Reach A Little More

Martin and I have been playing MahJong (which means "sparrow" in Chinese) together for about a year. His recent interest in the Portland, OR MahJong Society has enabled us to play even more than usual. There are many, many types of MahJong, but we've been playing by World Series of MahJong rules (WSOM). I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the nuances of the game, and thankfully everyone in the Portland MahJong Society is very patient.

So on Sunday, we all met at a campground near Mt. Mood, set up our tables and tiles and played.



Martin and I ended up sitting with two foreign exchange students from Japan, and played the Japanese version of MahJong, often called Riichi. It was a little more complicated than WSOM MahJong, and I had to stretch my brain a bit, but everyone was patient and helpful and we ended up having a lot of fun.

One of the Japanese exchange students asked me if he thought Americans knew what MahJong was. I replied that I think most people have heard of it, and know that it involves tiles, but don't know how to play.

Am I right? Do you know about it, but not how to play?

If you'd like to learn, please join us at the next Portland, OR MahJong Society Meet Up!