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Some (mostly American?) people know Mahjong as a solitaire game [1] that they likely have played on their phone or Windows PC/Mac. This article is talking abou
by jader201 5mo ago
Some (mostly American?) people know Mahjong as a solitaire game [1] that they likely have played on their phone or Windows PC/Mac.
This article is talking about the (arguably less known?) 4-player competitive game [2], and assumes you already know the difference (which some may not).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahjong_solitaire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahjong_solitaire
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahjong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahjong
- bfbf 5mo agoProbably it’s less popular in America, but it’s huge in Asia, so I doubt the solitaire version is more well known globally
- jader201 5mo agoYes, but most of HN is outside Asia, so I feel the clarification is helpful here.
- phantomathkg 5mo agoSolitaire version should be pretty well known due to the computer game.
- hdjrudni 5mo agoI only know the 4-player tile game, as a white dude from North America. But I only know from movies. I thought most people at least knew of it.
- yapyap 5mo agoLess known to the Western centric HN crowd, maybe.
- kyleblarson 5mo agoI only have 2 data points, but my mom in the southeastern US (in her 70's) and all of her friends have started playing and are fully addicted and the same seems to be true at my golf club in Inland Northwest. Maybe it's getting a toehold? (in a very non-HN demographic)
- JamesSwift 5mo agoYes its become a hot game among socialites. Complete with a SAAS subscription for the “yearly cards” and a marketing push to play the sanctioned version.
- derbOac 5mo agoIn my area it's become pretty popular, pretty broadly but especially with younger individuals.
- msla 5mo agoThis is generational. Of course, the generation of Westerners who played a lot of four-hand Mahjong is dead now, but still... https://bamgoodtime.com/blog/history-of-american-mahjong https://bamgoodtime.com/blog/history-of-american-mahjong > What followed was one of the biggest game fads in American history. Between roughly 1922 and 1924, mahjong exploded across the United States. Department stores couldn't keep sets in stock. Demand grew so quickly that bone and bamboo tiles had to be imported from China in enormous quantities. Newspapers ran columns explaining the rules. Eddie Cantor performed a hit song called "Since Ma Is Playing Mah Jong." Fashion designers created mahjong-themed clothing. Entire social calendars reorganized around the game.
- djyde 5mo agoPlaying mahjong together during Chinese New Year has become an essential tradition.
- bottlepalm 5mo agoIt's not even talking about the American Mahjong variant which is super popular, mostly with older women, in surprise surprise America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_mahjong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_mahjong
- mcfedr 5mo agomostly people know if from windows i assume
- riffraff 5mo agoI did know mahjong as a solitaire game, but an arcade one! It was quite common in cabinets when I was a kid (80s-90s) I only learned it was also multiplayer when it appeared in some movies.
- ljm 5mo agoI know the 4 player version from the Yakuza games. I only knew about the solitaire version until then from a demo version on Net Yaroze on the PlayStation, where you basically got some weird games along side the demos on a new demo disc every month. Reminds me of poker. Also I miss the excitement of a new issue of a magazine with a demo disc of a few new games.
- pigeons 5mo agoI never knew about the solitaire game but growing up in America, starting in childhood it seemed everyone "knew" (or thought they knew and spread rumors) why certain people were missing fingers.