(From left) RichMahj founder Sara Sloman, Sarah Ashton Garnett, Grace Hubbard and Liz McSorley enjoy a game of mahjong at Blue Bee Cider.
When I was growing up, family get-togethers were often bookended by long games of mahjong, a tile-based game for four players similar to Rummikub or gin rummy. Every time the paternal side of my family gathered, the evening would end with a mahjong marathon, and, excluded from the game as the youngest kid in the family, I would flit from player to player, trying not to divulge with my wide eyes what I saw on their racks of tiles. I dreamed of playing with them, and eventually they taught me the basics, but by then I was a teenager more interested in other things.
First created in China in the 1800s, mahjong has cycled in and out of the public interest in America since it was introduced here in the 1920s and ’30s. It’s currently enjoying a bit of a heyday again, thanks at least in part to a revival of retro leisure activities and the availability of new, chic mahjong sets sold by retailers including Anthropologie, Caspari, and Crate and Barrel. (There’s also a Tiffany set for a whopping $16,500.)
Sara Sloman, a software solutions consultant who moved to Richmond in 2012 after graduating from Roanoke College, first learned to play mahjong at a class in 2023 and was immediately attracted to the complex game. She connected with the quick, tactile play and had a hunch others would, too. “Mahjong is all about organization and chaos,” Sloman says, “and I think that’s how a lot of people would describe how they’re getting through each day.”
Mahjong, she realized, was a trend she could bring to Richmond. So, later that year, Sloman got to work creating a website for RichMahj, and in January 2024 she taught her first private class. The concept caught on so quickly that Sloman is now creating a satellite teacher program to bring the game to players in Williamsburg; Virginia Beach; and Morehead City, North Carolina.
RichMahj’s private lessons are more like parties, each with a host who invites players to their home to learn together. The lessons are divided into RichMahj 101 and RichMahj 201. “The beginner lesson, or the 101, is where you learn about the game,” Sloman explains, “and then our 201 is where you learn how to win the game.”
While all are welcome, Sloman says most of her players are women who range in age from their 30s to mid-70s. That tracks with the history of American mahjong, which was marketed to and spread by women, especially in East Asian and Jewish communities, from the 1930s through the game’s boom in the 1950s.
As a social game, mahjong lends itself to having a little nosh. Between each round of the game, players shuffle the tiles, providing an opportunity to reflect, chat and, yes, snack. Sloman says she prefers serving light bites for game time. “I think finger foods are better than something that needs a fork or something that truly might make a mess. In Richmond, I see a lot of Virginia peanuts as well as cheese straws, things like that.”
Similar to the game itself, Sloman’s satellite teacher program has spread through word of mouth. Sloman recruited friends and students from her mahjong classes who showed an acumen for the game to become teachers themselves, setting up a network of RichMahj instructors.
With a little nudge, interest in the game spreads easily, especially through one-off events RichMahj has hosted at local venues such as Blue Bee Cider, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Truckle Cheesemongers and new Carytown shop Dinner Party. Sloman says she’s also starting a mahjong league this summer, where players can opt in as they choose to compete for prizes and enjoy a party at the end of the season.
Like many of the players Sloman encounters, for me playing mahjong is a way to connect with my family heritage — a blend of Jewish and Southern roots that come together at the mahjong table. Sloman says the idea resonates with her, too.
“My dad was Jewish, so it makes me feel closer to that side of my family,” she says. “I think the same thing has happened with some of the younger girls. I hear people say, ‘My grandma played’ or ‘My mom played,’ but they never learned. It gives them a warm feeling that they’re doing something that has been done throughout their family.”
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