Lehi People
Lehi’s own American mahjong league
Madelyn Wilson | Lehi Free Press
At the beginning of this year, if you’d asked next-door neighbors Amanda Beirdneau and Betty Parker what they knew about mahjong, they might have mentioned that they like the movie “Crazy Rich Asians.”
American mahjong, a tile game inspired by the traditional and iconic Chinese game, is bringing people together, maybe more than ever before, in its 89th official year. Since this spring, Beirdneau and Parker have been some of the many people who’ve come to love playing the game, and now they’re spreading that love.
“I was in a monthly domino group for the last several years, playing with a group of ladies once a month,” Parker said. “At some point, the lady who hosted said, ‘I’m going to order a mahjong set.’ When it came, we spent one night reading the instructions and we were all shaking our heads. We’re reading the book and thinking, ‘This doesn’t make any sense.’ We knew this was not going to be the kind of board game you can open and read and start playing and see what happens. I had just seen an ad for a class, so I went to a class and took my domino ladies. And they were all like, ‘Eh, yeah, we’ll try in a month when we get together.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I love it, and I need to play now.’”
Parker invited Beirdneau and some other neighbors to try a beginner lesson. After that, they knew they wanted to bring the game to more people, so they got to work.
“We taught the whole neighborhood, and we loved it and decided to do it for real. We just wanted everybody to get excited like we were about mahjong and have people to play with,” Parker continued.
Little did they know what a big deal mahjong was about to become.
“I had no idea that it would be the top obsession of Utah, and even outside of Utah. Mahjong is having its moment, and it’s by chance that we jumped in at the right time and we’re having so much fun,” Parker shared.
Our Mahjong Table, Beirdneau and Parker’s mahjong group, offers mahjong nights for players of all skill levels, including those who have never even picked up a tile. Beginner lessons, listed on their site as “Mahjong 101,” are hosted on Thursday nights at Lehi Bakery on Lehi Main St. They host an occasional “open play” for those who are familiar enough with the game to play without constant guidance. And for those confident enough to play independently, they’re kicking off a new league beginning this week.
“There was just an interest in league play, and we hadn’t seen anyone in Utah do a league for mahjong, so we decided we should try it,” said Beirdneau. “You get to know new people, sit at different tables — and that’s what’s fun about pickleball, right? Switching partners and meeting new people and just having people to play with. Because when you find a hobby that you love, you just want to do it.”
The league is a social setting, but it plays quickly, aiming for six games per table in a two-hour window. The league meets once a week for six weeks, with points adding up each round. At the end of the six weeks, one player wins. While the current league is full, demand is high enough that they have a Holiday League planned for Tuesday nights from late October through early December.
Although they just started teaching in June, they’re plowing ahead with more plans to teach and play, and they’re finding their audience. They also offer private events, date nights, and plan to introduce tournament play in the future.
“We went to class and just did a deep dive and started studying,” said Parker.
“We jumped in with both feet,” Beirdneau added. “When we started out, we were like, ‘Do we know what we’re doing? No, but we’ll figure it out.’”
And they have. While they both admit running a business like this is a learning curve, each brings strengths to the mahjong table that have helped make their business a success so far. Beirdneau is a stay-at-home mom and a social butterfly, so bringing people together comes naturally to her. Parker has a long career in human resources, focusing mainly on compensation, so she’s organized and knows her way around spreadsheets.
They also shared that they couldn’t accomplish what they’re doing without a lot of help. Both of their husbands and Parker’s son show up to Mahjong 101 every week to set up tables and guide beginners through gameplay.
“They’re so good at it. They’re unpaid, and we didn’t even ask; they just kept coming. They see the need and they really enjoy it. My son is always a favorite at his table,” said Parker.
“People might like them better than us sometimes,” joked Beirdneau.
With their men on board as table helpers, they’re able to cover a lot of ground in one night, sharing some more intermediate gameplay tips and strategies with first-time players.
In the future, they hope to collaborate with other local mahjong groups and branch out to join forces with some pickleball spots to host mahjong and pickleball nights. Even with big plans on the horizon, they said beginner lessons always come first.
“I came out of my first class and I was just like, ‘I haven’t had that much fun in a long time.’ Because you’re using your brain, you’re doing something new, it’s competitive, and there’s a huge social element. But it’s not a high-pressure social environment. You can sit and stare at your tiles and your card the whole time if you need time to figure out what you’re doing, or you can get to know the person across from you. So, there’s something there for everybody,” Parker shared.
For anyone curious to know more about mahjong, you’re far from the only one.
“Almost everybody who has signed up for our classes has been hearing about mahjong, so the curiosity is the draw. And then when they come in, the game is frustrating. Some people are afraid to try because there are so many rules and nuances with American mahjong, and it can feel overwhelming. But everybody we teach, by the end of the night, feels like, ‘Oh, I get it now. It makes sense, I was able to form a hand,’” said Parker. “We’ve just seen that transformation so many times that I would just encourage people not to be afraid. Try something new. You’re going to love it.”
For more information about Our Mahjong Table and their offerings, visit ourmahjongtable.com or follow them on Instagram @ourmahjongtable or Facebook under “Our Mahjong Table”.
“See what the obsession is about,” said Parker.
“And the obsession is real,” Beirdneau concluded.
