Mah Jongg — the tile-based four player game that originated in 19th century China and has since spawned an American variation — is having a bit of a moment with a recent surge in popularity among individuals either rediscovering it or learning it for the first time. On Saturday afternoon, a group of 20 participants spent three hours soaking in the basics with help from instructor Joe Roth of The Dealt Hand, a Des Moines company focused on cultivating community through board games.

Roth took time to explain the basic concepts of American Mah Jongg, the tile suits (craks, dots and bams), the card, which changes every year, that is used as the reference point, and how to win — by building four sets (three-of-a-kind, triplets, or sequences) and a pair — though he added that some games end without a victor.

With all of the information being shared in such a short period of time, Roth asked the participants what aspects they were uncomfortable with thus far, prompting one woman to respond, “My brain.”

Nonetheless, once they had a little more time to process it all, the groups began to build their hands, and Roth took a break to chat with the T-R about why he does what he does. While The Dealt Hand has been in existence since 2019, he said he only started the Mah Jongg program about seven months ago in response to a series of requests from public libraries to provide instructional offerings like the one held Saturday.

He also spoke about the game’s recent resurgence in popularity.

“I think there’s a general desire for a game with some history to it that still feels unique, and Mah Jongg kind of hits that sort of stuff,” he said. “There’s kind of a southern TikTok influencer vibe pushing for that, but that’s more the buying and selling really expensive tiles side. And we’re just here for folks to learn the game.”

The biggest initial hurdles to learning the game, Roth added, are tile recognition,the fact that the scorecard changes every year and keeping hands flexible.

“It’s like a card game. You’re constantly drawing and discarding, and being able to respond to what stuff is drawn or what stuff you get to see is an important part of that too,” he said.

Once players settle into a ritual and routine, however, Roth said a lot of them return for more and become longtime players. The classes have been “pretty consistently” sold out wherever they’re held, and he looks forward to more opportunities to spread the word going forward.

“People are really hungry for Mah Jongg programming, and I think our program is built to be really accessible for folks who are not heavy into games,” he said. “Our general philosophy is that you should be able to play games without having to invest a lot of money, so being able to do events where you can just sit down and play and not have to spend a lot of money to learn how to play is really helpful too. There’s folks selling classes for $100 for a lesson. This is free. This is a library. That’s why I love libraries.”

Though the crowd at the MPL Saturday skewed older, The Dealt Hand hosts an open play night twice a month in Des Moines with an audience ranging in age from mid-20s to mid-40s.

“It’s great because I’ll have the standard senior set, and then I’ll have, like, one table of 20-something hipsters. And I’m like ‘Welcome to this weird world of Mah Jongg.’ But everybody has a good time. Everybody’s happy to play, and that’s always kind of nice too because folks are just excited to sit down and play with new folks,” Roth said.

To learn more about the company, visit https://www.thedealthand.com/.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.