About 45 women of all ages and from every area of Historic Brookhaven gathered on Wednesday evening, April 30, to learn about mahjong, the latest game craze sweeping the country. The Ladies of Historic Brookhaven Social Club met at Rebecca Webb’s home on Hunters Brook Court to learn about the popular game from the Buckhead Mahjong Club.

 

The game, which is informally called Bams Cracks Dots after its three suits, originated in China in the 19th century when a general from a southern province translated a card game onto tiles to entertain his troops. Then around 1910, American engineer Joseph Babcock discovered the game when on assignment with Standard Oil in Asia. He changed the Chinese characters to Roman numerals, and brought mahjong to the United States.

 

In the 1930s, a group of New York women created the National Mah Jongg League to standardize the game. The league still sells a card, with winning suits, that is used by all mahjong players across the country today.

 

As the Buckhead Mahjong Club detailed the game’s history and broadly described how to play, members of the Social Club explored mahjong sets and tried to pick up a few basics. Luci Holbert and Liz Liu founded and run the club and offer group and private lessons around the area.

 

“Mahjong is great for bringing people together and enjoying each other,” said Luci. Players of all levels can enjoy a game. Buckhead Mahjong encouraged the Social Club women to find a group. “It’s a really good brain sport,” they noted.

 

The women from the Historic Brookhaven social club also enjoyed an hour of appetizers and cocktails. During the general meeting portion of the evening, Rebecca and Justine Regnier, who lead the group, noted they are looking for a chair for a Friendsgiving event in November. If you are interested in this event, contact Justine at Justineregnier6@gmail.com.