nPosted on August 1, 2020
n
Key Points
n
n
n
n
nTiles clicking as they are placed on the table. A sigh of pleasure as strategy pays off. The murmur of other players.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Yeah, no; none of that is part of my experiences with the game of Mahjong, because I have only played solitaire games on my phone or computer.
Yeah, no; none of that is part of my experiences with the game of Mahjong, because I have only played solitaire games on my phone or computer. n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nBut for more than a century Mahjong-the-multi-player-tile-game was what Mahjong was all about.
n
n
n
nDeveloped in China, probably in the early to mid-1800s (so, during the Qing Dynasty), Mahjong was actually illegal in the People’s Republic of China from 1949 until 1985! But I am sure some people played it on the down-low…?
And of course, by the time China had outlawed the game, it had already taken root in in the U.S., Taiwan, and elsewhere. It’s not just people of Chinese heritage that play the tile game; the founders of America’s National Mah Jongg League were all Jewish women.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nMahjong is generally played with 144 tiles. The game is similar to some forms of Rummy; players draw and discard tiles until they form a legal hand with four melds and one pair (or another kind of winning hand). There are a LOT of variations on this theme, however!
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
The Mahjong I have played is challenging: the tiles are stacked in a variety of ways, and the player eliminates tiles in matching pairs until either s/he wins (pairs up every tile) or gets stuck (“Aack! the other 5-Bamboo tile must be underneath the 5-Bamboo tile I can see!!”).
The Mahjong I have played is challenging: the tiles are stacked in a variety of ways, and the player eliminates tiles in matching pairs until either s/he wins (pairs up every tile) or gets stuck (“Aack! the other 5-Bamboo tile must be underneath the 5-Bamboo tile I can see!!”).n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAlso on this date:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nSpider-Man Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nLaa Luanys in the Isle of Man
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAstronomer Maria Mitchell’s birthday
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nLammas Day in Scotland
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nColorado’s statehood anniversary
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAfrica from A to Z
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPeople’s Liberation Army Day in China
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nEmancipation Day in the Caribbean
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nSandcastle Day
n
n(First Saturday in August)
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPlan ahead:
n
n
n
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
n
- n
-
nAugust holidays
n
-
nAugust birthdays
n
-
nHistorical anniversaries in August
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
n
n
n
- n
-
nSeptember holidays
n
-
nSeptember birthdays
n
-
nHistorical anniversaries in September
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
