Mahjong originated near Shanghai, China in the mid to late 1800s towards the end of the Qing Dynasty. The game quickly spread in popularity across China, particularly in urban centers like Shanghai and Beijing. By the early 1920s, mahjong began spreading internationally, driven by an increased global trade and travel.

The American version of the game can be traced back to Joseph Park Babcock, an American businessman who worked in Shanghai in the 1920s. Babcock started a sales company to popularize the game with American expatriates in China, before marketing it to the broader American public. The game was first popular with the American elite, including President and First Lady Harding and Hollywood celebrities. While the mahjong fad in the U.S. diminished by the mid-1920s, the game remained popular in pockets of American society— inspiring uniquely American versions of the game. In the late 1930s, a group of Jewish women in New York City standardized Babcock’s simplified version of the game and founded the National Mah Jongg League in 1937. After World War II, this new American version became widely popular in middle-class Jewish communities.

Today, there are over 40 variations of Mahjong across the world. Mahjong is much more than a game to many communities — it is a unifying tradition that brings people together across generations. In recent years, the game has seen a resurgence in popularity among younger players, fueled by cultural moments including the ending of the 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians, celebrity players including Julia Roberts, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Meghan Markle, and news stories on The Today Show and Good Morning America.

American Mahjong is played differently from traditional Chinese Mahjong. American Mahjong uses a card of Standard Hands published by the American Mah Jongg League each year with new winning hands. The tiles used in American Mahjong also differ from other versions of the game — while Chinese Mahjong is played with 144 tiles, American Mahjong plays with 152 including 8 Joker tiles. Gameplay has unique features as well; for example, American Mahjong begins with a pre-game exchange of tiles known as The Charleston.

Here at Front Range Mahjong, we play the American variation of the game using the official rules of the National Mah Jongg League. While our focus is on this version of the game, we also strive to honor the game’s origins and foster a community that is respectful and aware of its cultural history and significance among both Chinese and Jewish American communities.