Members find community in playing the game together
At Ellijay Mahjong, friendly rivalries, community, friendships and more have all blossomed out of a game.
“You come for the game, but you stay for the friendships,” club member Rebecca Harrell said.
Harrell started playing mahjong about five years ago.
Along with several other local women, she started Ellijay Mahjong so they could play the game once a week.
“It was a true sense of community it created,” she said.
Since then, the club has grown dramatically. Today it sometimes hosts as many as 15 players.
“Once you join the group, you kind of get hooked. There’s a lot of laughter and a lot of friendly competition,” Harrell said.
Admission costs $5 and requires the purchase of a yearly rule card from the National Mahjong League. The cards are available at this website: https://www.nationalmahjonggleague.org.
“No matter if you’re in Florida or Texas or California, everybody’s playing the same card for that year,” Harrell said.
The club provides mahjong tiles.
Ellijay Mahong plays Tuesday night from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Coosawattee Fireplace Room at 634 Beaver Lake Drive in Ellijay.
In Blue Ridge, Mahjong in the Mountains meets on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m at 146 Depot Street, Suite 102, Blue Ridge.
Sometimes, players in Blue Ridge bet a few cents on the outcome of the game, Harrell said.
“You’re not obiligated,” she said.
Mahjong is a Chinese game played with tiles. It’s played with three to four players who take turns drawing and discarding tiles.
To win, players must build up a legal hand of 14 tiles.
“It can be a little complicated, but don’t believe you can’t do it,” Harrell said.
The game is a mix of luck, strategy and skill that resembles the game of rummy.
“It kind of keeps you sharp,” she said. “You definitely have the social side of it where you’re just getting together and talking. But it’s also about staying sharp, and it’s beneficial for people any age,” she said.
Everyone in the club learns from each other and helps each other improve at the game.
Although Harrell started playing because she enjoyed the game, she stays today because she loves the friendships the group has brought her.
“The friendships that we’ve been able to get, it’s really made a difference,” she said. “If somebody’s sick, we all kind of rally around each other. It’s just been great.”