Mahjong becoming a hit game among US women

Around Vivian Zimmerman’s kitchen table, the tiles move swiftly. Bams and dots get discarded while dragons and jokers are scooped up. As seasoned veterans, the four mahjong players and long-time friends at her table can converse energetically while strategising their next move.

Zimmerman has been playing the game of luck and skill for 38 years. “A group of about 10 of us women were pregnant at the time. We weren’t working and we were looking for something to do, so we started playing mahjong,” she says.