The magic of Mah Jongg goes beyond the game itself, bringing people together through friendship, strategy, and shared experiences. From its beautiful tiles and rich history to the connections formed around the table, Mah Jongg has become a beloved way to gather, learn, and create lasting memories.
The Magic of Mah Jongg: A Game Bringing People Together
Interior designer Melissa Ewen and her Mah Jongg group are part of a state and national trend. TABLE’s Associate Editor Lauri Gravina explains all.
A Sewickley Gathering Celebrates the Magic of Mah Jongg
Last July, we were invited to one of those old Sewickley houses that sits sideways on the road, as it was the first house on the street. The 1912 Georgian Revival, with its grand double-story bay windows, is flanked by two dwarf redwoods, making quite a first impression.
The occasion for our visit was a Mah Jongg potluck luncheon. “Lately, Mah Jongg is finding its way into all different sorts of gatherings,” says the host Melissa Ewen, an interior designer who started playing the game just a few years back.
“About ten or twelve of us signed up for lessons at the local business The Picket Fence,” she says. “We learned together, and slowly more friends took lessons and it grew from there. Now there are probably 40 or 50 women in Sewickley who play.”
Mah Jongg’s Growing Popularity Across Pennsylvania and Beyond
This Sewickley contingent is right in line with the national trend drawing record numbers of new players to the game. Pennsylvanians are especially keen, with Vegas Insider reporting that the Keystone State is the second most Mah Jongg-obsessed state in the U.S.
“It’s incredible how many people want to take lessons,” says Liz Watkins, a local Mah Jongg teacher. She teaches at several locations in the city and hosts open play sessions. When she posted a recent class at Il Pizzaiolo in Warrendale, “It filled in one hour and overflowed five times over.” Watkins came to the game just two years ago when a friend encouraged her to play, calling it “the future of games.” While it might be the future of games, it also embraces a long history, first established in nineteenth-century China.
Understanding How Mah Jongg Is Played
A quick primer: Mah Jongg is played with 152 tiles and up to four people play on a board. The idea is to recreate a pattern and when you achieve it, you call out ‘Mah Jongg!’ Games take about 20-30 minutes. American Mah Jongg is played with a card that shows all the patterns (the Chinese version is not played with a card). The National Mah Jongg League releases a card annually with new hands to learn.
The Cognitive Benefits and Strategic Challenge of Mah Jongg
“I went to that first lesson and fell in love immediately,” says Watkins. “The game itself is amazing for so many reasons. First, it’s just fun.”
“It never gets old because you’re dealt a random series of tiles. Pattern recognition is the basis of the game, but you also must remember which tiles have been discarded so you can figure out how many are still available to you. You have to pivot and switch strategies as the game evolves,” she explains, noting that she has clients who learned to play for the cognitive benefits alone.
The Social Connections Behind the Game’s Appeal
But the real magic of Mah Jongg, she says, is the social aspect and the connections people make through play. “I’m 46, and I never expected to make a lot of new friends at this point in my life — but my friendship circle has expanded wildly through Mah Jongg.”
Another thing Watkins loves are the game pieces themselves.
“The feel and wonderful clacking sounds of shuffling tiles brings me so much joy,” she says. “The tiles are such a big part of the experience.”
The game’s name translates to sparrow in Chinese and refers to the sounds tiles make — which is said to echo the chattering of sparrows.
The Sensory Beauty of Mah Jongg Tiles
Ewen agrees. “The tiles are tactile and gorgeous. There’s the sound of the clicking tiles, the feel of the tiles in your hands. The mats are beautiful. It’s just a beautiful sensory experience.”
Keeping in step with the game’s aesthetics, Ewen’s party leaned into the sensorial delights.
Creating an Elegant Mah Jongg Luncheon
“My inspiration for this luncheon was an English garden. I knew ladies would likely be in floral dresses because that’s the summer uniform. I wanted light summer fare, spritzers to drink, and florals that felt organic and romantic — not too perfect.”
Ewen’s friend Anne Dickson from the Fox and the Fleur set the tables with pink and white hydrangeas, eucalyptus, and laurel bay leaf branches. “It smelled heavenly.”
Friends brought dishes such as biscuits with ham, arugula, and fig preserves, zucchini quiche, French apple tarts, mini peach tarts, and a watermelon and cucumber salad. “It was all very light ladies-who-Mah Jongg kind of fare,” says Ewen.
Making Entertaining Simple and Meaningful
“One of the reasons I wanted to do the potluck luncheon was that I think it’s easy to feel like when you have women over you have to cater everything or do everything yourself. I wanted it to feel manageable. Entertaining doesn’t have to be difficult. Having your friends bring dishes is the best way to feed people,” she adds.
Ewen served pinot grigio spritzers in the dining room, using the historic bay windows as a bar setup. “It’s perfect because it has these deep jambs and custom radiator covers and sills. I’m on a mission to get people out of their kitchens and into their living spaces.”
Designing Spaces for Connection
And she translates this mission in her trade. Ewen, originally a lawyer, decided on a career change, attending online interior design classes at the Rhode Island School of Design. When she and her family moved to Pittsburgh in 2023, she launched Melissa Ewen Design.
Because she encourages people to circulate at gatherings, at her luncheon Ewen set up Mah Jongg tables in the living rooms and the center hall, “where I’ve got a custom pink velvet settee that I had made truly for Mah Jongg — but don’t tell my husband.”
Why Mah Jongg Continues to Bring People Together
Ewen reflects on what she loves most about the game. “My primary thing is the connection aspect. You’re together and prioritizing time with each other. And I love that we’re all learning together. As adults, we don’t really get that cohort feeling anymore.”
Mah Jongg, anyone?
The Mah Jongg Potluck Menu
Zucchini Quiche by Melissa Ewen
French Apple Tart and Mini Peach Tarts by Ashley Mross
Mini Buttermilk Biscuits with Ham, Arugula, and Fig Preserves by Brittney Ellis
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad by Ashley Miller
Watermelon and Cucumber Summer Salad by Marcie Coates
Mexican Street Corn Salad by Megan Miner
Who Was There
Melissa Ewen
Tiffany Ballard
Becca Christof
Marcie Coates
Brittney Ellis
Molly Howard
Susan Kinser
Amy McConnell
Ashley Miller
Megan Miner
Ashley Mross
Aundrea Ambeliotis
Story by Lauri Gravina
Styling by Melissa Ewen
Photography by Laura Petrilla
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