Mah-jongg reaches new generations in Huntington 

The dragons. The four winds. The calligraphy. The clicking tiles.

The sounds and visuals are like something out of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" or "Crazy Rich Asians," but the setting  is Huntington Village. And the participants are not actors, but Long Islanders of all ages and backgrounds, finding their way to — or back to — one of the most iconic parlor games of the last century: mah-jongg.

Here on Long Island, primary schoolteacher turned mah-jongg maven Lorie Siegel, of Centerport, is leading the resurgence of this classic game of chance and skill. Her company, Maj with Lor, offers highly engaging, easy-to-follow lessons for beginners on up at coffee shops, community centers and country clubs. Everyone, from teenagers to senior citizens, seems to want to learn.

"I had been playing for 15 years, every Friday night, with my friends," says the enthusiastic Siegel, 51. "After lockdown, I came up with my own curriculum, made my own textbook and took it on the road."

Mah-jongg is not as ancient as you might think. Although it enjoys a mystique that has kept it alive since it arrived in the United States from China in the 1920s, it probably dates only to the 1880s. Two, three or — usually — four players take turns drawing and returning the tiles, trying to put together one of numerous hands determined by the National Mah Jongg League, the arbiters of the American game.

The popularity of mah-jongg in the U.S. was waning until 2018, when mah-jongg was featured in Amazon's "Mrs. Maisel" and a pivotal — and deeply symbolic — scene in Warner Bros. Pictures' "Crazy, Rich Asians," which jogged memories and ignited a new generation’s interest.

A recent Tuesday night found Siegel leading the second of a five-session course at Main Street Board Game Café in Huntington. Her teaching chops are on full display; in addition to the traditional tiles, she employs tablets on each of the two tables, so the eight participants can follow her slide presentations. She uses cue cards and color-coordinated, highlighted instructions; educators will recognize the methodology, while regular folks will just be grateful. There is a lot to take in and she breaks it down into manageable chunks.

Students learn about the 144 tiles; three suits, plus honor and joker tiles; that a hand has 14 tiles; that multiple combinations make these hands. Then they practice matching the sequences that would bring them victory in a real match. But real matches are two classes away. For now, little by little, under Siegel’s tutelage, this mysterious language of tiles, symbols, pictographs and numbers becomes a comprehensible system of categories and sequences.

Mah-jongg can also become a lifestyle.

Megan Feinberg, 36, and her husband, Nick Forst, 37, attorneys from Huntington Village, hadn’t ever played when they attended a series last year. Now avid players who host their own mah-jongg nights, they stopped by the Tuesday class to say hello.

"It was a little bit like going back to school," says Feinberg. "Lorie started us picking up the tiles and identifying them. She makes it relatable and easy to do."

They met Blythe Miller, 36, also an attorney, and now a friend, at mah-jongg class. "It’s just complicated enough to be interesting, but it’s not 8 million pieces and doesn’t take hours to play. It’s easy, once you know how," Miller says.

A NEW GENERATION

Mah-jongg aficionados are getting younger. Grace Murphy, 15, caught the bug from her mother, Sarah Murphy, 57, who took a class and now hosts a weekly game at her house. The Elwood-John H. Glenn High School 10th grader is so hooked, she assists Siegel in teaching classes.

"I love it," says Grace. "I also get some of my friends to play."

That social aspect is much of the appeal.

Rita Imburgio, 70, is a semiretired nurse from Floral Park. "Most of my friends are retired and they are all playing. I played one game and felt like I was holding them back, so I decided to take class," she says, as she lines up a practice hand.

She was making fast friends at her table; mah-jongg invites conversation and the café offers food, drinks and desserts. Café manager Samantha Toscano, 26, loves the vibe.

"It brings a lot of groups together," she says. "It’s a really wide age range, from young adults to the elderly. They are so friendly to each other. It’s like an instant connection."

COMPETITIVE NATURE

But mah-jongg is competitive too. For students who want to level up, Siegal is putting on her first mock tournament on Nov. 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tournaments can be tough for newbies, with rigid time limits and no "do-overs." This mock tournament will have looser time frames and chances for error correction, Siegel says, adding, "We hope to create a fun, welcoming atmosphere for new players and old alike to spend a lovely morning with our local mah-jongg community in a stress-free atmosphere!" There is certainly a lot of excitement around it — the tournament sold out in September.

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Blythe Miller's age. She is 36.