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Valerie Putman: Can I Play?
In August I joined a gym (the local Jewish Community Center) and usually I get my workout in first thing in the morning before heading to school. When my day gets a late start (which will be every morning for the next 5-½ weeks while I’m on winter break!), I finish my workout closer to lunch time. I pass a group of tables on the way out, and I’ve noticed that around lunch time you can usually see a table or two of little blue-haired ladies playing Mah Jongg. I’ve often thought that the perfect retirement community would be a bunch of gamers and I’d be that little blue-haired lady playing games all day. So I pass them and feel a twinge of envy—I want to play.
A group of us played Mah Jongg a few times when I lived in Georgia and I really liked the game. But it’s been so long that I feel like I’d have to learn the game all over again. I certainly wouldn’t want to make a fool of myself at a table of experts. I also know that, like Tichu, Mah Jongg is a four-player game and a fifth player can’t just walk up and ask, “Can I play?” So every time I pass the women playing at the JCC I just avert my eyes and keep walking, silently wishing that they would somehow know that I want to join them.
The feeling reminded me of a blog I read recently from a couple that had just started to learn about boardgames. They had figured out Carcassonne on their own and they had heard about a local game night, but they didn’t want to annoy anyone else with their noob-ness and they didn’t want to make fools of themselves. Those of us who have hosted game nights in public places know how important it is to have someone watching for those timid newcomers and make them feel safe and welcome. But no one can ever try to welcome you if you don’t take the first step and show some interest.
I’ve asked Dale to see if his parents (who play Mah Jongg) will play with us during the holidays. Of course, he’s warned me that every group plays with different rules and I’d still have to ask a lot of questions even if I do get a chance to play with the women at the JCC. Then I think my first step might be to stop by the tables just to watch for a bit and see if they mind. Hopefully it’s not super competitive tournament playing with no talking and I’ll be able to kibitz a bit. Then, if they know I’m familiar with the game, then perhaps one day if they are short a player I might just get my chance. The idea makes me nervous, to tell the truth! Gosh, I hope we don’t make new gamers this nervous!
I’m trying to remember my first experiences at the game club in Athens, GA, then later at CABS. When I first moved to Georgia for graduate school, I looked for places to play Magic: the Gathering because A) I was addicted to the game and B) I figured it would be a great way to meet new people in a town where I knew no one. I played a few games at a comic shop one afternoon, and the guy I played was a real jerk. I wasn’t very motivated to go back, and once the first year of graduate school got underway I ended up too busy to play much anyway. During my first summer break in Georgia, I taught a guy that I was dating to play Magic and together we checked out another group. I was nervous after my first experience, but it was a much nicer crowd and they became my game group, my Tuesday night ritual, and my best friends for the next six years.
When it was time to move to Ohio, I contacted the Columbus game group (who I had found on the Internet) before I ever moved here. Our first encounter was at Origins, and it was nice to stop in and say hi but then wander off to see the rest of the show on our own. When we went to our first Friday CABS night they weren’t complete strangers. I also had a lot more gaming experience under my belt and I wasn’t too worried about looking foolish. Still, I was looking for a new family—one that might be stuck with me for a long, long, long time (keep your fingers crossed—I hear about tenure in March). I was nervous.
I was nervous the first time I went to Gulf Games. I was petrified when I attended my first Gathering. Essen was scary because it was a lot of big names in gaming and it was a foreign country! And here I am, after all that, still scared of the nice Jewish women playing Mah Jongg at the local community center. Sheesh.
Can I play?
I’d rather be gaming,
Valerie Putman
Posted by Valerie Putman on Dec 16, 2007 at 01:00 AM in Columnists, Valerie Putman / 1240
Comments:
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Great piece, Valerie! I was spoiled by a welcoming committee of Jeff, Bud, and Valerie, so my game group induction was pretty darn pleasant; however, I identify quite strongly with what you describe. For what it’s worth, I’m happy to teach you Mah-Jongg, too. “Our” rules are pretty directly adopted from R.C. Bell’s Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/10971 - but Dale’s right: The variations of Mah-Jongg rules make people’s Monopoly house rules look extremely tame. For instance, the ever-evolving official American rules are - for me - quite fascinatingly foreign. Just say the word! Posted by Nathan Morse on Dec 16, 2007 at 08:31 AM | #
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Valerie, I’d be glad to show you how to play… Once you get the hang of the basics, it’s not hard to change your play to the different house rules. The differences in house rules mainly come in the scoring variations. Mah Jongg is a gambling game at heart, and I’ve found that almost every group I’ve played with has a different set of rules. However, the game play is generally the same. You can think of it like a game of Gin Rummy played with tiles. The primary goal in every game of Mah Jongg is to be the first one out. Once you get the hang of this, then you can worry about getting the right scoring combinations along the way. It’s kinda like Tichu… When you first learn Tichu, you focus on going out. Only once you’ve mastered that do you start worrying about points. And who knows… If Nathan knows the game, you might be able to drum up two more within CABS dale Posted by Dale Yu on Dec 16, 2007 at 08:47 AM | #
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Very good article, Valerie. I’m not sure that nervousness ever completely goes away. I was certainly nervous the first time I played with the DC Gamers. I had contacted Ben Baldanza, because I knew him by reputation and because we both wrote for Counter, but other than that, they were complete strangers to me. In addition, my experience was limited and there was also concern because of some bad experiences with anti-social gamers (roleplayers, actually) I’d met at cons. I resolved to be on my best behavior (which for me, means toning it down a notch or two). But they were as nice and welcoming as they can be (as the group continues to be with newcomers) and it was an absolutely wonderful day. I felt I had finally “arrived” as a gamer and had just met a bunch of new friends as well. Despite that positive experience, my first Gulf Games and Gathering also led to some apprehension. But both of those were also terrific. There are always a few bad apples, but the overwhelming majority of gamers I’ve met have been extremely friendly and welcoming of strangers. It’s one of the best things about the hobby. The next time you check out the blue-haired ladies, see if you can figure out if they’re playing traditional Mah Jongg or American. With older Jewish ladies, the odds are its the American version. The two games are quite different, with most of the differences being in the scoring. Most people feel the original game is much more skillful, but ironically, the American game may be harder to learn, because of all the scoring combinations you have to learn. (When I played with my mom growing up, there were three-part folding cards that listed all the types of hands you could go out with and what they were worth. She got a new set every year and there were always several changes.) Once you figure out the type of Mah Jongg that’s being played, you’ll know which one to start learning. I’m sure they’ll still be a variant that they like to play, but traditional vs. American is the big question. Posted by Larry Levy on Dec 16, 2007 at 10:03 AM | #
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While there are few gaming groups I would be hesitant to interrupt (and try and join), a group of ladies playing Mah Jongg probably be one of them! As other have pointed out, there are a wide variety of rules sets, once you get beyond the basic rummy-like nature of the game. The odds are that they are playing one of the American league rules sets, which involve trying to get one of a specific set of hands which is detailed on a rules card. A new one is issued each year. These tend to use joker (wild) tiles, which the non-American forms seldom use. The two most popular American league rules sets are the National Mah Jongg League rules (their website: http://www.nationalmahjonggleague.org/) and the American Mah Jongg Association rules (their website: http://amja.net/index.htm). A third popular set of American-style rules are those used by people in military, which started with the Officer’s Wives Club at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio (their website: http://www.wrightpattersonowc.org/index_files/Page1035.htm). These don’t have the annual card and do not use jokers, though they have added some new hands since I first played it in the early 1970s. While I have a soft spot for the Military rules (and certainly find playing them more challenging), teaching the traditional rules is much easier and still results in an excellent game. The final form I’ll mention briefly is the Japanese form, which I have never fully understood - even after having spent several years in Japan. Beware the Mah Jongg shark, though! Many of these ladies have probably been playing for years and some may even play for money! Good luck on the tenure (my department just finished their deliberations for the this year’s candidates) and happy gaming during the break! David Posted by David Reed on Dec 16, 2007 at 02:33 PM | #
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Don’t even think of playing at the JCC unless you’ve viewed both Kung Fu Mah Jongg and Kung Fu Mah Jongg II. You may also wish to practice saying “Oy gevalt!” and “you gonnif!” like you mean it. I have always thought it would be great to play the game with Emeril Lagasse, so that you could shout BAM! whenever you melded any. Posted by Josh Adelson on Dec 16, 2007 at 07:36 PM | #
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Tom Sloper has a solid Mah Jongg site that covers a range of details for different formats:
If you’re ever in Chiba (Japan), check out the Mah Jongg Museum - http://www.mahjongmuseum.com/museum.htm Some of the sets they have on display are amazing. Posted by Jimmer Sivertsen on Dec 19, 2007 at 05:42 PM | #
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