Mahjong Mania: Tile game finds fans at senior center
By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus
Clicks and clacks — the bird-like sounds of tiles clinking against one another — a sound that earned Mahjong, which translates to “Sparrow” its name — provided a sort-of background music as players swapped stories of grandchildren, husbands and upcoming vacations.
“We get sidetracked pretty easy ’cause we get to talking,” Patti Puma said. “But you don’t want to talk too much. This is a game where you have to think.”
Recently, the exotic game of mahjong, which dates back to 1800s China, has swept the nation.
“It’s a little like ‘Back to the Future.’ In the 1950s, it was very popular and then it sort of fell out of popularity. Now it has come back with a vengeance,” Beth Kershner, a mahjong player for 20 years, said.
Celebrities Julia Roberts, Sarah Jessica Parker, Savannah Guthrie, Jenna Bush Hager and Billy Crystal tout their interest in the game. Social media accounts devoted to the game have hundreds of thousands of followers. And in the Decatur Senior Center on Memorial Drive Southwest, a dozen women, some clad in shirts and jewelry featuring mahjong characters, gather every week to play the game.
“When I started as the director here eight years ago, some mahjong ladies were already playing. But, recently, it has been the hottest thing here,” said Amy Rakestraw, director of the Decatur Senior Center. “Some weeks we have 15 people playing the game.”
Attendees expressed so much interest in the game, the Decatur Senior Center established an eight-week course (four weeks of teaching and four weeks of practice) for eight participants taught by Joy Roussell.
“More and more people are playing all over the world,” Rousell, who started playing close to 25 years ago, said. “I think it’s because people are realizing how much fun it is. It’s really catching on. Even younger people and men are playing.”
One of Rousell’s students at the senior center was Joan Jeffreys.
“Ever since I watched ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and ‘The Joy Luck Club,’ I’ve been curious about the game,” Jeffreys said. “Now that I’ve learned it, I really like it. I like that it is a challenge and you get to be creative with your hands.The goal is to win, but the goal is also to make sure no one else wins.”
Jeffreys’ sister Jan Masterson and her cousin Nena Shelton also participated in the eight-week tutorial.
“When Joan and Jan called me and told me what it was about, I figured why not. I am retired and needed something that would get me out of the house. I started it and loved it,” Shelton said. “I love the game and also the sets. The games are beautiful. It’s like a fashion statement.”
Puma, a mahjong player for a year and a half, practiced by herself for three months before playing with a group.
“If you want a game that makes you think, this is the game for you,” Puma said.
The game seems deceptively simple: players use tiles with symbols, characters and suits and draw and discard tiles until they get a winning combination. The combination can include a pair, three-of-a-kind (pung), four-of-a-kind (kong), five-of-a-kind (quint) and six-of-a-kind (sextet).
Kershner described the game as “like gin rummy, except with tiles.”
“You have to think and you have to always be paying attention. There are a whole lot of brain synapses that need to be firing in order for you to be successful,” Kershner said.
“It’s a very challenging game. It’s a difficult game to learn. It’s the kind of game you can’t just come and watch and start playing,” Barbara Chenault, who started playing 10 years ago, said. “Once you start playing, it’s a wonderful game. And also very competitive.”
Beyond that competitiveness, the game serves as a way for players to connect and fellowship with others.
“It is a great way to learn people in your community, especially when you move to a new area. You can always find people wanting to play mahjong,” Kershner said.
Chenault became involved with mahjong after women at her church started a game.
“One lady heard another talking about mahjong asking if they knew anyone who played. They got so excited that each other played that they started teaching it to their Sunday school class. That Sunday school class started sharing with another Sunday school class and another one,” Chenault said.
Donned in a shirt featuring images of mahjong tiles and wearing a bracelet displaying a mahjong Joker tile, Nancy Kessler arranged her tiles on a rack. A card distributed by the National Mah Jongg League listing winning combinations laid in front of her.
“I started playing three years ago. I was walking my dog and I saw Joy Roussell. She lives in my neighborhood. She asked if I wanted to play mahjong. I said, ‘What is it?’ After she explained it, I wanted to learn. A group of us started playing in our homes, but then we got too big to meet in one home, so we started playing at the senior center. It is a lot of fun,” Kessler said.
Roussell credited her daughter-in-law, who gave her a mahjong set for Christmas almost 25 years ago, for introducing her to the game.
“I love the click and clack of the tiles. I had played canasta, but playing with tiles rather than cards was very appealing. I also loved that every game is different. There are over 900 winning combinations. It’s not the same old game over and over,” Roussell said.
Individuals interested in joining the mahjong group at the Decatur Senior Center, 221 Memorial Dr. S.W., can call 256-355-7275, or stop by the center Tuesdays to Fridays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.