The clickity-clack of shuffling mahjong tiles echoes inside the Plano gaming cafe Dubs Tea N’ Eats on an overcast Sunday afternoon.
Four groups of four players gather around tables as they focus on a wall of tiles in front of them, strategizing their next move while sipping on iced tea and eating pretzels.
It might not be what people first think of when they hear about mahjong. The game, which originated in China in the 1800s, has commonly been played in the U.S. by older Asian Americans. However, in recent years, it’s grown in popularity among Jewish Americans, Black Americans, millennials and Gen Z.
Gen Z player Donovan Delaughter, 23, graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2020. He first started playing mahjong in college and got connected to the Lone Star Riichi group over a year ago after one of the club leaders reached out to UTD’s mahjong club.
“I like it for a lot of reasons,” he said. “If you're looking for strategy, there's a lot there. But even if you know the strategy, I feel like there's enough variance to the game where someone new can hop in and they don't feel like they're getting completely destroyed.”
These days, you can find McDonald’s and Hello Kitty partnering on mahjong sets, or ASMR artists on TikTok rubbing together mahjong tiles to capture their distinctive sound. Popular portrayals in media like Crazy Rich Asians’ iconic mahjong scene has also brought attention to the game.
In North Texas, the centuries-old game has grown in popularity. The Facebook group DFW Mahjong has over 1,000 members who play at libraries, cafes and stores across the region.
Dozens of versions of mahjong are played worldwide. While American and Chinese mahjong are most popular in the U.S., the group in Plano plays a Japanese version known as riichi mahjong, which involves different rules and scoring.
The local group Lone Star Riichi consists of about 30 regular players who pop into weekly meetups and 90 members on a Discord group.
Longtime friends Justin Lillis, 35, and Janette Goering, 34, founded the group back in 2022 to find other mahjong players who enjoy the riichi version of the game. Goering said people have come to the weekly meetups from as far away as Oklahoma.
Goering, who lives in Carrollton, said she has a lot of nostalgia about mahjong. She was first introduced to a Filipino version of the game by her mom when she was about 6 years old.
“You know, whenever she would throw parties, she would have friends over and they'd be playing mahjong until really late. The tile shuffling, like that noise, is burned into my brain,” she said.
Two years ago, she returned to her roots when Lillis started taking an interest in playing riichi mahjong.
Like some other millennial mahjong players, Lillis’ first exposure to the riichi version of the game was through popular media when he saw it depicted through Japanese shows like Tohai and Akagi.
“I like games of strategy, and so luck is always fun to add a little chaos in that mix,” he said. “Win or lose, you usually come away with a little more learning of the game. It's very good because you're always getting stronger as you play.”
Delaughter, who chatted with tablemates about his cat, said he enjoys the social aspect of the game.
“It doesn't matter what skill level you're at or who you're playing against, you can always have fun. A lot of the game for me is also talking to the people at the table, getting to know them, laughing, enjoying the game,” he said.
While younger generations are getting into riichi mahjong, some players like Mac Hidaka have been playing the game for decades.
Hidaka first played the game with his family in 1975 when he was a high schooler in Tokyo. Now, the 81-year-old enjoys playing riichi mahjong on Sundays in a small gaming cafe in the North Texas suburbs.
He first learned about the meetups from his son after moving from New York City to Dallas three years ago to escape skyrocketing rent prices.
Hidaka said he enjoys “teaching my colleagues” how to have fun with the game. Another reason he plays?
“To keep me alive,” he said.
Decades of playing mahjong has only heightened Hidaka’s enthusiasm for the game. One day, he wants to host a mahjong tournament in Dallas.
But for now, he’ll enjoy playing another winning hand.
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