The History of American Mahjong
A Century at the American Table
The history of American mahjong connects Chinese origins, the American craze of the 1920s, and the National Mah Jongg League, founded in 1937. Annual cards, evolving rules and community traditions helped shape the game played today.
Chinese Origins of American Mahjong
Nineteenth-Century China
Not Invented by Confucius
Mahjong developed in nineteenth-century China; stories crediting Confucius are origin legends, not documented history. The American version emerged much later, through changing rules and the communities that adopted the game.
Sources: Tom Sloper · Mahjong history
Earlier Chinese card and tile games form part of this background. For the broader story, read The History of Chinese Mahjong. This article follows what happened as mahjong traveled to the United States.
Sources: Tom Sloper · Mahjong history
How Mahjong Came to America
1893–1920 · Two Paths to America
Earlier Than You Think
The 1920s craze was not the beginning of every American encounter with mahjong. Tom Sloper’s historical timeline records an exhibition of W. H. Wilkinson’s Chinese game tiles in Chicago in 1893. That exhibition should not be treated as proof of the first game played in America.
Sources: Tom Sloper · Mahjong history
The game also traveled through communities rather than only through commercial promotion. Historian Annelise Heinz’s research examines its place in American culture and the histories of Chinese American and Jewish American players.
Chicago 1893: An Early Exhibition
Wilkinson’s Chinese game tiles were exhibited in Chicago in 1893. This is an early exhibition record, distinct from the mass-market craze that followed in the 1920s.
Sources: Tom Sloper · Mahjong history
Rules for Western Players
Joseph Park Babcock’s 1920 Rules of Mah-Jongg, often called the “Red Book,” helped introduce the game to English-speaking buyers. Export sets used Western indices to make the tiles easier to read.
Sources: Tom Sloper · Mahjong history
The American Mahjong Craze of the 1920s
1922–1924 · The Mahjong Madness
The Most Explosive Game Craze of the 1920s
During the early 1920s, mahjong became a fashionable American pastime. Imported sets and English-language guides helped bring it to new players. This commercial boom was one stage in the game’s longer American history.
Sources: Tom Sloper · Mahjong history · Stanford History · Annelise Heinz interview
The mass-market fad faded after its early-1920s peak, but players continued in community circles. Different local rules remained a challenge that the NMJL would later address.
Sources: Stanford History · Annelise Heinz interview · National Mah Jongg League · Official history
A National Craze
The early-1920s boom brought mahjong to a broader buying public. Rulebooks and commercially available sets helped introduce a game with Chinese roots to new American players.
Sources: Tom Sloper · Mahjong history · Stanford History · Annelise Heinz interview
The Craze Cools
After the initial commercial boom, mahjong continued through smaller social networks and local groups. The persistence of different rules helped create demand for a common standard.
Sources: Stanford History · Annelise Heinz interview · National Mah Jongg League · Official history
The National Mah Jongg League: Founded in 1937
1937 · New York City
The Birth of American Rules
The National Mah Jongg League was founded in New York City in 1937 to standardize play. Its founders helped turn varied local practices into a shared American rules tradition.
Sources: National Mah Jongg League · Official history
The League publishes an annual card and official rules and supports charitable organizations. The changing card gives players new combinations to learn each year.
The Annual Card
The annual card identifies the hands and values used for NMJL-style play. Learn how to read an American mahjong card before choosing a hand.
The Charleston
The Charleston begins with a required first sequence of three passes; later passes depend on the rules and players’ decisions. See the American mahjong Charleston passing guide for the full sequence.
Sources: MahjCove · Rules guide
The Jokers
Modern NMJL-style sets use eight jokers for eligible matching groups. They cannot be used in singles or pairs. Read the American mahjong joker rules for uses and exchanges.
Sources: MahjCove · Rules guide
According to Tom Sloper’s joker history, jokers entered American play in 1961; the eight-flower, eight-joker arrangement stabilized with the 1971–72 card.
Sources: Tom Sloper · Joker history
Mahjong and Jewish American Community Life
Jewish Women × Chinese American Heritage
A Gender Reversal: From Men's Gambling to Women's Social Play
American mahjong became an important setting for women’s social life, including within Jewish American communities. This history is part of a wider story that also includes Chinese American players and continuing exchanges between cultures.
Sources: Stanford History · Annelise Heinz interview
Jewish American networks of friends, relatives and clubs helped sustain the game after its first national craze. These traditions overlap with, but do not replace, mahjong’s Chinese origins and Chinese American community history.
Sources: Stanford History · Annelise Heinz interview
Annelise Heinz explores these connections in Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture (Oxford University Press, 2021).
The Modern Revival of American Mahjong
2010s–2020s · A New Generation at the Table
American Mahjong Is Having a Moment
Recent interest in mahjong is visible in event platforms and commercial activity. Eventbrite reported a 365% increase in mahjong searches in its 2025 discussion of nostalgic, in-person hobbies. That is a platform measure, not a count of all American mahjong players.
Sources: Eventbrite · Mahjong search trends
In an October 2025 company announcement, Oh My Mahjong said it had surpassed $30 million in annual revenue. This is a company-reported figure, not an independently audited market estimate. These signals help illustrate renewed interest without measuring the whole game’s popularity.
Sources: Eventbrite · Mahjong search trends
American Mahjong History Timeline
1893 — 2020s · Eight milestones
- 1893Chinese game tiles exhibited in Chicago
- 1920Babcock's "Red Book" published
- 1923The Mahjong Madness at its peak
- 1930sCommunity play continues after the commercial craze
- 1937National Mah Jongg League founded
- PostwarFamily and community traditions sustain the game
- 1961Jokers introduced into American play
- 2020sRenewed interest in in-person mahjong gatherings
Sources: Tom Sloper · Mahjong history · National Mah Jongg League · Official history · Tom Sloper · Joker history · Stanford History · Annelise Heinz interview · Eventbrite · Mahjong search trends
American vs. Chinese Mahjong: Key Differences
NMJL-style American play compared with common Chinese variants; regional rules differ
| Dimension | American | Chinese Variants |
|---|---|---|
| Tile count | 152 tiles, including 8 jokers | Often 136 or 144; regional sets vary |
| Jokers | Yes — wild tiles for pungs, kongs and quints | Many variants use no jokers; some have wild-tile rules |
| Opening ritual | The Charleston: a first sequence of three passes, with further stages | Dealer and seating procedures vary; no American-style Charleston |
| Rule authority | NMJL annual card, hands renewed yearly | Diverse regional rules and scoring systems |
| Winning hands | Fixed list from the year's card | Pattern-based scoring (fan systems) |
| Equipment | Racks and the annual card; 152 tiles | Tiles and accessories vary; no NMJL annual card |
| Cultural tag | Jewish American traditions and a wider range of playing communities | Diverse family, community and regional traditions |
Sources: National Mah Jongg League · Official history · MahjCove · Rules guide
QUICK ANSWERS
American Mahjong History FAQ: Origins, NMJL Rules & Modern Play
Origins, American rules and the game’s modern community history.
When did mahjong become popular in America?
Mahjong became a national craze in the early 1920s. Earlier exhibition records and community connections predate that boom, so its commercial popularity should not be confused with a single arrival date.
Sources: Tom Sloper · Mahjong history
Who developed American mahjong?
No single person created every feature of American mahjong. Babcock helped popularize the game commercially, while players and organizations continued adapting it. The NMJL later standardized its own American rules tradition.
Sources: Tom Sloper · Mahjong history · National Mah Jongg League · Official history
Why was the National Mah Jongg League founded in 1937?
The League was founded to bring a common set of hands and rules to players using different local practices. Its annual card remains central to NMJL-style American play.
How did mahjong become part of Jewish American culture?
Friendship networks, family teaching and community gatherings helped pass the game between generations. Jewish American traditions are an important part of its American history alongside Chinese American experiences and other playing communities.
How is American mahjong different from Chinese mahjong?
NMJL-style American play uses an annual card, a Charleston passing sequence and a 152-tile set with eight jokers. Chinese variants have different tile counts and scoring systems. Neither label describes every local house rule.
Sources: National Mah Jongg League · Official history · MahjCove · Rules guide
