Mah-jongg is cool again, for playing and shopping

Walk into giftware and tabletop store Hosted by Kelly Gaudreau, in Locust Valley, on any given Monday or Thursday, and amid the lovely plates, cocktail napkins, glassware and linens you’ll spot a table of rapt women playing mah-jongg.

"I realized I better get a game table in there so my friends could come in and play with me," explains store owner Gaudreau, 48, who could no longer attend her regular afternoon games because of her working hours since opening the store in December.

Gaudreau, who says she learned the game four years ago "before it was cool," says these friendly games became so popular that she began offering lessons along with a deep inventory of mah-jongg accouterments — boards, bags, tiles and even tables. She admits that her introduction of the game to the store, "was, at first, born out of selfishness at wanting to play myself." But the lessons and games turned out to be such a strong draw, that next month she’ll debut a formal mah-jongg club at the store dubbed "Club Mary Ann" named for her mom, where folks can purchase and participate in a monthly series of games.

Not your grandma's mah-jongg

Mah-jongg, the tile-based game brought to the United States from China in the 1920s, has long held the reputation as a sort of dowdy, old-fashioned grandma favorite. Burgeoning in popularity over the past few years, today it’s a downright craze among many groups, notably enticing a new crop of younger players that include Gen Z and millennials and making its way into mainstream venues.

According to Eventbrite data, mah-jongg searches are up 365% across the platform. Likewise, the Yelp 2026 Trend Tracker reports that searches for mah-jongg lessons jumped by more than 800%.

"It is an obsession," declares Alix Bryant, 49, the founder of the American Mah Jongg Association and publisher of The Mah Jongg insider, a newsletter that reaches more than 150,000 readers in the United States each week. "It’s like the gold rush. It feels like back in the ’90s with Silicon Valley. Everybody’s getting into the market."

But why now? "Maybe it’s coming out of COVID and people craving socialization," she says. "Five years ago, it was your grandma’s mah-jongg. Now it’s going as young as sororities at colleges."

While the in-person aspect is likely appealing, and some say the surge in playing is due to digital fatigue, Bryant believes that the cool factor is enhanced by social media noting that some players are "super fashionable and getting dolled up for Instagram. The girls playing it have made it super cool."

A special night

Hosted isn’t the only LI business that has harnessed the power of the Maj as a novel hook for attracting customers. At Mint, a women’s clothing boutique in Mattituck, an evening event blending a mah-jongg lesson, games, shopping and cocktails was a sellout in June with some 18 women who paid $30 each to attend. The participants’ ages ranged from 30 to 70, says owner Joanna Mazzella who hired Stacy Kostoulas, of NoFo Mahj (short for North Fork Mah Jong) to teach. "The night was wonderful," says Mazzella who offered drinks and a discount on clothing. "The best part is that the ages were all over the board. I always say, at Mint we address three generations. And what’s better than shopping and mah-jongg as a way to unwind. With so much social media these days, I think this resurgence is here to stay and a way to get together in person for women."

For her part, Kostoulas is verrry busy leading "two to three events each week throughout the North Fork," she says. Beyond Mint a mere sampling of locations where she’s held Maj events this summer include Borghese Vineyard in Cutchogue, Aldo’s Coffee Co. in Greenport, The Shoals Hotel in Southold, at Pilates studios and even at a pickleball venue in Riverhead with many more upcoming.

And not surprisingly the frenzy around the game has spawned an abundance of merchandise, both game-related and novelty items, including candles, embroidered pillows and bag charms. Alex Vinash, a popular fashion designer with an eponymous store in Southampton, recently introduced his new athleisure brand called Mono Monkey that includes unisex T-shirts, tops and sweatshirts ($59-$159). While these depict a variety of sports such as tennis and golf, there’s also a mah-jongg-themed series. "I consider mah-jongg a sport now. It’s incredible and an obsession," says Vinash adding that his mah-jongg duds are in great demand.

But with all the hubbub about the game suddenly being cool, for some, like Annie Nelson, 37, of Huntington, it always was. Nelson’s "grandma," Ila Swarz, taught her to play about 20 years ago. "I love it, it’s a very family-rooted thing we always do and it has a lot of sentimental feelings for me, and it’s fun," she says.

Nelson believes social media has amped up maj fever. "It’s like the word got out, people post their games, the hand they won with, what the table looked like, what snack they brought to mah-jongg."

As of now, she says she’s "marinating" about taking her love of the game one step further. Stay tuned for a mah-jongg tile tattoo on her arm in the future. She says Grandma Ila, who died two years ago, would most certainly approve.