The game of Mah-Jong originated in China but became popular in this country during the early part of the twentieth century. It is a game for four players, though it can be played with three and a dummy, and is played with 72 tiles, traditionally made of bamboo and bone or ivory, with intricate and sometimes very pretty coloured designs incised on them. Scoring is quite complex so we record winners of each game instead with a presentation cup every few months . Recent members have brought new rules for different games and we are all still trying these out. We have all learnt Mah-jong in earlier lives and this adds to the interest with different ideas of how to play

The rules of play and the system of scoring are quite complex, but actually the game most resembles a rather glorified kind of Rummy. However, unlike Rummy, it has a formal structure: for instance, a complete game of Mah-Jong lasts a minimum of sixteen hands of play, so it is quite rare for a game to be played to a finish all in one go. It needs plenty of time.

If you are interested in playing please contact the convenor. using the Group email link above.