Mahjong stories
The history, records and odd corners of the game — researched from primary and specialist sources, with the contested bits labelled as contested.
Who Invented Mahjong? Five Suspects and One Very Patient Sailor
A philosopher, a port official, two brothers, an army camp and a Shanghai noble all get the credit. The honest answer is stranger than any of them.
One Game, Forty Faces: How Mahjong Split Into the Styles Played Today
American jokers, Japanese dora, Taiwanese sixteen-tile hands, Singaporean animals: there was never a rulebook authority, so every port city wrote its own.
Mahjong's First Boom: America Went Mad for Tiles in the 1920s
Twelve thousand sets at Abercrombie & Fitch, cattle bone shipped to Shanghai, songs on the radio. The current mahjong boom is a rerun; the first one was wilder.
The Biggest Prize Ever Won at Mahjong (Is Smaller Than You Think)
No million-dollar mahjong payday exists. The richest verified prize in the game is about $330,000, and it went to a team of four in Tokyo. Here's why mahjong money works differently.
The $1.888 Million Mahjong Set, and What 'Expensive' Really Means
A one-of-one jadeite set in Singapore just reset the ceiling. Meanwhile a genuine 19th-century set might cost less than dinner. Both stories are true.
Mahjong for Kids: Start at Three, Play for Real by Eight
Too complex for children is the myth. Leveled properly, mahjong is a memory gym, a maths lesson and the rare game grandparents and grandkids play as equals.