If you are free on Friday evenings from 6pm to 9pm, you may wish to join the Matlock U3A Mah Jong group.
Should you be curious about the game and wish to learn more before committing, or if the evening timing and/or the location are unsuitable, particularly during the winter months, some experienced group members are available to provide ‘ad hoc’ sessions during the day. Please contact the Group Co-ordinator (see below) who will try to assist and arrange a time and venue.
If you look up Mah Jong on most computer search engines, you will find plenty of entries, but most of these relate to Mah Jong Solitaire. This is a game played on a phone, computer or tablet, but is, as the name suggests, played on one’s own.
Our group provides the opportunity to play the original Mah Jong in the company of others, in a relaxed and not too competitive atmosphere. Our group currently comprises about 10, comprising very experienced players through to beginners.
The game comes originally from China and has evolved in Japan, USA and the UK, with differing national characteristics. The group in Matlock has been going for several years. The basic UK rules can be quickly learnt and any local variations are not at all onerous.
The basic definition of Mah Jong is:
“ a game of Chinese origin, played with four (sometimes three) people, in which tiles bearing various designs are drawn and discarded until one player has an entire hand of winning combinations. That player declares Mah Jong ! ”.
At the end of each game (lasting about 10 minutes), each player scores their hand. The random nature in which tiles are dealt to each player, together with luck and experience, can result in scores from zero to several thousands.
We typically enjoy between 10 and 12 individual games in an evening and at the end of the evening the highest individual total score of the night is recorded. Other outstanding scoring events are also recorded. At the end of the year we have a celebratory meal and a small prize giving. There is a short refreshment break at the mid-point of the evening.
The group currently meets weekly at The Family Tree on the A6 at Whatstandwell. In 2022 and 2023 the group met around 100 times and it us usually only poor driving conditions which prevent attendance..
The group co-ordinator is Colin Davis, who can be contacted by telephone on 07765 460784 or by e-mail.