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 If
you visit the card room in the Recreation Center at Royal Harbor on
Monday evenings or Thursday afternoons, you will see several residents
sitting at the card tables. In front of each player is a rack filled
with unusual Chinese characters in several colors, along with several
"walls" of tiles in front of each player.
For those familiar with the game called Mah Jongg, this setting is not
unusual, but for the newcomer to the game, it looks more difficult than
dominoes. However, several Royal Harbor residents have joined the Mah
Jongg club that was formed for the purpose of playing this interesting
game and providing an opportunity for newcomers to learn how to enjoy
playing it.
It all started when Marilyn Sugarman, who played the game many years ago
in New York, saw a Mah Jongg set in the local mall, and her interest in
the game became renewed, since she is now retired and has the time to
play. She called a fellow resident, Margaret Goldman, and they decided
to ask Pam Sanders, the community Activities Director, to see if there
might be other residents who would like to participate in the game. The
Mah Jongg club was formed, and there are now about 14 residents who
enjoy getting together twice a week.
The group recently held a six-hour marathon as a means of encouraging
visitors to sit and watch, to learn how the game is played, or to join
in on a regular basis.
The game of Mah Jongg evolved from a long line of earlier games that
began as far back as 800 AD, and most evidence shows that it was
developed in the late 1800s in the Ningpo area of China. It is called
the "Chinese Game of Four Winds," and there is a lot of symbolism to the
individual tiles and the positioning of those tiles during play. For
example, the red color signifies blood (mankind and life), blue
signifies the sky and heaven (dignity and purity); and green signifies
earth and nature. A Mah Jongg set consists of 164 tiles that are divided
into four groups; Suits (which include tiles called Bamboos, Characters,
and Circles or Dots), Honors (which include Winds and Dragons), Flowers
and Jokers. Players use cards that are released once a year from the
National Mah Jongg League, and these cards determine the combinations
that players must achieve in order to win the game.
Getting together for Mah Jongg is only one of many fun activities at
Royal Harbor that attract the attention of the residents. There are
other activities that can be enjoyed on a daily basis, and newcomers are
welcomed to join in and become a part of any one or more of them.
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