#7 Mahjong

While Chinese people are known to be an industrious and hard-working people, they also enjoy taking breaks from their busy professions and nagging their children. Common leisure activities include eating, shopping, karaoke, and shopping. Despite the pedestrian nature of these activities, there is one that stands above the rest. The sound of clacking tiles is instantly recognizable. The name of the game is mahjong.

Majhong is a game of skill and cunning as much as it is luck. An apt comparison for non-Chinese people would be poker. Four players, a set of cards (tiles in this case) and a burning desire to get the best hand (set). Much like poker, there is a casual and hardcore element.

Casual

Much like "guy's poker night", this is a chance for players to catch up and socialize. While men are known to partake occasionally on a social basis, research shows that this is predominantly an older female activity. Common topics of conversation include health ailments and advice, places to find good deals (or current sales), and reasons why their children are disappointing them. For men, common topics include investments (and subsequent money lost), cars and potential travel destinations.

Hardcore

Unbeknownst to most non-Chinese people, mahjong is a great way to win or lose money. Should a player find three willing gambling partners, a marathon mahjong session could very well last an entire day (e.g. mid afternoon until 2am). Armed with this knowledge, restauranteurs have capitalized by designing "mahjong meals" to effectively feed four players. This minimizes eating time and maximizes playing time.

For non-Chinese people, learning this game can be very daunting. However, there are easy ways to impress Chinese people with your mahjong knowledge despite having never touched a tile. For example, an acceptable phrase would be, "I love yelling PONG!" (when a player matches 3 tiles). Also acceptable is, "Don't you just hate it when the Jong (similar to the banker in Monopoly) can't count?" Under no circumstance should the phrase, "gee, that's a pretty bird" (referring to the tile) ever be uttered. This is an appalling faux-pas and you will be ousted immediately.


Researcher's note: Special thanks to Shorty for her additional research notes.