Insider staff
You may remember our Games Issue from back in January. In that issue, we found a group of hard-core Mahjong players at the Heights Community Center. It was fascinating to watch, but it was hard to get any context, not knowing a thing about the game.
It was a pleasant surprise, then, when we found out that the Concord Public Library was holding sessions to teach people how to play. So, naturally, we went down there last Wednesday to see what it was all about.
The courses started the week before, but library staff said it would still be okay to drop by for the second session – it would begin with a recap of what was learned the previous week anyway.
It appeared as though the rest of the attendees – about 20 in all – were also brand new to the game, so it wasn’t an intimidating environment to walk into. What was intimidating, though, was the game equipment: a slew of white tiles with Asian script on them, a big plastic rack with a swinging arm, a fold-out game card full of seemingly random numbers and letters, a seven-page, double-sided rules packet.
What did we get ourselves into?
The fear didn’t last long, though, as instructor Brad Hunt walked through all the steps knowing full well that nobody knew what they were doing.
He explained that everyone gets 13 tiles (but one person gets 14), and that you’re trying to make a certain combination of tiles to get Mahjong. The card you play with changes every year, and it lays out all the possible ways to get Mahjong. There isn’t enough space here to really get into all the nitty gritty, but you basically try to make straights, three-, four- and five-of-a-kinds, sets of dragons and flowers and other pre-determined combinations. After an hour of explanation, our group of four (the game is always played in groups of four) got the hang of it and got a few rounds of tile-swapping in.
The classes run for two more weeks, but there has been so much interest there isn’t room for more. Don’t worry, though – the plan is to start another session in the fall.
In the meantime, if you already know how to play, the library will start hosting actual games – not learning sessions – once these classes finish in a couple weeks. Check back in with the library at 225-8670.
