People are playing mahjong because it is social, screen-free, and a real challenge. That is the explanation press reports tend to give for the current US wave, along with social media, post-pandemic loneliness, and new clubs. An Oregon Public Broadcasting program calls this the third wave of American interest. Reported figures come from company data and are not independent research, so they are best taken as signs of a trend.
What the reports say
Search interest. Oregon Public Broadcasting and NEPM both cited Yelp data in 2026, describing searches related to mahjong or mahjong clubs as up by nearly 4,500% in a year. Yelp measures searches on its own platform, and it does not measure how many people play.
Game nights. The Deseret News, citing Axios, reported in 2026 that there were 94% more mahjong game nights than the year before. It also reported about 1.8 million Americans playing in the past year on one online platform. Those are figures reported by others, and we have not checked them independently.
Teaching. The same Deseret News report described growing demand for instructors, and it traced part of the latest boom to the American South.
Why it is happening
Reports tend to offer several reasons. None of them can be proved on its own, and they likely work together.
- Wanting to connect. After the pandemic, many people looked for ways to spend time together.
- Time away from screens. Reports mention players who want a social hobby without a phone.
- Social media. Beautiful sets and club nights photograph well.
- New kinds of clubs. Parties and social clubs have introduced the game to new people.
- It rewards learning. It takes time to get good, and that can be part of the appeal.
Who is playing
It depends on whom you ask. Reports describe interest among younger players, and particularly women. Others stress the long-running communities of older players. Some numbers conflict, so it is safest to say the wave is broad, and that no single group explains it.
What about the health claims?
You may see headlines saying mahjong is good for your brain. We do not make health claims, and this site does not offer medical advice. Play because you enjoy it.
How to read trends
- Percentage jumps can look huge when they start from a small base.
- Platform data shows what happens on that platform.
- Trends slow down. Mahjong has had waves before, and they settled into lasting communities.
Mahjong has been here before
This is not a new arrival. Chinese communities have played for well over a century, and American players have had waves since the 1920s. Some people are glad to see new interest, while others worry about the game’s history being forgotten. Our history of mahjong in America tells that story.