What to get the mah jongg player in your life
From someone who does not play
You have heard the words. Crak. Bam. Joker. Charleston. You have heard about Wednesday more than you ever expected to hear about a weekday.
And now it is December and you would like to get her something that shows you were listening, except you do not play and you are not entirely sure what the game involves beyond tiles and a great deal of laughing.
Good news: this is one of the easier gifts there is, as long as you avoid one thing.
Do not buy her a mah jongg set
She has one. She probably has two. One of them belonged to someone who mattered to her and no replacement is going to improve on it.
Sets are also intensely personal — tile weight, case, the color of the racks — and buying one for a player is a bit like buying a chef a knife. Lovely thought, wrong gift.
What she actually wants
Something that says I know this is a real part of your life.
That is the whole brief. The game is not a hobby she picked up; for most players it is a standing appointment with three specific people, and it has usually survived moves, illnesses and some number of funerals. A gift that treats it as serious is a gift that treats her as known.
Which is why the things that land are the ones with the vocabulary on them. "Crak," "Bam," "hold that joker" — words that mean nothing to you and everything at her table. She will explain the joke to you. That is part of the gift.
The card is not the small option
If you are buying for someone in her group rather than for her, a card that gets the reference does more work than an object. Players give these to each other — after a win, when someone has been away, when a table loses a member.
A card that says "the table isn't the same without you" is understood instantly by everyone it is meant for, and by nobody else. That is the nicest thing a gift can do.
One practical note
If you want the real insider move: ask her what her group does about the new card in April. Do not try to understand the answer. Just ask.
She will talk for ten minutes and be delighted, and you will have given her something better than anything you could wrap.
For the player who talks about Wednesday:
Questions people ask
Should I buy a mah jongg set as a gift?
Usually not. Most players already have one, often two, and sets are personal — tile weight, case, rack color. One of hers may have belonged to someone who mattered. It is the chef's-knife problem.
What do mah jongg players actually like getting?
Things that use the vocabulary — Crak, Bam, joker, Charleston. They signal that you understood the game is a real part of her life rather than a hobby she dabbles in.
Is a card too small a gift for a player?
No, and players give them to each other constantly — after a win, when someone has been away, when a table loses a member. A card that gets the reference is understood instantly by exactly the right people.