M12-1: Mah Jongg: Abbreviated Beginners Clinic

Mah Jongg: Abbreviated Beginners Clinic - First Session

Mah Jongg is a game of both skill and luck that originated in China many centuries ago. American Mah Jongg, distinct from Asian Mah Jongg, utilizes racks, jokers, "Hands and Rules" score cards and has several distinct gameplay mechanics. Mah Jongg is always played with four players seated around a table. Tiles are shuffled, die are cast, and rituals involving the allocation of tiles and then the exchange of tiles begin. The first person to match a hand of 14 tiles and thus "call Mah Jongg" ends the game, whereupon tiles are scored and a winner is declared. The excitement of Mah Jongg lies in the decisions that you will constantly have to make. Is it preferable to discard a tile and thus gain an advantage, or would it be more prudent to stay with a decent hand? There is the exhilaration of winning a hand as well as regret at not having been bold enough to have made a different choice. Like poker, you will learn a lot about your opponents as you play Mah Jongg and adjust your strategy according to their strengths and weaknesses. Over the course of 3 weeks, participants will attend a total of 6 progressive sessions covering the basic rules and strategies needed to play the game. Because this clinic is intensive and each session has specific, progressive goals to achieve, participants are required to attend all six sessions. Signing up for the first session gets you into all six sessions.

Facilitators: Terri Socol, Patrice Sabo