American mahjong
GameWikipedia
82
MENTIONS
8
EPISODES
7
PODCASTS
Search complete. 82 mentions across 8 episodes found for "American mahjong".
Oct 4, 2026
Jamey StegmaierHOST
I've been trying to enjoy the Mahjong, but also introduce games that remind me a little bit of Mahjong.
Jamey StegmaierHOST
There's a little bit of drafting here, as American Mahjong has.
Jamey StegmaierHOST
So this is a game where you're drafting cards, then you're doing a round of trick-taking with those cards, where the cards that are played into that trick can score off of one another, and also the highest card in that trick wins some extra points.
Jamey StegmaierHOST
And then all the cards that you play over the course of that phase enter your tableau a little bit like Red Rising.
Molly HardyGUEST
After they left, it was like, you know, what just happened? So, um...
Molly HardyGUEST
Then, you know, they take that and then they wanted to do a really good job of incorporating Chinese mahjong to American mahjong and kind of connecting those dots.
Molly HardyGUEST
And so they, you know, edited it out and edited in and did all the things to make it something that the Today Show was proud of.
Molly HardyGUEST
And I was proud of being a part of it.
25 MINS LATER
ChristinaHOST
Um, Let's go.
ChristinaHOST
Okay.
ChristinaHOST
Well, you've had a front row seat to American Mahjong before it became what it is right now.
ChristinaHOST
What is your vision for the future of the game? Where are we headed?
speaker_0NARRATOR
Welcome to the Marsh Salon, come take your seats.
speaker_0NARRATOR
American Mahjong with a sly little beat.
speaker_0NARRATOR
Stories inside eyes, we're calling it out.
speaker_0NARRATOR
If you shuffle too slow, we'll talk about it, no doubt.
TinaHOST
We're talking about playing Mahjong on a screen.
MichelleHOST
Like, American Mahjong.
TinaHOST
Yes.
MichelleHOST
Not solitaire Mahjong, which I know-
6 MINS LATER
TinaHOST
Yeah, and I'm pumped to get into it, but before we jump into all the ins and outs, we just kind of need to explain to some of our players and listeners, maybe they've never used an app or a site, so like what are some common features? What are we even talking about when we say playing online? What does that even look like in general?
MichelleHOST
So I'm re-emphasizing.
MichelleHOST
I said first actual Mahjong online for American Mahjong requires a card.
TinaHOST
Yes.
Cris BonserHOST
Because I'll pick one up and start wondering, who held this before me? Was this someone's favorite set? Was there a group that played with this every Thursday afternoon? Did someone learn Mahjong on them? Did a mother teach a daughter? Did one friend patiently teach another? Or, maybe not so patiently, how many cups of coffee sat dangerously close to these tiles? How many conversations happened while someone was supposedly paying attention to their hand? How many times did someone draw this exact tile and think, there you are? And how many times did someone discard it? Take her hand off it, look back at her rack and think, oh no.
Cris BonserHOST
How many Mahjans have been called with these tiles? How many absolutely beautiful hands never came together? How many jokers were exchanged? How many times did someone say, I can't believe you threw that? And then there's something especially fun to think about with a vintage American Mahjong set.
Cris BonserHOST
How many different National Mahjong Lake hands have these tiles played over the years? Because the tiles may have stayed the same, but the card certainly hasn't.
Cris BonserHOST
Year after year, a new card came out.
Prim ProperHOST
A particular coin that has to be in a particular pocket.
Prim ProperHOST
A tile turned a particular way on the rack before the Charleston.
Prim ProperHOST
For no reason anyone can name.
Prim ProperHOST
And every reason anyone can feel.
8 MINS LATER
Prim ProperHOST
and the exact coin is whatever your group long ago agreed on.
Prim ProperHOST
In a tournament, it is stricter.
Prim ProperHOST
A false call can cost you the hand, and points besides, and the rulebooks are refreshingly candid that the precise penalty is a matter of table and tournament rules rather than one universal number, which is exactly why the card you are playing and the rules your table agreed on before the first Charleston are what settle it when anyone truly disagrees.
Prim ProperHOST
But the part Prim most wants to answer is the second part, the who decides, because that is where the fear actually lives.
Rob SchulteHOST
Jamie, I have to learn.
Jamie GettyGUEST
There is Chinese mahjong and there's American mahjong.
Jamie GettyGUEST
So what we're learning is American mahjong.
Jamie GettyGUEST
In Chinese mahjong, you don't need a card.
Molly McAleerHOST
Okay.
Molly McAleerHOST
And if you don't have the card, you can't play.
Molly McAleerHOST
And that was very fascinating to me.
Molly McAleerHOST
And I really want to know who runs this American Mahjong thing because they are, this is like, I don't know.
Cris BonserHOST
There we were, peacefully playing Chinese Mahjong, when Jenny casually mentioned something that had happened earlier in the week while she was playing American Mahjong.
Cris BonserHOST
Another player had already won the hand, and as everyone was wrapping up, Jenny shared the brilliant plan she had been working on.
Cris BonserHOST
She was in the 1-3-5-7-9 section.
Cris BonserHOST
And in this case, Jenny gave me full permission to use hers, because if we're going to tell this story, She deserves full creative credit.
Cris BonserHOST
Before anyone thinks I dragged poor Jenny into this podcast merely to discuss her creative interpretation of the National Mahjong League card, let me explain how she ended up at my table.
Cris BonserHOST
Another player needed a seat at the American Mahjong table.
Cris BonserHOST
Jenny knows how to play Chinese Mahjong, so she graciously gave up her seat and joined me instead.
Cris BonserHOST
As we were playing, she casually mentioned something that had happened earlier in the week.