Maj Jong

Hi,
I love to play Maj Jong. I have played the game almost 30 years. My mother plays, the grandmother played and my fondest memories are playing with both of them at the cottage, by the lake, for hours on end. I grew up listening to maj tiles 'click' late into the night as the women played in our house. Being allowed to watch them play was mesmerizing. Their hands flew as playing tiles were picked, discarded, switched, shanghai-ed and reset into starting walls.

For those of you who do not know the game, it's like gin rummy but with Bakelite tiles. Instead of hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs you have suits of bams, cracks, dots ("O's" in Canada), winds, dragons, flowers and jokers. I learned to play the 'American' rules, but I can also play the original Chinese style game too. The Maj Jong League publishes a card of  'hands' that we play to, with set point or monetary amounts for each hand. Every year they change the card up a little but it really hasn't changed much in the 65 years the League has been going. You have to collect the right number of tiles to match the set hand and the first one to accomplish that wins the Maj. It's very addictive. I can play for hours and hours.

I now have a group of ladies that include me in their weekly game. I'm a lowly substitute, not a full fledged member. During the winter I get to play almost every week since they travel to the southern USA and need a fill-in. I'm the youngest of the group by at least 20 years but I like their game and it's like playing with my mom & grandmother all over again. They are all experienced players so the games are fast and funny. They can chat and play at the same time, it's always entertaining. I don't know who or what they are gossiping about but it's amazing how similar the chatter is to what I grew up listening to. The names are different but the stories are pretty much the same. Children and grand children all get discussed. Hadassah events, weddings, bar mitzvahs, luncheons, husbands, travel plans..... I swear it's the universal language of Jewish women around the world. Every maj table is having the same discussion.

We play for money, not a lot. The most you could lose in an afternoon of playing is $4. I need to play for money. No investment in the game is boring. Since I don't dial into the chatter, I win most of the time. My average take home loot is about 80 cents. It doesn't cover the gas for the car ride but it's the cheapest form or entertainment I have going. I wish I could find a group my own age to play with but it doesn't seem to appeal to women to sit down and play regularly, or develop the skill. There are a group who play once a month but that doesn't hone their playing fast enough and they will be forever beginners at that rate. Oh well, my Hadassah ladies keep me occupied for the winter. I'll go back to gardening in the summer and wait for the migration to Florida to start up when I get called in to sub for the maj mavens.

It's a great way to pass the time.

xox
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