Mahjong is Having a Moment in Raleigh

Mahjong is having a moment in Raleigh.

Craks, bams, dots, Charleston, pung. … IYKYK—but if not, welcome to the world of mahjong, the table game having a major moment in Raleigh. 

Remember the scene in Crazy Rich Asians where Rachel totally schools her judgy soon-to-be mother-in-law amid a room full of people clacking and rearranging small tiles? That was mahjong, where you win by being the first to match your tiles to an allowed combination.

Originating in China, the game picked up steam in America nearly a century ago, especially among Jewish women. From there, the National Mah Jongg League was born in the late ’30s, standardizing the rules for “American” mahjong, which is what most Raleighites play today.

“The game has existed for so long in Jewish circles, but the rebirth of mahjong has been really fascinating,” says Raleighite Emily Kaplan, who first learned to play when she was 9. “It’s been really exciting to see the game become a phenomenon.”

Kaplan’s recently bowed Raleigh Mahj hosts an open play event every month, with its January session selling out in 12 minutes (!)—and still over 60 people joined the waitlist. Meanwhile, Dana Lange, who has taught mahjong for 26 years, says she’s pretty much booked for the next eight months, and last year, a whopping 300 people attended one of her strategy classes.

“I keep wondering when everyone in Raleigh is going to know how to play mahjong,” says Lange, adding that, while the game has been popular in Raleigh for a while, the real explosion started in 2021 postpandemic.

“People were craving a reason to be with people, and this is a low-stress way of creating community,” she maintains of the game that is just as much about community as competition. “There was this six-month period where I taught a morning, afternoon and evening class in Raleigh five days a week.” At the end of the six months, Lange had taught a staggering 750 people—and estimates she’s already taught ~26,000 total. 

“Not everyone wants to go play sports all the time,” adds Anne Garland Free, co-founder of recently launched The Dirty Mahj Collective, whose name is at once a nod to the modern, playful spirit of its tile illustrations and the ways in which the collective is redefining the game’s traditional elements. “But when you don’t feel like being active, you can still be social and exercise your brain by playing.”

Fair warning, though, if you give someone a mahjong lesson, they’re gonna want to play. And if they play once, they’ll want to play again… and again. And Lange, Free and Kaplan all agree the game is addictive.

So, clearly, if you haven’t already, it’s time to hop on the mahjong bandwagon. BRB, the next game is calling. 

Set the Table
First thing’s first, you’ll likely want to take lessons from any of these gamesperts to figure out what the heck a crak and pung is. 

Game On 
Raleigh Mahj’s open play sessions meet at The Flourish Market in Raleigh Iron Works the second Thursday of each month, and Dirty Mahj will launch its open play series in the coming months. 

Pro Tip
Make sure to snag a 2025 card from the national league with the winning tile combinations.

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