About Manly Mahjong

Hi, I’m David Feldman, and I’m the fellow losing at the table behind Manly Mahjong.

I played my first game of mahjong sometime in the early 1990s, around a table with my in-laws and my wife. I’ll be honest: I’m a man who has politely declined a lot of board games over the years, but mahjong was one of the rare ones I actually enjoyed. The clack of the tiles, the banter, the slow burn of a hand coming together. It all hooked me.

That was thirty-odd years ago, and I’d love to tell you I’ve mastered it since. I have not. I’m still not very good, and (my family will confirm this loudly) I’m really, really slow. I treat every discard like a major life decision, and I still manage to hand the win to the woman on my left.

For most of those years, I played American Mahjong. As in most of the country, it’s far and away the most common variety around here, the one with the scorecard that changes every year and a rulebook thick enough to press flowers.

More recently, I took up Hong Kong Mahjong (aka Cantonese Mahjong), and it’s been a revelation: no card to memorize and quicker hands, which makes for a faster, more flowing game. I genuinely think more men would take to this version as it scratches the competitive, fast-moving itch in a way the American card sometimes doesn’t. If you’re a guy who’s been mahjong-curious, that’s my pitch: try the Hong Kong rules.

So why build Manly Mahjong? Three honest reasons. First, I am a simple man who lights up when companies send me free stuff to try. Second, I needed a way to help fund my household’s mahjong habit, which is to say, my wife’s mahjong habit. And third, frankly, I love building things; I’ve spent a career in computer science, and a website about tiles and bourbon is a far more enjoyable thing to build than most.

A note on trust: all thoughts on this site are my own:The good calls, the bad takes, and the occasional dad joke are all mine. If I recommend something, it’s because I actually think it’s worth your time (or at least worth a laugh).

Have a look around: the men’s mahjong gear I stand behind and the tales from the tableare all here. Pull up a chair, the bourbon’s poured, the tiles are shuffled, and I’m probably already losing.