00:04For a game of mahjong, you need strategy, memory and the ability to read your opponents,
00:11plus a little bit of luck.
00:13Now I'm a complete beginner, so I've come here to learn some tips and tricks from a
00:18master.
00:19Let's go.
00:21Rose, thank you for coming and playing with me today.
00:24Okay, we've got the table set up in front of us.
00:27Now you run events, social nights, where you teach and play mahjong and they've been popping
00:33up all around Australia, all around the world as well.
00:36Mahjong is having a real moment at the moment.
00:38It is, isn't it?
00:39It's so much fun.
00:41It's really great to see that it's regained so much popularity worldwide.
00:46And I think it's also really great to see the next generation of Asians sort of reclaiming
00:52part of their tradition in the more modern context.
00:54Yeah, it's really great to see that everyone's also embracing it.
00:59Yeah, and it's got quite a long history.
01:01It's been around for centuries.
01:02Tell us a bit about the history of mahjong.
01:04Well, it originated from China in the 1800s.
01:08And through trade and migration, it's spread around the world.
01:14There's 40 different variations of the game.
01:16So it's a true sort of like representation of the Asian diaspora.
01:20And we play Hong Kong style mahjong at our club.
01:23So what are your memories of mahjong as a child?
01:26I wasn't allowed to play mahjong as a child because it was a game that was traditionally played
01:32by adults and it was also associated with gambling, smoking and a bit of drinking.
01:38So they were always played in closed rooms and children were never allowed to be part of that.
01:43So tell us about the process then of having to learn it and rediscover it as an adult.
01:48I started to play mahjong two years ago.
01:51It was something that I've always wanted to learn.
01:54But I just never really had anyone around to teach me or even someone in my family to pass that
02:01information down.
02:03But so a few friends and I decided like, why not now?
02:07Let's try and reclaim a little bit of our culture and heritage.
02:10And we got someone to come and teach us.
02:11And it has been an amazing journey because we didn't realise so many other people felt the same way.
02:17Yeah, you found that with the nights that you run, the social nights,
02:21that a lot of people are connecting with their past through learning mahjong.
02:26There's so much nostalgia associated with mahjong and it's really wonderful to see.
02:31So everyone has their different stories of how they used to play with their grandparents
02:36or their beautiful memories of during Chinese New Year celebrations
02:40where all the family got together and they were allowed to play during that time of the year.
02:46It's been great to have the community share their stories with us.
02:49I think as well in our society where so much of what we do is isolated,
02:54it's so nice to have opportunities to connect on a social level.
02:58Not just about the game, but just connecting with people.
03:01Absolutely.
03:02I think that we spend so much of our time digitally, you know, and this game is so real.
03:11It really connects you to one another because there's nothing more human than learning a board game
03:16and playing and learning with three other strangers and having a real connection and real conversations.
03:23And I think, you know, since probably the pandemic, you know, people have sort of lost those skills of how
03:29to connect and build meaningful relationships.
03:33And mahjong and just meeting at the table has been a really great sort of gap, you know, has been
03:39a soft gap.
03:45Okay, so we've got the table set up in front of us. Just take us through how you play.
03:49The game is played with four people and the first player to collect four sets of three and the pair
03:57wins.
03:58Okay, and the sets consist of three of a kind or a straight or consecutive as people would call it.
04:05And then the pair has to be two of a kind.
04:07Yeah.
04:08And there are five different type of tiles in here.
04:12They are, we'll just show you a couple. There's like the bamboo tile.
04:15We have, these are the dragon tiles and that's the honor tiles.
04:19And that's the Chinese characters.
04:22And then we have the dots as well.
04:25So there's five different type of tile sets in here.
04:28Okay, so you've taken us through the basics of how to play.
04:30Should we actually play?
04:32Absolutely.
04:32Let's do it.
04:34So you want to get rid of non-prep.
04:37And take it.
04:39Oh, how convenient.
04:40Might do...
04:44Mahjong!
04:44Mahjong!
04:48Yes.
04:49Yay.
04:49That's awesome.
04:51Yeah.
04:51Then, yeah.
04:52Yeah...
04:53Let's get rid of the wall.
04:53Yeah.観光
04:53it. Let's go.
