My Mah Jongg boxes

By Michael Truty | November 26, 2023

American Mah Jongg

In May of 2023 I was introduced to the game of American Mah Jongg. My son Max had been taught to play by his good friends and he taught us to play. I grew up playing cards, mostly Pinochle with my grandparents, and this entertained me. To play this games requires some brains, rapid decisionmaking is paramount, but the game leaves room for pleasant chatter. 

The Tiles

One of my favorite parts of the game is the physical nature of the tiles. They're heavy, like dominos, and the gravity just makes play feel meaningful. I elected to purchase the larger tiles to see if reading them was any easier, but also because they feel a little less frivolous than the smaller ones.

Box 'em up

But, a set is 152 tiles and the tiles I ordered arrived without much of a box. If you store them in one box then it's hard for more than one person to clean up, and cleaning up 152 tiles isn't fun already. So, the best thing would be for all of the players to replace some tiles in a box of their own. My sister had found these small wooden boxes online so I bought a few and I love their size/shape for this purpose.

But, I wanted them to be a little fun so I painted them. My daughter helped me choose the paints, and Eileen suggested mixing the colors and I *really* like how they turned out!

If you want to learn more about American Mah Jongg, the National Mah Jongg League is here, and you order cards from them.