By Lauren Rosencrantz
Contributing Writer
SHREWSBURY – American mahjong has become the new craze. Not only does mahjong keep your mind sharp through the use of strategy and pattern-recognition, but it also creates connection through play.
“It becomes your community. It becomes your support,” American mahjong teacher Jackie Eagle explained.
Photo/Lauren Rosenkrantz
The four-player game involves drawing, trading, and discarding special mahjong tiles. The goal is to replicate a specific winning pattern, distributed by the National Mah Jongg League annually.
“It takes a lot of time. It’s not like a card game that you can sit down, learn, and start playing. There are a lot of layers and a lot of rules,” Eagle said.
Eagle began playing seven years ago, when some friends asked if she was interested in learning the game. Her amusement became her passion before she knew it.
“I’ve always been interested in it. It was also a time where I was becoming an empty-nester. My kids were going to college, so I was looking for new hobbies. So I joined their group and they taught me mahjong,” she said.
Around a year ago, Eagle created a mahjong group of her own, teaching the game to around 10 of her friends. Eagle later learned that there were many more people dying to learn the game.
“I was helping other people learn, teaching people’s friends and relatives, and from there, decided to start my own business,” Eagle said.
Eagle Mahjong hosts classes where anyone can learn how to play. Eagle also hopes to introduce guided- and open-play sessions in collaboration with the Shrewsbury Recreation Department.
She said: “You start off with just the basics, little by little, add the rules, the different techniques, and different strategies. We start off learning, but usually by the end of that first class, we’re playing a game.”
Although mahjong may seem simple, Eagle explained that there’s much more to it.
“It’s a challenging game, and there’s a lot of components. You’re looking to play offensively and build your own tiles, but you’re also learning to play defensively and prevent the other players from getting mahjong. So it’s a little bit of a strategy. It’s a lot of planning and pattern recognition, but there’s still a little element of luck,” Eagle said.
Over the last few years, American mahjong has grown in popularity. Many players are infatuated by the game itself, but the social aspect and community are what keep them hooked.
“The community part is what people really have been wanting. Since COVID, everyone’s been so screen oriented. I think learning mahjong and joining a mahjong group is bringing people back to spending time together,” Eagle explained.
Photo/Lauren Rosenkrantz
“There was a time where you could bring up mahjong and a lot of people had never heard of it. Most people have heard about it now. It’s almost the new pickleball.”
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