Learn Mahjong. Sharpen Your Mind. Connect.

No. Mahjong 101 is designed for complete beginners. We start from scratch with tiles, gameplay, flow, and strategy, all of it. You’ll leave with confidence and a foundation you can build on.

Mahjong 102 is your second game experience. Now that you know the basics, it is time to actually play. We sit down together, play a full game, and I coach you in real time on hand selection, pivots, strategy, and reading the table. Something shifts in the second game. The rules stop feeling like rules and start feeling like instinct. You will leave more grounded, more confident, and genuinely ready to sit down at any table. Mahjong 101 or equivalent experience required.

We provide the National Mah Jongg League card in the 101 class. For the 102 you should bring your card or purchase one from us.

Our classes are held at Anissa’s Threadz Boutique, 13011 Newport Ave #102A, Tustin, CA 92780, a beautiful, intimate setting that feels nothing like a class and everything like a gathering. We also love bringing the experience to you. Whether it’s your home, office, or community center, we’d be happy to come to you. Private lessons are one of our favorite ways to teach.

Full refund up to 72 hours before class. Within 72 hours, you’ll receive class credit for a future session. No-shows are not eligible for a refund or credit.

Our classes vary in size, and we always bring assistants to make sure everyone gets plenty of individual attention. No matter the group, you'll leave feeling seen, supported, and confident.

They share the same tiles and basic origins, but they play quite differently. American Mahjong, governed by the National Mah Jongg League, uses a yearly card with specific hands you try to build, includes jokers as wild tiles, and has its own distinct rules and scoring. Chinese Mahjong has many regional variations and different objectives. We teach American Mahjong exclusively. I like to describe it this way: American Mahjong is what you would get if Rummikub and Poker had a baby. Like Rummikub, you are building specific tile combinations from a hand of pieces. Like Poker, you are choosing which hand to go for, reading the table, deciding when to pivot, and staying just strategic enough to keep your opponents guessing. It is pattern-building meets live strategy, and it is endlessly satisfying once it clicks.

Not at all. The solitaire tile-matching game you see on apps and computers borrows the tiles but is a completely different experience. Real Mahjong is a live, strategic four-player game where you draw, discard, and compete to build a winning hand. It is social, fast-moving, and endlessly fun once you know how to play.

Both spellings refer to the same game and are used interchangeably. Mah Jongg, with the double g, is the spelling trademarked by the National Mah Jongg League and is the official spelling for the American version of the game. Mahjong is the more widely used general spelling. You will see both, and they mean the same thing.

You can, and it has been done for generations. Mahjong's roots are in the social clubs and parlors of the early 20th century, where a small wager per hand was part of the ritual. Interestingly, the National Mah Jongg League card actually specifies payouts for each winning hand, so playing without money is technically the house rule. In practice, modern tables play all kinds of ways. Some follow the card's payouts. Some play purely for the winning hand with no money or points at all, just the satisfaction of the win. In organized tournaments, scoring is point-based with players competing for rankings and trophies. We cover payouts and scoring in the 101 class, so you will be ready for whatever kind of table you eventually sit down at.

Not at all. Every Mahjong 101 class has included at least one man: a husband, son, nephew, or friend who came along and ended up loving it. Deborah has taught the CEO and co-founders of Obsidian Entertainment, couples in private sessions, and a 22-year-old nephew who asked to learn on a random afternoon and had his first game going within hours. If you are curious about Mahjong, you belong here.