Why is mahjong’s popularity exploding in Houston and across the US?

Why is a scene like this playing out across the country in community centers, event spaces

and anywhere that can fit a few tables? Four players, a table full of tiles, and just one

goal. This is Mahjong. Oh, it's fun. It's like rummy cue or like dominoes. Like I said, I'm 60. It kind of

it just, it's like nostalgia. Is that, would that be the right word

Florence Wong has been coming to Houston's Chinese Community Center for the last three

months to take part in Mahjong meetups. At the events, instructors help beginners learn

the rules and facilitate games. It's a welcome refresher for Florence, who said she hadn't

played since she was five or six years old. In March, I was in Hong Kong with my cousins

and stuff on my mom's side of the family, and they were playing it. And then I was like

oh, but they were like experts because they always, they're hardcore. The idea of relearning

or mastering Mahjong to be able to play with family isn't unique. I grew up Chinese family

So we learn. I play mahjong with family, but I learn from family, from parents and from siblings

But I always the slowest one because I really not get it that quickly

Cecilia Yip makes the roughly 90-minute trek from College Station to take part in the events and relearn mahjong

I feel like I can relearn everything since I'm older now, I'm wiser now, so I want to do it

The community center started the event during Asian American Pacific Islander Month in May

The first event drew more than 25 people while the second had 40 and required a wait list Mahjong popularity prompted the center to continue the event as a monthly series mahjong has been played in america since the 1920s but has had a resurgence in popularity on social media

and in popular culture there are many different types of mahjong from hong kong to japanese or american the chinese

Community Center teaches the traditional Taiwanese style. There's no single origin story for Mahjong

but it's been around for centuries. It can be played anywhere there's a table, from homes to

the streets, in restaurants and parlors. It's that social aspect and the ease of access that

has made Mahjong a mainstay, according to Shimei Lin, the former CEO of the Chinese Community

Center. My grandchildren, their neighbor is going to come to them and say, hey, we have a set of

mahjong. We don't know how to do it. And this can be an Italian family. And my oldest son would say

okay, let's do it together. And actually, we do know Jewish people also play mahjong

And so our goal, we've always been talking about this, is having a tournament between CCC and the

JCC. The gatherings allow players to reconnect with their culture or even share it with other

players. I be able to speak my Mandarin to people around here and also I can speak English helping

people in this tribe to learn how to play mahjong. I feel I'm not only learning from the mahjong but

also share the culture with other people. In between what shuffle the tiles on the table

that time people start talking about their life and they are sharing what's going on

happen to the family Sometimes people love to go to a family when they host the Mahjong because that lady gonna offer us real good snacks For Shimei who is a Mahjong instructor at the events learning the game came through exposure rather than experience

I was like six or seven. My mom, my dad, and when they play Mahjong, it was so funny

They will always say, hey kids, you need to study. This is an adult game

But when the kids ventured into the kitchen for a study break, the sounds of the game would entice them

And then you will hear they say, oh, pong, oh, chii, right

And then they will call out the cymbal. So you always hear it

And when you walk by them, right, you see, oh, these are the good hands

Look how it look like with a good hand. All right, so how do you play mahjong

Here's a basic guide to Taiwanese style. It's somewhat like bridge. The game consists of four players. The dealer receives 17 tiles while all the other players get 16

The tiles are broken down into three suits, bamboo or bams, circles known as dots, and characters, sometimes called cracks

There are also beginner-friendly versions of the game with English numbers on them to make it easier to understand

Players take turns drawing and discarding tiles in an attempt to score a mahjong, which ends the game

To get that Mahjong, you need to arrange the 17 tiles into five sets that can be made up of different plays

A Pung is three identical tiles. A Kong is four identical tiles

A Chao is three consecutive numbers of the same suit, plus one pair

Once someone scores a Mahjong, everyone's points are tallied and a winner's determined

It's like playing poker. You know, the game of poker, it's like you gotta keep playing in order to

it's knowing your flushes and your straights and all that, but then you also know how to strategize

Like who has who do you think has that tile that you know you want not counting cards or counting tiles but kind of the same thing Studies show that playing Mahjong is associated with enhanced cognitive function memory and even helps slow cognitive decline especially in seniors

It's a game of chance, skill, and strategy. And it can be stressful, as Florence knows

I'm like so close for Mahjong. And it's like, oh, do I play that hand

or I think somebody needs this tile, but if I keep it, it's the strategy

That's just what. And like I said, it's the group of people that you're playing with. Mahjong itself is very scientific because the way you build the sets

you win the game, there is a rule that you follow. However, it's a brain game

So a lot of seniors, okay, they can do it as an exercise, a leisure activity

but at the same time, they practice their memory skills, and then they're social because it takes four to play Mahjong

Florence said she plans to keep coming to the events because it's different every time

and if the Mahjong isn't doing it for her, she can still make a day of it. I like coming here because it's close to Chinatown with all the foods and stuff

because I live in River Oates, so coming over here is a schlep

And so this is my chance to eat the stuff and get a labubu

I got a labubu earlier. So that's why. And then it's a great location

Next time Cecilia plays with family, she hopes she can play a little faster and show off her skills

I will pretend I'm still not too good, but I would like to surprise them

For more on this story, head to san.com or the Straight Arrow News app and search Mahjong to get the full report from Monique Welsh-Rutherford

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis