About four years ago, a good friend of mine offered to teach me how to play Mahjongg. She had learned when she lived in Hong Kong and is a masterful player. She said that she thought I would love the game. I was skeptical, but my friend was right. I love the game of Mahjongg. Here’s why.
It’s a great opportunity to tax your brain. It’s strategic. It challenges your memory and your ability to recognize patterns. Researchers indicate that regular play builds cognitive resilience, improves attention, and slows cognitive decline.
Planning your moves, tracking discarded tiles, and anticipating opponents’ strategies forces your brain to engage in complex problem solving. Researchers also claim that constantly sorting, matching, and shifting tiles improves hand-eye coordination and reinforces the brain-body connection.
Plus, the game never gets old. Each year there is a new card with new patterns to master which keeps the game fresh and exciting. It also levels the playing field because everyone learns the new configurations at the same time.
It’s also a wonderful way to socialize with friends and meet new people. While playing, people seldom talk about politics or partake in local gossip. Perhaps someone will mention a new restaurant or discuss a traffic jam, but that’s about as controversial as it gets.
And then there is the added advantage that when you’re playing Mahjongg, you’re not thinking about crazy political goings-on in this country or other problems on your radar. The game requires intense focus so most other worries get shifted to the back burner.
I also love to watch how different people’s brains work. Some players try to master every winning combination of tiles so by the end of the year, they have won using every possible combination. Other players focus on defensive strategies and spend a great deal of time trying to figure out which combo of tiles their opponents are going after. (You know who you are.) And still others rely on six or seven winning combos and seek to win with those combos over and over again.
I’ve now had the pleasure of teaching several people how to play the game. And it’s fascinating to see how for some people the concepts click immediately. And for others, often extremely smart people, they just have difficulty conquering winning strategies. I’m also happy to report that more men have begun mastering the game.
Mahjongg tournaments have become increasingly popular. They bring out aggressive competitive play which can be exhilarating. My former consulting firm has a yearly competitive tournament to raise funds for scientific research on various causes. We play online and each person’s scores are posted. Trust me, these former partners have not lost their competitive spirits. No one wants to be at the bottom of the leader board.
For those of you who love the game, here are some sayings you might enjoy.
May you always draw the tile you need, and may the jokers be with you.
Let’s Charleston like it’s 1920!
North, South, East, and West. Winds are great but jokers are best.
Quit dragon’ and get crak-in!
It’s all fun and games until someone throws a joker.
Never say it’s just a game to a Mahjongg player.
I only play Mahjongg on days that end in “Y.”
If Mahjongg were a science, I’d have my Ph.D.
If you have not yet discovered the wonders of Mahjongg, please consider giving it a try. I guarantee it will not disappoint.
