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https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/may/14/mahjong-modernised-automatic-tables-are-bringing-a-new-generation-to-the-centuries-old-game>
"Family mahjong nights are a tradition and a regular occurrence for Katie Guan,
25, and Seshni McKowen, 26. But they are a little different from the ones their
grandparents’ generation played with their elders. A soft electronic whirring
fills the room instead of clacking sounds of tiles hitting the table, and hands
are suspiciously still where once there would have been a flurry of washing
(shuffling).
This is because Guan and McKowen have automatic mahjong tables – a new way of
playing a centuries-old game. It usually takes about 10 minutes to set up a
game of mahjong, but that time is reduced to nothing with an automatic table.
“You just push all the tiles into the centre, it washes it for you and then
you’re ready to play,” says McKowen.
Thought to have originated in the mid to late 1800s in China, mahjong is deeply
entrenched in Chinese culture and passionately played around the world, with
more than 40 known variations.
The game is played with 144 tiles, where four players take turns crafting
winning hands – consisting of matching sets and pairs – by either placing a
tile into the centre of the table to dispose of it, or drawing a new one from
the wall of tiles around the table’s perimeter. Mixing strategy with luck,
players can also take each other’s disposed-of tiles in order to complete their
own sets."
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*** Xanni ***
