Mahjong's big facelift
Parties and clubs dedicated to the popular Chinese board game are proliferating in major American cities. For Generation Z, in particular, they offer an opportunity to meet people and enjoy the same activity together, reports The Smithsonian magazine.
TikTok is going crazy for a 19th-century Asian game. Long associated with Chinese grannies during the Lunar New Year, mahjong is attracting new fans. In Los Angeles and New York, mahjong clubs are multiplying, now offering evenings with DJs and light shows. Some luxury hotels, like the Standard East Village in New York, are hosting mahjong nights for their guests, and the venerable game even received Hollywood's blessing when Julia Roberts revealed she plays it weekly with her friends. A new generation of players is now discovering how this game—which involves “creating order from a chaos of randomly drawn pieces,” the actress says—is not only helping them bond after the Covid-19 pandemic but also taking care of their mental health.
Sarah Teng, in her twenties, founded the Green Tile Social Club in New York City with her friends Ernest Chan, Grace Liu, and Joanne Xu. At their parties, images of waves are projected onto the walls while the four players at each table, in hoodies, sip sparkling sake and examine their tiles. The familiar clacking of mah-jon pieces
Courrier International
