How I Got Hooked on Mahjong: From Book Club to Mahjong Sisterhood
Meet Mildred My Concrete Porch Goose
Hi, my name is Sydney and I am addicted to hobbies. Truly—I’ve tried them all. Sewing, crochet, diamond painting, Cricut projects, even making outfits for my concrete porch goose (yes, her name is Mildred, and she has a wardrobe). When I dive into something new, I go deep: joining Facebook groups, buying the books, binging the tutorials, and before long convincing my friends to join me too.
Earlier this year, I started noticing friends posting on social media about playing Mahjong. Honestly, I thought Mahjong was just that matching game app on your phone. But then I saw real photos of women gathered around beautiful Mahjong sets, laughing and sipping wine, and I felt like the kid outside the candy store thinking: I want in.
So I did what I always do: I researched. Strategy? Check. Gorgeous Mahjong tiles and mats? Check. Built-in excuse to hang with my girlfriends? Triple check. It was basically everything I already loved rolled into one sparkly new obsession.
Love at First Shuffle
Book Club Ladies
Our book club is a little sisterhood of about 15 women (mostly moms) many of us connected through our time working at Sam’s Club or Walmart. At one meeting, I mentioned to my friend Tammi that I was dying to learn how to play. Turns out, she was already playing with another group of friends and invited me to join.
That first night? Instant love. It was everything I hoped it would be. The click of the tiles, the strategy, the laughter—it was pure magic. And because I know myself (and my tendency to splurge on Day 1), I showed some restraint. I told myself, Just get an Amazon starter set, Sydney. If you still love it after a month, then you can upgrade. Y’all, I was so proud of myself for that tiny bit of self-control.
From Beginner to “Teacher” in 30 Days
Falling in love with Mahjong was the easy part. The harder part was finding people to play with in Northwest Arkansas, where the game is only just starting to grow. Practicing online with bots helped me learn the basics, but it wasn’t the same. What I really craved was the community piece.
So, like any hobby addict would, I made my own luck. Less than a month after Tammi taught me, I gathered eight friends and said, Okay y’all, I’ll show you how to play. Did I have formal training? Absolutely not. Did I have a starter Mahjong set, a couple of beginner books, and an enthusiasm that bordered on excessive? Absolutely yes.
That day was a blast. We laughed until our sides hurt. Everyone had questions, and I stumbled through the answers, but somehow it worked. By the end of the lesson, my friends were hooked too. Several even told me I was great at explaining the game in a way that made sense. And that’s when it hit me: maybe teaching Mahjong wasn’t just something I could do—maybe it was something I was meant to do.
More Than Just a Game
Here’s what I’ve realized: Mahjong is exactly like our book club—it’s not just about the game itself. Sure, we love books. Sure, we love Mahjong strategy. But what we’re really after is the same thing: a guaranteed reason to gather, laugh, and step away from the chaos of everyday life.
Mahjong gives us that. A couple of hours where the only things that matter are your tiles and your friends around the table. It’s part strategy, part tradition, part social magic.
And that’s how my obsession began. What started as “oh, that looks fun” turned into a full-blown love affair with a game that’s beautiful, strategic, social, and full of joy.
Stay tuned, because next time I’ll share how my friend Brooke and I decided to take this little obsession and turn it into something even bigger, Mockingbird & Magnolia Mahjong.
