In the 19th century, Chinese men played it, gambling heavily in one of the several gambling games created towards the end of the Qing dynasty. In the 1950s, Jewish women played it in the Catskills and other places where immigrants gathered. Mahjong has had its devotees throughout the years, attracting those looking for a game that requires skill as well as luck and has occasional breaks for conversation. Now, though, there’s been a huge resurgence of interest in the game, bridging all ethnicities and age groups.
Katya Spicuzza was looking for a bridge game while she and her husband, Bill, lived in Virginia’s Northern Neck. At the yacht club in Irvington, she inquired about where to find one, only to find out that mahjong was the more popular game. That was fine with her: she didn’t like bridge anyway. She mentioned mahjong to a neighbor whom she spotted trimming bushes. “Right there over the bushes, she told me she was a teacher and could teach me,” Spicuzza remembered. As a young army wife, Spicuzza knew the importance of quickly establishing friendships and interests wherever she was.
Chelsea Powers knew about the game as a child. It was always popular in her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, and her stepmother played it. “I wanted to learn, and to find people I could play with here in Crozet,” she said. Spicuzza was also looking for a way to play often. Both women came up with the same solution.
“I thought if I taught it, I would not only have a chance to play, but would also be encouraging wider interest in the game, which would create more players,” Spicuzza said. She teaches every Monday at her home in Crozet, and she will shortly be able to expand the number of tables she can teach at one time.
With Magen Caplinger and Kelly Brown, Powers started Mountain Mahj, a new Crozet business that teaches Mahjong and arranges events that bring fans of the game together…