Mahjong, a big hit on Longboat Key

Tabletop game gains popularity at The Paradise Center, even during the slower summer months.

By Whitney Elfstrom
| 8:00 a.m. June 26, 2019

Longboat Key
Neighbors

Every region has a signature table game. The Midwest has euchre, Las Vegas has blackjack, and, though not steeped in far east culture, Longboat Key has mahjong.

The game of skill and chance remains popular enough on the Key to warrant games at The Paradise Center throughout the slower summer months.

Described by some players as addictive and intense, it’s played with 152 tiles inscribed with Chinese symbols.

From 1-3 p.m. Tuesdays, mahjong enthusiasts converge for lively games.

What is Mahjong:

Mahjong is a tile game that originated in China during the Qing dynasty. Similar to gin rummy, the object of the game is to form sets of three or four matching or sequenced tiles before your opponents.

Players look to their score card while playing the game to double-check their hand with the different combinations of tiles. The goal of mahjong is to match your tiles exactly with a hand from the score card.

The Paradise Center plays American-style mahjong, which consists of 152 tiles that feature 36 suit tiles, 28 honors tiles, eight flower tiles, eight season tiles and eight joker tiles.

The tile categories are then broken down into the subcategories: suits made up of dots, bamboos and characters; honors made up of winds and dragons; bonus, which include flowers; and jokers.

When to play

The Paradise Center hosts weekly mahjong games from 1-3 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Info: Call 383-6493 or visit theparadisecenter.org.

“It’s challenging, it’s social, and it’s great for your brain,” said Suzy Brenner, executive director of The Paradise Center. “You really have to think about what you’re doing and the strategy involved.”

Mahjong came to The Paradise Center two years ago when patrons kept asking to see the game added to the programming list. From there, it took off.

Longboaters visit the center year-round, but during the slow season on the island where the population melts from 20,000 to 7,000 people, it can be tough to hold enough interest in recurring events to make them worthwhile.

Typically, a yoga class here or there will last throughout the summer season.

That was until mahjong started.

“Especially during the summer when it’s so quiet on Longboat Key, providing an opportunity for people to just avoid loneliness and isolation is one of our big goals,” Brenner said.

During season, about 28 people play each week, but during the summer months the games run about 12-14 people per session.

The game is a way to forge communities and friendships, volunteer mahjong coach Carol Peschel said. The group has even held birthday parties that revolve around the game.

Unlike bridge, during which Brenner said players are often quiet, reserved and focused, mahjong players are lively and boisterous.

Laughter often fills the small room inside Temple Beth Israel, where three tables can be found set up with 12 women playing around them.

Some of the players, all women on one recent visit, have been playing since they were preteens. They learned from their mothers and now pass the game and its finer points onto their friends.

But all come with one goal in mind: to be the first player to call out “mahjong.”

For Carole Shaw, who has been playing since she was 12, winning is her favorite part — next to all of the friends she’s made along the way.

American Style Mahjong rules:

Disclaimer: There are several sets of rules across the internet about how exactly you play Mahjong, but the following rules are how The Paradise Center plays.

Each player receives one rack, similar to what you keep Scrabble tiles in.
Place the 152 tiles face down in the center and then shuffle them by moving them around on the table.
Behind each of the players racks a “wall” is made of 38 tiles is made, which are laid out 19 tiles long and two tiles high.
The four players are called West, North, South and East, who functions as the dealer.
East takes the first four tiles, then moving to the right of East each player takes four tiles until all have 12.
East then take the first and third tile on top of the wall and the other players take one more tile each.
East should have 14 tiles while the others have 13.
Next players conduct a Charleston-first exchange, known as a series of tile exchanges among the players. This is where each player passes three unwanted tiles to the right, followed by passing three unwanted tiles to the player opposite of them and finally passing three unwanted tiles to the left.
If all players agree a second Charleston can be performed starting this time by passing three unwanted tiles to the left, then opposite and then right.
After the Charleston ends, the players have the option to exchange up to three tiles with the person directly across from them. This is considered courtesy or optional. If one player wishes to exchange three tiles but the player across the table can only exchange one, then only one tile is exchanged between them. They can also opt not to exchange at all.
After the Charlestons end, then the game can begin.
East goes first by discarding an unwanted tile into the discard pile, but they don’t pick up a new tile.
The next player picks up a new tile from the break in the wall and then discards a tile they do not want face up on the table, and so on.
If another player wants their discard they can say, “Wait,” and then, “I’ll call that.”
If the discarded tile is not called, the turn continues to the next player on the right. The sequence of drawing, discarding, and continuing turns is repeated unless interrupted by a call.
To end the game a player must declare “Mahjong” when a 14th tile is drawn from the wall or the discard pile that complete a hand found on the score card that creates a mahjong. The game can also end when there are no longer tiles to be drawn from and is then declared a wall game.

Shaw said she comes with the goal of winning at least one game when she plays. But after she’s succeeded, she said it’s OK if others experience the thrill of victory.

You don’t have to be a well-oiled, mahjong-playing machine to jump into the game.

The skill level ranges from beginner to intermediate, and tables are broken down by levels. That’s why it’s important to RSVP before hand, Brenner said.

The center also hosts a beginners class every so often. Brenner keeps a list of anyone who is interested in the game, and once it hits eight, a four-week beginners’ class is held.

But just in case people are still foggy on the rules, three volunteers circle the room to lend a helping hand.

For Peschel, volunteering to teach the game has been rewarding because she gets to see how far each player has come, she said.

In addition to teaching, Peschel is quite the mahjong fan herself.

“I never miss a game,” she said. “I even schedule my doctor appointments around them.”