Photo: Stina Chang/WBZ NewsRadio
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Everyone seems to be playing mahjong these days.
From the 2018 blockbuster “Crazy Rich Asians” to Ann Michael Maye, the wife of Patriots QB Drake Maye, the game has reached new heights online and offline.
The Wednesday Tile Club in Somerville is just one of the dozens of mahjong clubs popping up around the Greater Boston area.
The monthly gathering showcases Hong Kong style mahjong to dozens of first-timers and returning players at Aeronaut Brewing Company.
“It is just wild to just see the constant demand for people to learn,” Thomas Oide, the organizer of the club, told WBZ NewsRadio. “I keep thinking we’re going to run out of people to teach but new people just keep showing up.”
April’s meet-up is only the group’s third time hosting the event, but they’ve sold out every single time.
Oide said the demand spoke volumes to the popularity of the game, not just among the Asian community anymore but to people from all cultures and backgrounds.
Mahjong is a tile-based game that originated in China in the 19th century. It is a common tradition in many Asian families to bring out the green tiles at gatherings and teach the next generations the rules of the mahjong table.
Photo: Stina Chang/WBZ NewsRadio
In New York City, mahjong clubs are altering the stereotype that the game is only played by grandparents. Some clubs host game nights with DJs and specialty cocktail menus to appeal to young working adults. And this new image of mahjong is slowly reaching mainstream and making its way across the country.
Roger, one of the players at Wednesday Tile Club who has played the game with his family his whole life, said he wanted to introduce it to one of his friends. He added that every game of mahjong is different, even though the tiles and the rules don’t change.
“At the same time, there’s a large strategy to it,” he continued. “That, plus the simplicity of the game, allows it to be highly accessible to a lot of different people.”
For Sydney, her grandmother runs a mahjong hall in the Philippines and taught her how to play when she visited last year.
“It was kind of our way to bond with her and hang out with her,” she said, while continuing to learn at Wednesday Tile Club.
As the popularity of the game grew around the world, different variations also evolved. In the 1920s, “American-style” mahjong was formed and became a popular pastime for women in the Jewish community.
Nonetheless, Oide said he is excited to see the newfound appreciation for mahjong and hopes more people learn to play.
“It always warms my heart to see groups like this,” Oide said. “People who are complete strangers at the beginning of the night, and they leave exchanging phone numbers and say ‘I’ll see you next month’.”
WBZ NewsRadio's Kyle Bray (@KyleBrayWBZ) reports. Written and produced by WBZ NewsRadio's Stina Chang.