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Why Mahjong is surging in popularity

Clients play mahjong at adult daycare Hong Fook Center on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (Juliana Yamada/AP)
Juliana Yamada/AP
Clients play mahjong at adult daycare Hong Fook Center on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (Juliana Yamada/AP)

The U.S. is experiencing a surge of interest in Mahjong, the Chinese four-player, tile-based strategy game. Yelp data shows that searches for Mahjong clubs are up almost 4,500% since last year.

For more on the game and its growing popularity, Here & Now‘s Indira Lakshmanan speaks to Nicole Wong, author of “Mahjong: House Rules from Across the Asian Diaspora” and founder of The Mahjong Project.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom