The little room past the bar fills slowly on Saturday afternoons at Stodgy Brewing Company.
People trickle in holding drinks, looking for name tags and scanning tables to see where they fit. Some arrive with friends while others come alone. Most newcomers of Riichi NoCo mahjong start the same way: sitting down with tiles they don’t fully understand yet and someone willing to explain to them.
Japanese mahjong is the reason they showed up, but the routine of showing up is what keeps the room full.
What began as a few players looking for a game has turned into a weekly gathering that now stretches beyond the space it was originally meant to occupy. Beginners share tables with regulars, extra sets appear from backpacks and car trunks and conversations move easily between rules, strategy and banter…