure rather than experience. I was like six or seven my mom

04:11my dad and when they play Mahjong it was so funny they will always say hey kids

04:18you need to study this is adults game. But when the kids ventured into the

04:23kitchen for a study break the sounds of the game would entice them. And then you

04:28will hear they say oh right and then they will call out the

04:33symbol so you always hear it and when you walk by them right you see oh these are

04:40the good hands look how it look like with a good hand. Alright so how do you

04:45play Mahjong? Here's a basic guide to Taiwanese style. It's somewhat like bridge.

04:51The game consists of four players. The dealer receives 17 tiles while all the

04:56other players get 16. The tiles are broken down into three suits bamboo or bams

05:01circles known as dots and characters sometimes called cracks. There are also

05:07beginner friendly versions of the game with English numbers on them to make it

05:11easier to understand. Players take turns drawing and discarding tiles in an attempt

05:16to score a Mahjong which ends the game. To get that Mahjong you need to arrange the

05:2117 tiles into five sets that can be made up of different plays. A Pung is three

05:27identical tiles. A Kong is four identical tiles. A Chao is three consecutive numbers of

05:34the same suit plus one pair. Once someone scores a Mahjong everyone's points are

05:41tallied and a winner's determined. It's like playing poker. You know the game of

05:46poker it's like you got to keep playing in order to see that it's knowing your

05:51flushes and your straights and all that but then you also know how to strategize

05:55like like who who has who do you think has that tile that you know you're

06:00not counting cards or counting tiles but kind of the same thing. Studies show that

06:04playing Mahjong is associated with enhanced cognitive function memory and even

06:09helps slow cognitive decline especially in seniors. It's a game of chance skill and

06:14strategy and it can be stressful as Florence knows. I'm like so close for

06:20Mahjong and it's and it's like oh do I play that hand or I think somebody needs this

06:26tile but if I keep it it's the strategy that's just what and like I said it's

06:31the group of people that you're playing with. Mahjong itself is very scientific

06:37because the way you build the sets you win the game there is a rule that you

06:45follow however you have to it's a brain game so a lot of seniors okay they can do

06:53it as an exercise a leisure activity but at the same time they practice their

07:00memory skills and then they social because it takes four to play a Mahjong.

07:06Florence said she plans to keep coming to the events because it's different every

07:10time and if the Mahjong isn't doing it for her she can still make a day of it.

07:13I like coming here because it's close to Chinatown with all the foods and stuff

07:17so because I live in River Oates so coming over here so it's a schlep and so this is my

07:23chance to eat the stuff and get a labubu I got a labubu earlier so that's why and

07:32then it's it's a great location. Next time Cecilia plays with family she hopes she

07:38can play a little faster and show off her skills. I will pretend I'm still not

07:43good too good but I would like to surprise them. For more on this story head to

07:48san.com or the straight arrow news app and search Mahjong to get the full report

07:53from Monique Welsh Rutherford. For straight arrow news I'm Chris Francis.

07:57you

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