1 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:29,560 My dearest table guests, welcome back. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,840 This is the order of the tile and I am Prim. 3 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:40,040 You are invited to enjoy issue #8 and this week the holiday is 4 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:44,120 behind us, the community has settled and another Sunday is on 5 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,800 the calendar that Prim cannot let pass. 6 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,080 Without a word, the wall has been red. 7 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,280 Prim is writing this on the Thursday after National Mahjong 8 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,480 Day, which is a peculiar and lovely week to be a mahjong 9 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:02,720 writer. The holiday came and went, the 10 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,680 posts rolled in and tapered off, and the community has settled 11 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,480 into a quieter, steadier kind of energy. 12 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,280 The tournament circuit has gone home. 13 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:16,480 The newer players who tiptoed in during the holiday have stayed. 14 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:21,320 The Facebook groups are back to arguing, as promised, and Prim 15 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:23,360 is grateful for every one of them. 16 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,520 But there is another Sunday on the calendar this week, and Prim 17 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,360 will not pretend she is not thinking about it. 18 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,600 Mother's Day is 3 days from now. The time has come, and a game 19 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:40,200 that is played almost entirely by women cannot let that Sunday 20 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:44,200 pass without a word. So before Prim goes any further, 21 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,960 she would like to speak to the mothers at these tables, to the 22 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:51,080 daughters who taught them, to the daughters who were taught by 23 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,760 them, and to every woman who carries the name of a woman who 24 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,160 handed her something worth handing down. 25 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,320 Prim has said in these pages before that she is the 26 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,760 originator of the game in her family, which is true. 27 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,639 She learned as an adult. She taught her mother Nan, and 28 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,800 Nan is now a shark. But Prim was handed plenty of 29 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,640 other things by other women long before the tiles arrived. 30 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:21,720 How to keep a kitchen. How to keep a table? 31 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:27,080 How to keep a friendship. For 40 years, Gee, who never 32 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:32,080 touched a tile, taught Prim how to be present in a room, which 33 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,840 is the foundation of every skill that eventually matters at a 34 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,640 mahjong table. Everyone of you reading this has 35 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:43,080 a version of that story. Someone taught you how to be at 36 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,840 a table. This Sunday is for her. 37 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,840 Which brings us to the issue in front of you, and to the tagline 38 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,280 Prim has been carrying all week. The wall has been read. 39 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:59,640 After six weeks of tournament season, after a holiday that 40 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:03,240 invited the whole country to look up from its own rack, after 41 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:07,600 100,000 women posting what they picked and what they passed, The 42 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:11,480 wall has been read in a way it rarely is in a normal spring. 43 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:16,120 The card has been studied, the season has been scouted, the 44 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:21,120 community has taken a collective inventory and now we are in the 45 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,880 stretch of the season where strategy deepens because 46 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,320 everyone has a little more information than they had a 47 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,080 month ago. This issue is about what to do 48 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,080 with that information. We will look at the 2468 49 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,600 section, which is where a surprising number of games are 50 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,040 quietly won and lost. We will talk about Mother's Day 51 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,400 gifts that are not performatively expensive, but 52 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:48,120 that a player will actually use. We will meet one of the most 53 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,600 important teaching figures this community has ever produced. 54 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,120 We will look at the birth of the Mashong World Championship, 55 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,480 which is newer than you think. And we will spend a moment with 56 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:02,200 the Playmat, which Prim would argue is the single most 57 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:06,160 underrated object on the table. Pull up your chair. 58 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,680 The wall is built. Let us begin. 59 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,680 Let us begin with what everyone is talking about. 60 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:18,920 This is the draw. 2 quick notes before we begin. 61 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:22,880 The Miss Mahjong and Miss Heirloom Collaboration bundle 62 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,480 sold out this week and Prim watch the groups light up about 63 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,520 it in real time. The community is hungry for the 64 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,840 kind of gift that says I see you without saying now perform. 65 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:38,000 Prim has something of her own arriving to meet that moment, 66 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:40,320 and she will tell you about it further down. 67 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,040 The week after a national holiday is always a strange one 68 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:48,640 in any community, and the mahshong world is no exception. 69 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,680 The photos have slowed, the hashtag has cooled, the 70 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,760 tournament season travellers are home unpacking. 71 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,840 And yet something about the community's pulse feels 72 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:02,920 different than it did two weeks ago. 73 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:08,160 The best way Prim can describe it is that the community has 74 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:12,080 exhaled. The run from the 2026 card drop 75 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:16,320 through Greenbrier, through Vegas, through National Mahshong 76 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:20,720 Day was a long one, and the whole ecosystem has earned this 77 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,760 week what it is using the week for. 78 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:30,120 Interestingly, is absorbing. The Facebook groups this week 79 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:32,360 have been full of post mortem posts. 80 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,240 Players reviewing which hands they have actually closed on the 81 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,880 new card and which ones keep eluding them. 82 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:43,240 Teachers posting video breakdowns of the trickier 2026 83 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:46,240 combinations. Newer players finally asking the 84 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:49,960 questions they were too shy to ask 3 weeks ago when everyone 85 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:54,080 was still showing off. Prim has seen half a dozen. 86 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:57,760 Can someone explain the consecutive runs section like I 87 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:01,400 am? 5 posts in the last 48 hours and 88 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,960 the responses have been thoughtful, patient and 89 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,800 generous. Something about the air has 90 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,680 softened. Tournament season ends, teaching 91 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:16,680 season begins. The community is also quietly 92 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:20,880 turning towards Sunday. Prim has seen a flurry of gift 93 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,720 ideas for my mum who just started playing posts in the 94 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,720 groups, and a matching flurry of my daughter is making me play 95 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,680 this weekend posts from the other direction. 96 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,800 Every generation in this community is reaching for the 97 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,040 other one this week. The mothers who played for 98 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:41,880 decades are being asked, sometimes awkwardly, sometimes 99 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:45,280 gracefully, to let their grown daughters into the game. 100 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:51,200 The daughters who learnt first are extending a hand back and 101 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:54,680 somewhere in the middle is the woman who is the only player in 102 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,480 her family who is wondering if she could be the one who finally 103 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:02,800 starts the tradition. Prim sees you start it. 104 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,320 Sunday is a fine day to set out a set and a plate of something 105 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:11,240 sweet and wait to see who sits down. 106 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:17,000 One last note on the week. Registration for the summer 107 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,920 cruise and retreat season has opened in earnest and the 108 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,360 community is doing that thing it does every May, which is 109 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,360 pretending to be indifferent while secretly filling out the 110 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:30,720 forms. Prim will cover the open events 111 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,920 in Set your rack below. For now. 112 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,160 Suffice it to say that the Mediterranean cruise is getting 113 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:41,240 close to full and the San Diego weekend has a wait list. 114 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:45,480 Rumour Prim cannot confirm but would not discourage you from 115 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,800 acting on. If you have been thinking about 116 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:51,440 a summer event, this is the week to stop thinking and start 117 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,400 clicking. One more current running through 118 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,840 the groups this week. The Hallmark Mahjong movie has 119 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,800 the community in a flutter and Prim has watched the 120 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:03,600 screenshots. The speculation and the watch 121 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:07,440 party posts pile up by the hour. She has thoughts. 122 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,240 She also has a small bundle for the occasion which she will tell 123 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:17,960 you about further down. Which brings us to crack the 124 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:25,640 card, the 2468 section. On the 2026 card, Prim has a 125 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:29,400 confession and she is going to make it in print because the 126 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,600 longer she plays, the more she believes this and the more 127 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,080 surprised she is that it is not said out loud more often. 128 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,919 If you want to understand the 2026 card, start with the 2468 129 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:45,160 section. Not consecutive runs, not 130 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,880 singles and pairs, not the flashy winds and Dragons hands 131 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:53,200 that everyone wants to chase. Start with the quiet, 132 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:58,720 methodical, often overlooked 2468 section, because this is 133 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,240 where a shocking number of games are actually decided, and it is 134 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:06,600 where Prim believes the 2026 card is most honest about what 135 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:09,920 it wants from you. Here is the case. 136 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:15,840 The 2468 section on this year's card rewards one kind of player 137 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,880 and punishes every other kind. It rewards the player who 138 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:22,280 commits before the table forces her hand. 139 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,400 The hands in this section cluster around clean groupings 140 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:31,000 of even numbers, often in single suit or two suit configurations, 141 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,760 and the tile distribution in any given wall is perfectly 142 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:42,520 predictable. 246 and eight of each suit each appear four times 143 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,600 in the tile set. There are no surprises in the 144 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,880 supply. What makes this section 145 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:53,240 difficult is not scarcity, it is commitment. 146 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,880 The 2468 hands require you to decide early and hold your 147 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,760 nerve, because the tiles you need are also the tiles everyone 148 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,720 else is throwing freely in the first half of the game. 149 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,760 And if you are still shopping around when the board tightens, 150 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,840 you have missed the window. Not by a little, by the whole 151 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:16,840 game. Here are three things Prim wants 152 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:23,120 you to understand immediately #1 the early game is for 153 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:28,200 collection, not exploration. The most common mistake Prim 154 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,600 sees in the 2468 section is the mistake of optionality. 155 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,200 A player picks up a lovely run of even tiles in her deal. 156 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:41,040 She stares at the card and she tells herself this could go 157 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,320 several directions. Let me see what the Charleston 158 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,360 brings. The Charleston brings her two 159 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:50,960 more even tiles. She tells herself this is 160 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:54,000 getting interesting. Let me keep my options open. 161 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:58,960 By round four she has 10 tiles that would make a beautiful 2468 162 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,040 hand and three or four stragglers. 163 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:05,280 She has not decided whether to keep by round 7, three of her 164 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,560 needed tiles have already been thrown by other players who were 165 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:11,880 shedding them early, and she is holding a rack that cannot 166 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:16,880 close. This is the 2468 Trap, and Prim 167 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,200 is going to name it. Plainly, it is the single most 168 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,720 expensive habit a capable player can have on this card. 169 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,280 The antidote is a deadline. By the time the courtesy is 170 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:32,960 over, you know whether you are in the 2468 section or out of 171 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:35,440 it. If you are in, you are 172 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,520 collecting every even tile you see. 173 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:41,520 If you are out, you are letting them go without a sigh. 174 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:46,800 The players who win the 2468 hands are not the ones with the 175 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:50,720 best luck, they are the ones who committed 3 rounds earlier than 176 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,960 everyone else. Hesitation after the second pass 177 00:11:54,080 --> 00:12:00,520 is not thoughtfulness, it is loss #2 the middle game is for 178 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:05,680 reading the other racks. Once you are committed, the 2468 179 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:08,560 section becomes a game of careful observation. 180 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,760 Here is the thing about even number hands that no one tells 181 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,960 you plainly. Every player at the table is 182 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:19,080 watching the discards, but most of them are watching for what 183 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,200 they need. In the middle game of A2468 184 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,200 hand, you need to be watching for what other players are 185 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,000 shedding. If a player on your right is 186 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:35,520 throwing 246 8 tiles freely in rounds 4 and five, she is almost 187 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:39,480 certainly not in your section and her discards are gifts. 188 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,480 If a player across the table has stopped throwing even tiles in 189 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:47,000 round 5 after having thrown them generously in rounds 2 and 190 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,720 three, pay attention. She may have just committed to 191 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,760 an even number hand herself, and from this point forward she is a 192 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:57,280 competitor you did not know you had. 193 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:04,560 The 2026 cards 2468 section has a particular wrinkle Prim wants 194 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:08,200 named out loud. Several of the hands in this 195 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:12,400 section require 2 specific pairs in addition to the even number 196 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,280 runs, and the pairs are often in DOTS or BAMS. If you are 197 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:21,320 building A2468 hand, your DOTS or BAMS pairs are your pressure 198 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,880 point. The second tile of each pair is 199 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,560 often the last tile you need, and the one the table is least 200 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:30,920 likely to discard late in the game. 201 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,880 The defensive move against a suspected 2468 player is not to 202 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:40,600 hold all your evens, it is to hold one tile of any matching 203 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,280 pair she might need long enough to see if she exposes. 204 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:49,200 That is the kind of thinking this card rewards I do not need. 205 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:51,640 This tile is not a good enough reason to throw it. 206 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:58,320 Your opponent might need it very much #3 the late game is for 207 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:03,200 knowing when to fold. Here is the hardest lesson, and 208 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:08,600 Prim will keep it short. Sometimes in A2468 hand, it 209 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,280 becomes clear by round eight or nine that the tiles are simply 210 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,560 not coming. The pair you needed has been 211 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:19,240 thrown and called and gone. The single you are holding for 212 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,480 has not surfaced. The wall is getting thin. 213 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:27,160 A good 2468 player knows when to stop building and start 214 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:29,520 defending. Switch your attention from 215 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,480 closing your own hand to preventing the player who is 216 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,840 actually going to close. Throw your less useful tiles. 217 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:39,880 Hold the tiles that might feed your opponents. 218 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:44,680 Finish the game as a wall, not as a disappointed builder. 219 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:50,880 The 2468 section teaches you discipline in both directions. 220 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,160 Patience to commit, courage to let go. 221 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:59,840 On this card, both skills matter and most players only learn one 222 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:01,400 of them. Two. 223 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:04,680 This section is where Prim believes the difference between 224 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:10,040 competent and excellent Mashong players lives on any card in any 225 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:12,360 year, but especially on this one. 226 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:15,440 The even numbers are unglamorous. 227 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,120 They do not get featured on the quote cards. 228 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:22,040 They do not show up in the Instagram Reels, but a player 229 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:25,600 who has mastered the 2468 section wins quietly, 230 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:30,080 consistently, week after week, with a rack that never looks 231 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:34,240 dramatic and a closing move that always looks inevitable. 232 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,280 Be that player. The wall has been red. 233 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:43,000 The evens are waiting. Now. 234 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:47,800 This publication receives questions, many questions. 235 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:52,080 And this week, the question arrived from no fewer than 9 236 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:57,240 readers in nine different forms, all pointed at the same Sunday. 237 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:04,800 This is the table is asking my mother or daughter or 238 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:09,920 mother-in-law or sister wants to learn mahjong. 239 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:12,640 Or I want to give her a gift that will bring her to the 240 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,360 table. And I do not know where to start 241 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:18,360 without making it feel like a chore or a lecture. 242 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:22,600 What do I actually do? Prim has opinions. 243 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:26,520 Because Prim lived this very question in her own family a 244 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:28,440 year ago when she sat down to teach Nan. 245 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,440 And because Prim has watched 100 of you ask it in the groups in 246 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:37,200 the last two weeks, let her give you a real answer in three parts 247 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,160 that will serve you this Sunday and every Sunday after. 248 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:46,480 The first part is about the gift itself, because that is where 249 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:48,680 most of the anxiety is concentrated. 250 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,480 Prim will tell you plainly that the most effective Mother's Day 251 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:55,480 gift for a new player is not a set. 252 00:16:55,880 --> 00:17:00,160 A set is a large, expensive commitment that can feel like a 253 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,840 demand. Oh, you got me this beautiful 254 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:04,839 thing. Now I must use it. 255 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,000 Now I must learn. Now I must perform. 256 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,839 The gift that actually works is smaller and more specific. 257 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:15,800 A card. A beginner's guidebook. 258 00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:18,760 A play mat that fits at her kitchen table. 259 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:23,200 A pair of racks and a pusher. A box of nicely printed tile 260 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:26,040 Cheat Sheets. A subscription to your favorite 261 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,480 online masjong game. If you would like Prim's own 262 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,040 pick for this Sunday, the Order of the Tile Mother's Day Mahjong 263 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:37,760 bundle on Etsy was made for exactly this question card pack 264 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,920 and coupon book together. Small enough to feel like an 265 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:45,840 invitation and not a demand, plus a few bonus gifts to add to 266 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,640 it. Any single one of these items 267 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,480 signals interest without obligation. 268 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:56,680 Most of them run under $60.00. All of them say I thought of 269 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:00,840 you, I noticed you are curious and I would like to make it 270 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:05,640 easier for you to say yes. Save the full set for her 271 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:08,160 birthday after she has played three games. 272 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,000 If she never plays three games, you have saved yourself several 273 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,920 $100 and she has a lovely mat she can use for cards. 274 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:21,200 The second part is about the invitation, which is where most 275 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:23,880 teaching relationships actually breakdown. 276 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:29,160 The mistake Prim sees most often is the daughter or friend who 277 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:33,040 has learnt recently and is bursting to teach, and who turns 278 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:37,280 the first game into a lecture. Prim has been guilty of this. 279 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,840 Nan endured it patiently for about 40 minutes before 280 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:44,560 informing Prim that she would learn mahjong. 281 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:48,640 But she would learn it at her own pace, and Prim could either 282 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,200 let her learn at her pace joyfully, or Prim could be the 283 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,840 stick that made her choose a different game to master. 284 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:59,640 This was the correct path, and Prim still exists to teach 285 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,640 another day. The invitation that works is one 286 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:08,040 that gives the new player room to fail, to forget to ask the 287 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:12,280 same question four times, and to decide in her own time whether 288 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,480 she wants to keep coming back. Play slowly. 289 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:20,160 Expose your own hand. Narrate your own thinking, not 290 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,360 hers. Let her make the choice about 291 00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:27,160 which tile to pick up, even when you can see she is about to make 292 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:30,120 a wrong one. And for the love of everything, 293 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:34,280 do not say I told you when the wrong tile proves to be wrong. 294 00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:39,040 A new player who is allowed to fail is a new player who will 295 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,760 sit down again next week. A new player who is corrected at 296 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:47,440 every turn is a new player who will quietly decide Mahjong is 297 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:50,440 not for her. And you will wonder why. 298 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,400 The third part is about the long arc. 299 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,520 Because Mother's Day is on Sunday and a game takes more 300 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:02,800 than one Sunday to take hold, The mothers and daughters who 301 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,480 become real table mates do not get there in a single afternoon. 302 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:11,280 They get there across a season. Play once this Sunday. 303 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,160 If it goes well, schedule the next one before you leave. 304 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,760 If it does not go well, schedule a simpler version, perhaps a 305 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:23,920 single Charleston with no hand completion, just to practice the 306 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,960 passing. Do not try to teach the whole 307 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,560 card in one sitting. Do not try to finish a hand. 308 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:32,840 Do not try to prove the game is fun. 309 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:37,480 Let the game prove itself. It will if you let it. 310 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:42,080 Prim and Nan played 10 or 12 halting games before something 311 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:46,000 clicked and now Nan is unbeatable and Prim is still 312 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,960 annoyed about it. That is how the Ark is supposed 313 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:54,760 to go. Trust the Ark One last word on 314 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:58,440 this question because it comes up in every version of it. 315 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:03,040 If your mother or daughter says no, if she tries the game and it 316 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:07,040 is not for her, that is a complete answer and Prim would 317 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:11,080 ask you to respect it. Not every family member is a 318 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:14,160 mashong player and the game is not a measure of your 319 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:19,240 relationship. G never played and Prim loved 320 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,080 her without reservation for every minute of her life. 321 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,640 The women at your table do not have to be the women at your 322 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:28,800 table. Sometimes the women at your 323 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,880 table are the women you found. Sometimes they are the women you 324 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,440 raised. Sometimes they are both. 325 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:40,200 Sunday will tell you which, and Prim would like you to be open 326 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:45,000 to the answer. Whatever it is now, this 327 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:48,320 publication makes it a point to recognise those who distinguish 328 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,560 themselves in the community. Not through volume. 329 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:56,080 Heavens, no. Through substance, This is who's 330 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,920 talking. And this week we are talking 331 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:01,640 about the teacher who wrote the book your mother-in-law probably 332 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:05,400 owns. Her name was Elaine Sandberg, 333 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:10,440 and her book A Beginner's Guide to American Mahsong has been the 334 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,800 entry point for more new players than anyone can count. 335 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,120 If you learnt from a book rather than from a teacher, there is a 336 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:21,320 good chance this was the book. If you taught someone from a 337 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,400 book, there is a better chance this was the book. 338 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:29,560 Elaine was a teacher 1st and an author 2nd, and the book carries 339 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,840 the voice of a woman who had sat across the table from thousands 340 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,440 of beginners and who knew exactly where each of them was 341 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:40,200 going to get confused. She wrote the book the way a 342 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:44,320 good teacher actually speaks. Prim has gone back to her copy 343 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:49,400 this week and she is struck, as she always is, by how calm 344 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:54,000 Elaine's voice is on the page. The book does not try to teach 345 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,680 you the strategy of a 20 year veteran in 150 pages. 346 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:02,840 It teaches you the beginning, with patience in the sequence an 347 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:07,040 actual player needs to learn it. The Charleston before the card, 348 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:11,360 the card before the hand, the hand before the defence. 349 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:16,280 Most beginner books try to teach too much at once and produce 350 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,400 beginners who feel overwhelmed. Elaine's book produces beginners 351 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:24,800 who feel oriented. There is a very specific 352 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:29,560 writerly generosity to this, and Prim noticed it early and has 353 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:32,320 tried to carry some of it into her own pages. 354 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,720 The teaching she left behind is still teaching. 355 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:41,800 Elaine passed several years ago, and the community felt it. 356 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:46,800 What Prim thinks about most on Mother's Day week of all weeks, 357 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,400 is that the teaching she left behind is still at work. 358 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:54,640 Her book is still in print. The book has become a small, 359 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,200 quiet piece of the maternal transmission that keeps this 360 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:02,920 game alive. And that is, in the end, what a 361 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:06,640 teacher is hoping for. Not to be remembered personally, 362 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,880 to have left something that the next generation picks up without 363 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:13,240 needing to know whose hand it first came from. 364 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:19,240 Find the book. Give it to someone if you do not 365 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:22,120 have a copy. A Beginner's Guide to American 366 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:26,640 Mashong is widely available at any bookseller and is typically 367 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,160 under $20. If you have a new player in your 368 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:34,280 life this Sunday, this is a lovely Mother's Day gift or 369 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,200 Daughter's Day gift, or just Because gift. 370 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,440 Slip a card inside. Write a sentence about who first 371 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,720 taught you the game. Pass the book forward. 372 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:49,440 Prim cannot think of a better way to spend 5 minutes and $20 373 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,080 this weekend. And Prim would like to think 374 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:55,960 Elaine would approve. The Wall has been read by a lot 375 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,400 of women because 1 teacher wrote the guide carefully. 376 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,280 This Sunday is a good day to remember her and to make sure 377 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:08,520 the next one has a copy. And now a brief indulgence, 378 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,560 because this author believes that one cannot play well if one 379 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:17,360 does not play beautifully. This is Tile Envy, where we 380 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:20,640 covet openly and without apology. 381 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,680 Prim has been thinking all week about the play mat, which is the 382 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:29,680 most underrated object in American mashong and which Prim 383 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,560 believes deserves the full issues attention one of these 384 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,560 days. For now, this section will do. 385 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:39,640 If you have played on a bare table and a proper mat in the 386 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,760 same week, you know what Prim is about to tell you. 387 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:47,600 The mat is not decoration. The mat is function dressed as 388 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:51,840 beauty, and the functions it is performing are numerous. 389 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:58,280 First, a mat protects the table. Your grandmother's dining table 390 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,040 was not designed to survive 1000 passes of racks and pushes and 391 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,360 tile covers. A good mat gives you a 392 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:08,080 designated surface to play on and protects everything beneath 393 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:12,480 it. Second, a mat changes the sound. 394 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,640 The click of tile on wood is sharp and travelling. 395 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:21,480 The click of tile on felt or on a properly padded mat is softer, 396 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:25,720 rounder, more companionable. You can play longer without the 397 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,920 room feeling loud, and you can hear your table mates more 398 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:31,880 easily, which matters more than you think. 399 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:40,760 Third, a mat defines the space. A round or square mat tells the 400 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,480 room this is where the game happens. 401 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,680 It creates a small theatre out of an ordinary table. 402 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:52,000 Some of the most beautiful mahjong photos circulating in 403 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,320 the community right now are photos where the mat is doing as 404 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:58,920 much aesthetic work as the tiles, and Prim finds that 405 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:04,200 entirely correct. 3 mats that Prim wants you to know about 406 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:08,600 this week. Miss Mahjong's Canopy Mat is the 407 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:12,320 one Prim has been recommending for two issues running because 408 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,440 she has finally had a chance to play on one and she can now 409 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:20,640 speak to it first hand. It is heavy, cushioned and 410 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:23,320 exactly the right size for a four player table. 411 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:28,080 The surface is a soft micro suede that holds the tiles in 412 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,720 place without sliding and the edges are clean enough to read 413 00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:35,800 as a serious object. Prim would call it the best 414 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,520 all-purpose competitive mat on the market right now. 415 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:43,640 And the price, at around $200, is a fair reflection of the 416 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,080 craftsmanship. A separate note for those of you 417 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,240 who chased the Miss Mashong and Miss Heirloom bundle this week 418 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:52,960 and missed it. The community moved on that one 419 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,720 in hours, and Prim is not surprised if you were reaching 420 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,640 for that bundle because the Hallmark movie has you planning 421 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,520 a watch night. The Order of the Tiles Mashong 422 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:06,120 Movie Game Bundle is built for exactly that evening, and it 423 00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:08,800 pairs beautifully with any of the mats we are sharing. 424 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:13,200 The Mahjong Lines collection of mats is where you go for 425 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,640 personality. Their ranch, Dusty Rose, has 426 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:20,960 been a breakout hit this season, and their Shinwa Zuri adjacent 427 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,440 patterns in the spring catalog are some of the most distinctive 428 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:28,400 surfaces in the community. These mats are less about 429 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:31,800 tournament grade cushioning and more about bringing a particular 430 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:35,960 aesthetic to your table. A Mahjong line mat is the mat 431 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:39,440 you buy when you want your table to look like you, not like a 432 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:43,560 tournament. Prices range from about 120 to 433 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:49,440 $200 depending on the line. Southern Sparrows mats round out 434 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:53,120 the category at a slightly more accessible price point while 435 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,520 maintaining the brand's signature Shinwaziri influenced 436 00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:00,160 aesthetic. Jessica Rose eye for colour and 437 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:04,640 line translates beautifully to the matte surface and if you are 438 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:08,800 building a coordinated table set up that includes tile covers and 439 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:12,840 cases from the same brand, the Southern Sparrow mats complete 440 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:16,280 the story. Look for the spring colour ways. 441 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,240 Several of them are already at Lower Stark. 442 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:24,480 One quiet suggestion for Mother's Day. 443 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:30,120 A mat is an excellent gift for a new player or a returning player 444 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,840 because it suggests A dedicated game space without demanding 445 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:37,520 anything else. It fits at the kitchen table. 446 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,240 It does not require you to own a set. 447 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:44,200 It can double as a protected card playing surface on non 448 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:47,840 mahjong nights. And when she does decide to take 449 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:52,640 the game more seriously, the mat is already there, waiting, 450 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,880 having done the quiet work of saying this could be your thing 451 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,120 if you let it. Prim likes gifts that wait 452 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,480 patiently. The playmat is one of them. 453 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,600 Now, to matters of the calendar. Where shall one be seen this 454 00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:13,640 season? This is set your rack. 455 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:19,560 The cruise is nearly sold. Destination Mahjong's 456 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:22,480 Mediterranean cruise aboard the Celebrity Ascent. 457 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:28,360 Sales May 15th to May 25th and Prim will tell you plainly that 458 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:32,040 if you have been circling this one, the decision is now. 459 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:37,280 As of this morning, registration is reporting near capacity on 460 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:41,000 the Mahjong specific staterooms and the tournament sessions on 461 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,280 board are confirmed to run daily. 462 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:47,960 This is a premium destination event with fares running from 463 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:50,840 the mid thousands upward depending on stateroom class, 464 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,520 and Prim will not pretend it is a bargain. 465 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:59,480 What it is, however, is 10 days of structured Mashong play in 466 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,480 the Mediterranean with a group of players who are all there for 467 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,200 the same reason. And that kind of concentrated 468 00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:08,360 community time is rare and worth pricing. 469 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:13,400 If you have the means and the calendar move this week, San 470 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:19,360 Diego is the next big weekend. Destination Mahjong's San Diego 471 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:24,400 Double Tournament runs June 5th through 7th at a coastal resort 472 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:28,200 that Prim will not name here, but which is already generating 473 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:31,440 strong anticipatory chatter in the destination network. 474 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:36,320 Entry for the double tournament format runs in the mid hundreds. 475 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:40,200 This is one of the best regarded regional events of the early 476 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,760 summer and registration is moving fast enough that the wait 477 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,280 list rumours Prim mentioned in the draw are probably real. 478 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,080 Check the Destination Mahjong website today if you are 479 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:55,440 considering the summer local calendar is filling in. 480 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,920 Prim wrote last week about the JCC and Community Centre Circuit 481 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,400 and this week she can report that several of those local 482 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:08,080 events have opened their spring and early summer registrations. 483 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:13,440 Ma Shong, Texas's Horseshoe Bay Charity tournament in September 484 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,080 has filled its early registration slots and is now 485 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:22,200 taking regular sign ups. Mahjong Fun LA has posted 3 486 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:27,040 spring dates in May and June. The Chicago JCC circuit has a 487 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,040 late June weekend that is currently under subscribed, 488 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:34,080 which Prem would call an opportunity for any player in 489 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:36,840 the region who has been waiting for an approachable first 490 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:40,880 tournament. Call your local JCC ask. 491 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:44,280 The answer is more often yes than you think. 492 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:52,080 The summer set and accessory drops are starting quietly in 493 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:53,960 the background of all this event news. 494 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,280 The major set makers are beginning their summer drops. 495 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:01,280 Oh my Mahjong has a new summer colourway expected in the next 496 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:04,480 two weeks. The mahjong line is reportedly 497 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:07,800 releasing a limited summer collection before Memorial Day 498 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:10,640 weekend. Miss Mahjong is rumoured to be 499 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:14,360 expanding the canopy mat line with two additional colour ways. 500 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:17,920 Prim will confirm these as the announcements land. 501 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:21,320 For now. If you have been hesitating on a 502 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:25,680 spring purchase, the calendar is about to turn and the new goods 503 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:32,320 are coming this weekend. Mother's Day Sunday, May 10th 504 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:40,040 closing destination Mahjong Mediterranean cruise Celebrity 505 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:46,120 Ascent May 15th through 25th open destination. 506 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:51,080 Mahjong San Diego double tournament June 5th through 7th 507 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:54,960 open. Shriners Mahjong tournament. 508 00:33:55,400 --> 00:34:03,120 Austin, TX June 20th Open destination Mahjong Atlantic 509 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:09,600 City August 16th through 18th Open Mahjong World Championship 510 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:13,920 Paris Las Vegas October 16th through 18th. 511 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:19,719 Check your local JCC spring and summer local tournament circuit, 512 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:24,880 Full event calendar at the order of the tile.com/events. 513 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:30,199 And finally, because this author believes every player deserves 514 00:34:30,199 --> 00:34:33,040 at least one piece of knowledge that makes her the most 515 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:37,080 interesting person at the table, we close with crack 516 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:41,080 intelligence. Here is a fact that surprises 517 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:43,159 almost every player who hears it. 518 00:34:44,199 --> 00:34:48,040 The Mahjong World Championship, which is now the largest 519 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:51,840 American mahjong tournament in the world and the marquee event 520 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:55,520 of the full calendar, is not an old institution. 521 00:34:55,960 --> 00:35:01,120 It did not exist in the 1950s. It did not exist in the 1980s. 522 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:05,880 It did not exist in anything like it's current form until the 523 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:09,480 Mashang boom of the last 15 years made it possible. 524 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,720 The event that the community now treats as the season ending 525 00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:19,080 pilgrimage is a relatively young creation and the story of how it 526 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:22,680 came to exist is a story about what happens when a community 527 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:26,640 reaches a certain size and needs a place to gather at scale. 528 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,120 American Mahshong had organised tournaments long before the 529 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:35,960 World Championship. Gladys Grad, whom Prim covered 530 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:40,120 in Letter 5, was running Mahshong Madness as a circuit by 531 00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:43,880 the mid 1980s and regional tournaments had been happening 532 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:47,280 at hotels and resorts across the country since the National 533 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:52,000 Mahshong League was founded. What the community did not have 534 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:56,080 until recently was a single national event that could be 535 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:59,760 recognised as the championship. The tournament circuit was 536 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,720 distributed. Every region had its own anchor 537 00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:05,160 event. There was no one weekend of the 538 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:08,560 year that the whole national community pointed at and said 539 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:11,320 this is where the best players meet. 540 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:17,440 That changed in the 20 tens as the Maha Shong revival moved 541 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:20,240 from a regional phenomenon into a national one. 542 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:25,160 Social media connected players across state lines who had 543 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,600 previously only known their local tables. 544 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:30,200 The card circulation numbers climbed. 545 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:35,640 The generation that had learned as children in the 1950s and 60s 546 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:40,000 was reaching retirement and finding that they had time, 547 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,600 money and appetite for destination events. 548 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:47,640 The demand was there. The supply caught up. 549 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:52,000 Several tournament organizers began to experiment with larger, 550 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:56,000 more ambitious formats, and the world championship concept 551 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,280 emerged from that competitive churn. 552 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:03,960 The first editions of what is now recognized as the Mahjong 553 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:07,160 World Championship were significantly smaller than the 554 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:10,320 event that now fills Las Vegas every October. 555 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:14,640 Early fields ran in the hundreds rather than the thousands. 556 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:18,600 The prize pools were modest. The infrastructure was 557 00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:22,520 improvised. What the early championship had, 558 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:26,360 which every successful institution needs, was the right 559 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:29,040 mix of ambition and community consent. 560 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:32,440 Players showed up. They told other players to show 561 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:35,160 up. The field grew each year. 562 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:39,600 The format stabilised. The sponsors came in. 563 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:43,800 Within a handful of years, the event was what it is today, 564 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:47,360 which is the closest thing American mahsong has to a 565 00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:51,640 national stage. The thing Prim finds most 566 00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:55,000 interesting about this history, and the thing she would like you 567 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:58,320 to carry away from this section, is how recently it all 568 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:01,440 coalesced. The World Championship is 569 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:04,080 younger than most of the tables in your friends houses. 570 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:07,760 The scale of the modern mahsong calendar is a product of the 571 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:14,360 last 10 years, not the last 50. What this means practically is 572 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:17,200 that you are living in a period of unusual institutional 573 00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:20,280 formation, and your participation is part of the 574 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:23,440 story of how these events become permanent. 575 00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:27,840 Every tournament you register for, every weekend you travel, 576 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:32,640 for every photo you post with A tag that says you were, there is 577 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,280 a small piece of the infrastructure that makes the 578 00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:39,920 next championship possible. The community is still building 579 00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:42,680 the buildings. The wall is being read in real 580 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:46,760 time. Prim finds that thrilling, and 581 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:50,320 she wanted you to know it. You're welcome. 582 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:56,760 A small Sunday note for the mothers and the daughters and 583 00:38:56,760 --> 00:39:00,800 the women in between. If you are giving a gift this 584 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:03,600 weekend, make it small and specific. 585 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:07,040 If you are teaching a new player, make it slow and 586 00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:09,800 generous. If you are being taught, make it 587 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:13,320 patient and curious. If you are alone this Sunday, 588 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:17,400 sit down at your own table and play a hand because the women 589 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:20,840 before you are with you, whether you can see them or not. 590 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:25,600 The wall has been red, the table is open. 591 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:29,720 Prim would like you to be gentle with everyone, including 592 00:39:29,720 --> 00:39:34,720 yourself, for one Sunday. The rest of the season can wait. 593 00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:39,960 If you are new to these pages or you know a new player who would 594 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:43,640 like to be, sign up at the order of the tile.com. 595 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:48,200 Every new subscriber this month still receives Prims National 596 00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:53,440 Mahjong Day gifts, a readable scoring rundown and a reusable 597 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:56,360 printable scorecard. Drop in your e-mail. 598 00:39:56,760 --> 00:40:00,640 The gifts will land in your inbox along with next Thursday's 599 00:40:00,640 --> 00:40:03,560 issue. Forward this one to the mother, 600 00:40:03,840 --> 00:40:08,600 daughter, sister or friend who belongs at this table with you. 601 00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:12,200 Prim's favorite chant for a bit of mash on fun. 602 00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:16,400 Say it with me now. Don't tap it, racket. 603 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:18,600 Double stack it. Do it to it. 604 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,800 Don't construe it. We all know that Prim won't skew 605 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:24,040 it. The order of the tile. 606 00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:30,000 Pursue it until next week. May your rack be blessed and 607 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:35,080 your Charleston ruthless. This has been the order of the 608 00:40:35,080 --> 00:40:39,080 tile issue #8 the wall has been red. 609 00:40:39,720 --> 00:40:41,880 Do forward this to your favorite 4th. 610 00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:46,480 Everyone deserves a seat at this table, and everyone deserves to 611 00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:49,320 be properly informed before they take it. 612 00:40:49,880 --> 00:40:51,840 Until next Thursday, dear listener. 613 00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:53,960 Prim as always.