Mahjong’s quiet rise through social circles

Intricately designed, hand-carved tiles click against acrylic racks as four women spanning three generations rack their tiles, uncovering the 13 they have to work with. Once everyone has racked their tiles, they select three they want to pass and the Charleston (or tile swapping) begins. Between each tile exchange, the women forget which round they’re on as they get wrapped up in conversation about their week. A single round of mahjong can be played in as little as 10 minutes, but many ma