Last year Madi Magid, an 11-year-old from Dallas, celebrated her birthday in style: with a Taylor Swift–inspired mah-jongg party. There was a custom friendship bracelet–style sign that spelled out “In My MadiJong Era,” tile beads for bracelet-making, and even claw clips with craks, bams, and dragons. The main event? A 90-minute mah-jongg lesson.
“I love Taylor Swift and I love mah-jongg, so I put them together,” said Magid, who added that it was “exciting” for her friends to learn the game. “I’m patient with them.”
Mahj is life for Magid. “I always ask my mom, ‘Can I play mah-jongg with you?’ ” the rising sixth grader told me. “I want to play mah-jongg all the time.”
Mah-jongg—a four-person tile-based game that originated in 19th-century China—used to be associated with 80-year-old bubbes glued to the table for hours a day at their retirement homes. But recently, it’s taken Gen Zers and millennial moms by storm. Mah-jongg nights have replaced the group girl dinner. There are $15,000 luxury mah-jongg sets for the truly elite. Even Blake Lively is a fan—she had her mah-jongg set delivered to court during the Justin Baldoni fiasco.
