Mahjong has become a popular pastime for the American people

As a traditional form of entertainment, mahjong has been popular years in China.

Mahjong, originated in China about 150 years ago, is a fascinating, gin rummy-like game played with tiles rather than cards. The game has evolved to become a popular American pastime since it was first introduced to the U.S. in early 1920s.

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Every Monday and Thursday afternoon in Bryant Park, one of most illustrious public places in downtown New York City, the clink of intricate tiles and ignited outbursts from drawing an unlucky piece can only mean one tantalizing game: mahjongg.

NATIONAL MAHJONGG LEAGUE HAS 500,000 MEMBERS

"We play with a card, a mahjongg card," Linda Fisher, Bryant Park's mahjongg area organizer, explained the major differences between Chinese and American/Jewish style of the game.

Unlike clubs, hearts, diamonds and spades found in regular playing cards, the tile suits in mahjongg are known as dots (circles), bams (bamboos) and craks (characters). Wind, dragon, flower and joker tiles are also used, depending on the version of the game.

Traditional Chinese mahjongg sets have 144 tiles, while American version is played with eight additional joker tiles and score cards that are published annually by non-profit organizations like National Mahjongg League.

SHAPED MODERN AMERICA AS COMMUNITY BUILDING GAME

The tile game actually has played an important role in developing American culture.

Both Jewish American and Chinese American communities were built around mahjongg during the 20th century, according to the research by Annelise Heinz when he was a doctoral candidate in Stanford's Department of History in 2013.

Unlike other leisure games in which "high-stakes partner relationships" pit players against one another, Heinz said that mahjongg requires cooperation and strategy between players, which creates an "ideal forum for interaction between people."

     

Culturally, mahjongg was important in Chinatown in the 1920s and 1930s, as it gave Chinese Americans a cultural bond at a time when many other Americans saw them as "perpetual foreigners," he said.

Mahjongg proves to be a better way for seniors to get out of house and build new friendships. It begins loudly with four players shuffling the tiles together in the middle of a table. then, the players help each other build and connect four even walls of tiles, two tiles high, face down. Players then roll dice to see who goes first, divide the walls and sort their tiles. All is calm until a person exclaims "pong" or "chow," when they have made a set of tiles or when they win the game.

Mahjongg is a brain game that involves skills and luck. Quick thinking and mental complexity are always present in mahjongg. The game keeps the mind sharp and in good health. It has been found to preserve brain functions and delay memory loss in elderly individuals.

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