The climax of last summer’s hit movie Crazy Rich Asians featured a tense exchange between two characters over a round of the Chinese tile game of mahjong. Mahjong games here in Chicago, though—at least those organized by Debbie Turner—are more congenial and less intense.
Turner did find other women to teach her, though, and she had her moment when everything fell into sync. She realized that if the game had been explained in another way, she might have grasped it better, and it gave her the inspiration to teach.
“When I started, I really just wanted everybody to know this game,” she says. “I knew it was out there, but people didn’t know about it. Well, let me teach you.”
The Meetup group now has 84 members. Turner’s pupils are mostly retired women, but she has recently gotten more interest from women and even a few men in their 30s and 40s. Mahjong has not always been a game for retirement-aged people, though.
“I want everyone to see this game,” she says. “I think it’s time for it to come out.” v
Thu 4/25, 6 PM, Ambassador Public House, 310 S. Halsted, 312-888-9961, meetup.com. F
