Think Mah Jongg is just a fun parlor game? Think again! This game of tiles has a fascinating history, traveling from ancient China to become a national sensation in 1920s America. Here’s a delightful look at how it all began.
From China to the American Parlor
Mah Jongg's origins are rooted in China, with the first recorded sets appearing around the 1870s. While one theory suggests Confucius created the game, another links its popularity to two brothers from Jiangsu province who were compiling a local dictionary.
The game's name itself is a phonetic translation of the Cantonese term for "sparrow,", likely because of the clacking sound of the tiles being shuffled was thought to resemble the chirping of a sparrow.
The Man Who Launched a Craze
Mah Jongg arrived in the West in the early 1920s and immediately captured the attention of many Americans. The person credited with popularizing it in the United States was Joseph Babcock.
Babcock is known for simplifying the complex Chinese rules and marketing the game as an accessible parlor pastime. His book, Babcock's Guide to Mah Jongg, sold 20,000 copies in 1923, fueling what quickly became a national craze.
A Truly American Game
As its popularity grew, the American version of the game began to evolve significantly from its Chinese roots. This led to a need for standardization, and in 1937, the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) was formed.
The NMJL introduced the single biggest innovation in American Mah Jongg: the annual Official Standard Hands and Rules card. This card changes every year in April, dictating the new winning hands, which ensures the game remains fresh and challenging. Though, you may have heard that a few alternative cards are hitting the Mahjong scene hoping to address some of the gaps the NMJL has left.
With the annual card(s) changing the rules, it's a dynamic game that ensures the challenge of Mah Jongg is one that continues to evolve.