In the 1920s, after World War I and during the Jazz Age, America was awash in fads. With a kind of giddy optimism and the sense that the USA had come in and saved the European democracies during the first world war (called the Great War then, since there hadn’t yet been a second one), America was at the top of her game. Business was booming and there were all kinds of new things coming on the market, like affordable automobiles, radios and movies, and homes for the working man. Add to this, expendable income and the social media posts of the day (in newspapers back then) and you were in a perfect environment for fun.
The kids in college were buying raccoon coats, drinking down goldfish and seeing how many kids they could stuff in a phone booth. Meanwhile, fads would catch on in a big way for a few years until the next thing came along.
One of these was miniature golf, invented in Chattanooga by the man who did Rock City. As a matter of fact, the oldest existing mini-golf course is at Lake Winnepesaukah so if you go up to that amusement park this year play a few holes of history while you’re there.
But another craze that caught on was mahjong, sometimes known as Chinese dominoes. It turns out, the craze is still going strong right here in Dalton.
As much fun to watch
Mahjong is a domino-style game (dominoes are referred to as tiles in this game), and the play is somewhat similar to rummy in cards. There are four players sitting at the table and 144 tiles. There is a lot of Chinese symbolism in the names and artwork on the dominoes, but that is secondary to the number value. The dealer who starts is the “East” and around the board is the “South” to the right of “East,” then “West” and “North.” Play is counter-clockwise.
There are suits, honors and bonus sets of tile. Under suits there are 36 dots, 36 bamboo and 36 characters. Each suit is made up of four sets of the numbers one through nine in value. You can see how this is similar to a deck of cards.
There are additional tiles including the honors tiles. They include the winds and the dragons. There are 16 wind tiles with the names being East, West, North and South, and the 12 dragon tiles with the dragons being red, green and white. They do not have a numerical value.
And finally there are the bonus tiles. There is only one of each bonus tile made up of flowers and seasons. The flowers are plum blossom, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo, and the season tiles are spring, summer, autumn and winter. When drawn, the bonus tiles are set aside for later and another tile is drawn. The bonus tiles are used in the event the player wins the round.
First is the shuffling of the tiles like shuffling a deck of cards. But because the dominoes are shaped like they are and made of a hard material the tiles are placed on the table and all four players “shuffle” the tiles by mixing them and moving them around face down. This shuffle is as much fun to watch as it is to do.
Then dice are stacked and put in a square shape. Dice is thrown in the middle of the square and then the stack is counted right to left (clockwise) to determine which tiles the players draw from for their hand. They each get tiles and then start playing, discarding a tile and then picking one up from the exposed tiles discarded or drawing from the face down tiles.
Gameplay includes a match, which is made up of at least four rounds as the dealer position goes around the table. The dealer is often considered the “East” wind as the dealer spot moves in a counter-clockwise position. The number of hands doesn’t have a specific limit unless the table rules set it at three for example. This is because if the “East,” or dealer, wins the hand, another hand is played with the same dealer. Another hand is also played if there is no winner, known as a “goulash hand.” In the Dalton Huff House game the table rules are that the dealer moves to the right after each play. “Mahjong” is declared when someone wins.
Sets, called “melds,” are put together in a person’s hand (stack) until someone finishes putting melds together to get a mahjong. In some games these meld sets include a “Pong,” a “Kong,” a “Chow” and “Eyes.”
Pong is three of a kind, Chow is three of a suit in order, Kong is four of a kind and Eyes is a pair. You can also have the Mahjong equivalent of a “flush” and so on.
Cutthroat
When your whole hand is sets of these melds you can put all your tiles down … you win! Well, you win at the end if you have the most points. Points are awarded from the various melds you have as well as any points other players may give up to you during the game play. You can get bonus points if you have any bonus tiles at the end, and your play may include the tiles being face up or face down and you can steal from the other person’s meld to win points. Pretty cutthroat, eh? Expect variations wherever you play.
Mahjong descends from Chinese card games dating to the 1700s, and the switch to tiles occurred sometime in the mid-1800s. In 1920 in America two things occurred that set off the national craze: Abercrombie & Fitch sold up to 12,000 sets of mahjong, many imported from China, and Joseph Babcock published a book of rules in English.
The game caught on in a big way and there were even popular songs written about the craze. People would dress in Chinese outfits and decorate the room the game was played in. In the Chinese community in Manhattan (Chinatown) it was a way the locals bonded, and in the 1940s and ’50s it caught on with Jewish wives in America. The game is still played by anyone and everyone, and solitaire versions can be found as phone apps.
One person’s discard …
Here in Dalton we have an active Mahjong Club that meets for games on Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon at the Huff House. There, tables of four players each have fun playing among their friends. It’s definitely a scene that is repeating what went on back in the 1920s.
Sitting in and watching the gameplay, the room will get quiet from the concentration of play, and then laughter will burst out at one of the tables when a good turn comes through. The tiles clunk on the table as they’re placed down and rattle on the stacks. The tile values are called out, as are the directions: “Four dot,” “Nine dot,” “South!” If the tide turns, you will hear jokes about how one person’s discard becomes another player’s key to winning.
And don’t think there’s a lot of idle chit-chat during mahjong, these ladies play to win and focus on the game. One of its positive traits: keeping your mind off worries while you’re in the middle of playing. That’s a healthy thing. This includes, like certain card games, deciding what to pick up, a tile you can see what it is or going from the stack for a mystery tile. Likewise, be wise in what you discard. The fun of the game adds to quickly learning the unique vocabulary and game play.
The President of Play, if you will, of the Huff House Friday morning mahjong players is Mary Hardin, and the lead professor (who teaches many of the newbies) is Ann Viamonte. Ann has been playing mahjong for about eight years, starting at her house where she has another game on Tuesdays. Mary Hardin started the group at the Huff House about five years ago. There are other groups of players around the county, including in Cohutta, many of them getting together on Tuesdays. Some will go to tournaments in Chattanooga, and Ann Viamonte has been on cruise ships where mahjong games were to be found.
There is a general set of rules and hands to play but variations are many. On the cruise ships, for example, there might be “table rules” specific to that game, but the basic game is the foundation for the players.
The Huff House group uses the National Mah Jongg League Inc. rules. The rules and “hands” change every year to keep the game fresh, and there are cards with the different sets one tries to make to score. This adds an element of memory to the game as well, although you are allowed to use the cards while playing for reference. The goal is enjoyment after all.
So if you’re interested in joining the mahjong set in Dalton, you are welcome to come by the Huff House on Fridays between 10 a.m. and noon and observe the play to begin with. You don’t need your own set of tiles or play cards, those are provided. Then, once you’ve familiarized yourself with the game, you too can join the long line of mahjong players that go back in this city for more than 100 years.
Mark Hannah, a Dalton native, works in video and film production.