Mahjong reached the United States in the early 1920s and became a national craze, helped by Joseph Park Babcock’s English rule book in 1920. In 1937, a group of women in New York founded the National Mah Jongg League, which standardized American rules around an annual card. The game then became a central part of life in many Jewish American communities, while Chinese Americans kept their own traditions of play. A new wave has arrived in recent years.
The first wave: the 1920s
Babcock learned the game while living in China. In 1920, he published Rules of Mah-Jongg, known as the “red book,” and he exported sets to the US. His rules simplified the game for American players. Soon it was a fad, with sets selling widely and the game appearing in the press and popular culture of the day.
Different American rule books soon competed with one another, and the fad faded by the end of the decade. Many of Babcock’s simplifications did not last.
For Chinese Americans, mahjong was not a fad. Historians describe it as part of community life in places such as Manhattan’s Chinatown in the 1920s and 1930s. It was shared alongside a difficult reality: anti-Asian laws and prejudice were part of those same years, even as white Americans took up the game.
The League
In 1937, the National Mah Jongg League formed in New York City. Its founders are usually named as Viola Cecil, Dorothy Meyerson, Herma Jacobs, and Hortense Potter. The League standardized American rules, and it set up the yearly card of hands. It is still in operation, and it publishes that card today, with charitable giving as part of its work.
The second wave: mid-century
In the 1950s and 1960s, American mahjong spread with the growth of the suburbs, and it became especially important to many Jewish American women. Weekly games offered community, friendship, and a sense of belonging. Summers in the Catskills are often part of the story, and many families still have memories and sets from those games.
Historian Annelise Heinz has written about this history, and she has been interviewed about how mahjong shaped American culture, as our OPB source shows.
The third wave: now
Recent press describes the present moment as a third wave of American interest. Our page on the current wave covers what reports say, and how reliable they are.
Respect for the history
As the game finds new players, conversations about its roots have grown. Some new products and marketing have been criticized for leaving out or changing its Chinese origins. If you are new to mahjong, the respectful path is straightforward: learn where it came from, credit the communities that kept it alive, and be curious.