Mahjong mania goes mainstream; private classes in Scarsdale selling out as popularity rises
SCARSDALE, New York (WABC) -- The mid-19th century Chinese game Mahjong is exploding in popularity lately, with players old and young feeling the Mahjong mania.
"You have to really focus on the game," said student Leon Berry. "You have to put your phone down, you have to really think, and you can't think of the stresses of life."
The strategy game, played with tiles, is known for its cognitive benefits and social interaction. Many young Mahjong players wanted the challenge of something new, and some wanted to meet new people.
"We found that we loved playing but didn't have a lot of people to play with ourselves," said Hadley Miller, who, along with Martha Kaiser, started offering a private Mahjong class in Scarsdale about a year ago. "So we taught a bunch of her friends, mainly so that we could play with more people, and then we had someone ask if we would teach a class - a six-week series - for them, and we did. It sold out in 24 hours, and we've been selling out ever since then."
"I'm Jewish American, and the Jewish community has played Mahjong for a very long time as well, so it's always been kind of on my radar," Kaiser said. "In the 1920s, the Jewish community on the Lower East Side was right next to Chinatown, and that's what was one of the original places where Mahjong kind of crossed over."
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