Editor’s Note: Mahjong? Yes, Please

Last week, while I was inside Smith’s jewelry store on W. Jackson Street to celebrate its 115th anniversary in business, I overheard a woman ask one of the sales associates if the Mahjong set she ordered was ready. I immediately thought of how much I used to enjoy watching people play the tile-matching, four-player game in Union Square Park in New York City. 

That woman, Denise Jacob, a Dublin girl through and through, noticed my interest, and we began to talk about the game. I asked her what she enjoyed about Mahjong, and Jacob, smiling while she thought about her answer, said, “I find Mahjong relaxing, and I enjoy making organization out of chaos.” 

Ms. Jacob is not alone in her pursuit of just the right tiles to play Mahjong with. The popularity of the centuries-old game has grown immensely in Dublin. There are Mahjong groups at local churches like Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, and private teaching groups led by Laurens County residents like Meg Greer Evans and Elise Stevens. 

If you have never seen Mahjong played in real time, it can look like a mess, but it is a controlled chaos that includes 144 tiles (an American set comes with 152 tiles), various symbols on the tiles (dots, jokers, Chinese characters), and, of course, numbers. Think Spades meets Pokemon Go, except with less yelling and no need for smartphones. Mahjong can be played at a card table and is equally mind-stimulating like chess and strategic like checkers. It’s a great way to fellowship, said Evans.

“Mahjong is a great way to bring people together,” said Evans, an estate attorney by day and Mahjong instructor by night. “The game is challenging, but also approachable. I love Mahjong because it can be played by children and adults, so it is a wonderful way to connect multiple generations of family and friends together.” 

Evans says she gets “joy” from teaching the game to people in town. She said she feels there is a sense of accomplishment from players as they get batter lesson after lesson. For me, a newby in every sense of the word, I am enjoying learning a new game at the age of 48. After decades of covering high school, collegiate, and professional sports and national and statewide politics, it’s fun to be less informed about something. I like feeling like a kid again. Evans understands.

“It is fun to see it start to click for someone who is a newer player,” she explained. “Even if they don’t win a game during the lesson, they are excited that they are making progress. Mahjong is a great way to have fellowship while challenging your brain.”

On Tuesday, October 13, I will take a seat at the table. Quite literally in fact. I have been invited to a regularly scheduled Mahjong group lesson session at Ms. Jacob’s home. I’ll bring my  own tiles (I ordered a set from the TikTok shop) and my listening ears. I have no idea what’s going on. This must be how my wife Chia feels when I try to explain the offsides rule in soccer to her.