Mahjong has been bringing people together for more than a century.

The game began in China in the 1800s, evolving from earlier Chinese card and domino games into the version we recognize today. Early sets typically used 136 tiles decorated with familiar symbols, bamboo, circles, Chinese characters, winds, and dragons. And, of course, there was that unmistakable sound: the cheerful click and clatter of tiles being mixed around the table.

By the 1920s, Mahjong had made its way across the ocean to the United States, where it quickly became a sensation. Americans embraced the game, adapted it, and before long, a distinctly American style of Mahjong began to emerge.

In 1937, a group of women in New York formed the National Mah Jongg League to help standardize the rules of American Mahjong. One of the biggest changes was the introduction of an annual card featuring new winning hands each year. American sets also grew larger, eventually including jokers and additional tiles, with many modern sets containing 152 tiles.

But perhaps the most wonderful part of Mahjong's history isn't found in the rulebook.

For generations, mothers taught daughters, grandmothers taught grandchildren, and friends taught friends. The game became more than a competition, it became an excuse to gather, talk, laugh, snack, tease one another, and hope that the next tile drawn would be exactly the one you needed.

That tradition continues today.

And that's what we love most about Mahjong. It isn't simply a game, it's a connection between generations, friendships, and memories still waiting to be made.

We create our Mahjong sets so you can gather your favorite people, hear that familiar click of the tiles, and start a Mahjong story of your own.