Mahjong Meetups are Becoming Popular in Park Slope
Do you play?
At some point in the last couple of months, I put my head down, and when I lifted it, everyone I knew was talking about Mahjong. And it wasn’t just my friends. I began seeing invitations to meetups that had been organized through private Park Slope social media groups. Local business owners, like Ann Cantrell, owner of Annie’s Blue Ribbon, were selling out Mahjong classes in days.
Liz Yap, a brand writer and namer living in Park Slope, wrote a social media post I read a few weeks ago. She was looking for groups in the neighborhood to play with and offered to host “casual Mahjong and pizza nights” at her apartment. “I grew up seeing a lot of my relatives play the game,” Liz told me in a phone interview this week. “I'm Chinese Filipino, and I grew up in Manila. But I never really had any interest in it when I was younger.” During the 2020 pandemic lockdown, Liz and her husband Tim Wee, CTO for Pod Foods, bought a Mahjong set, but it wasn’t until 2023 that they learned how to play.
Mahjong is a game in which players match or sequence sets of tiles. There are 13-tile and 16-tile versions and several different styles, including Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Filipino, and American Jewish styles. It’s similar to Rummy in that both games involve drawing and discarding to create sets, but Mahjong has no standardized rules.
While Mahjong originated in Southern China in the mid-1800s, it has gained recent popularity in American culture, particularly over the last decade. But why?
The 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians might have something to do with it. Mahjong is featured in a pivotal scene with protagonist Rachel Chu, who is played by Constance Wu, and her boyfriend Nick’s mother, Eleanor, who Michelle Yeoh played. The film’s director, Jon M. Chu, hired a Mahjong expert to help choreograph the scene and make it authentic. This scene was the first time I saw the game, and I remember being immediately intrigued. Mahjong is also featured in the film The Joy Luck Club (1993) and the TV series Fresh Off the Boat.
Apart from its pop culture exposure, the game also has a community-building aspect; it brings people together in real life — something many of us crave. “It’s so fun to play and connect with friends in our weekly get-togethers!” Ann Cantrell told me when I asked her what she loves about Mahjong.
The community element spans generations for Cody McBurnett, the founder and creative director of Loki Loki, who has lived in Park Slope for over 25 years. Cody and her friend recently started teaching their 10- and 11-year-old sons how to play Mahjong. “I was a little bit nervous about if a fifth grader and a middle schooler would like it. But it was a really special and fun thing to do, and they had a blast!” she said.
Another appealing element of the game is that it’s entirely screen-free. “When I think about what I like about the game, part of it is creating order out of chaos,” Liz said. “But also, when we're playing this game, it's the longest stretch of time in any given week that I'm not on my phone or any sort of screen. There's something very satisfying about how analog it is, and it's just really nice to be unplugged for a while.”
I texted my friend Jeff Choi, a native New Yorker whose parents immigrated to NYC from Hong Kong in 1980, about the game. “It's often referred to jokingly as "stir-frying clams" because of sounds players make while mixing the tiles at the beginning of the game. ‘Want to stir fry clams tonight?’” he explained.
“We were probably one of the few Chinese households that did not own a Mahjong set or have a Mahjong table. My parents discouraged us from playing it because they were both against gambling, and that stuck with me, even to this day.” Jeff told me that the one time he played for money at an ex’s birthday party, he won. He tried to refuse the winnings but that didn’t work. So he and his ex went across the street and “bought flowers for all the aunties.”
Mahjong has had its fair share of controversies, especially when it comes to cultural appropriation. In 2021, there was a viral controversy involving a Texas-based Mahjong company founded by three white women who designed and sold a “refresh” of the game. They were accused of cultural appropriation.
I asked Liz what she thinks about the cultural appropriation of Mahjong, particularly as it relates to the game’s popularity in Park Slope, a neighborhood of which 8.8% identify as Asian and 62.5% identify as white. And I mentioned that I was unsure if I — a white woman — should even publish this article. “I think it's a sensitive subject,” she said. “No one should be gatekeeping this game for themselves — it's a game!”
Jeff also shared his thoughts on the cultural appropriation of Mahjong. “While I have some exposure to the game as part of the culture I grew up in, I never felt any personal ownership of it…there are aspects of the game that are interesting to learn about, just as there is with any game that combines strategy, luck, and reading your opponent. I think where appropriation can get into trouble is when they make any implication that they "improved or mastered the formula" whether or not there's any truth behind it.”
Liz added: “At the end of the day, for me, it's cool to share a piece of my culture with someone who might be unfamiliar with it.”
So, I’m curious: Do you play Mahjong? How did you learn the game? Will you teach me? ;)
If you host a Mahjong meetup and are looking for neighbors to play with, please let us know in the comment section below.
You can also follow Green Tile Social Club, a NYC-based Mahjong community that hosts pop-up Mahjong events around the city. Food Mahjong Club is another one worth following for fun events in the city. For Japanese-style Riichi Mahjong, Riichi Nomi NYC is an active group that hosts weekly meetups in the city. Also, Ann Cantrell told me she might add more Mahjong lessons if there’s interest from the community, so keep an eye on their Instagram for announcements. Please share any other Mahjong social media accounts or websites below.
(Top photo courtesy of Liz Yap. Mahjong game photo, players mixing tiles photo, and Tong meetup photo by Green Tile Social Club. Photo of Ann Cantrell via Annie’s Blue Ribbon Instagram.)
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Thank you for reading; I’m so glad you’re here. I have some fun interviews and a historical piece coming up that I can’t wait to share. Hope you have a great weekend!
Kelley xo