The Surge
In the Vail valley, one player's game grew into two hundred
A local paper follows a mountain-town mah jongg group from a table of three to a roster of roughly 200 players spread across four towns.
The Vail Daily reported on a growing American mah jongg community in the Colorado mountains, following Dana Dance, who started with a handful of players and now counts about 200 people as part of Vail Mah Jongg, according to the report.
The paper describes American play specifically, noting that players match the pattern published on the National Mah Jongg League card, which the article calls the official governing organization of American mah jongg.
Per the article, games run across several valley venues, including Apres Cafe in East Vail, Squash Blossom in Vail Village, Riverwalk Theater in Edwards, and The Collective on Second in Eagle, with Squash Blossom hosting a game each week. Players find upcoming games through the group's social account.
It is a familiar shape in this year's coverage. A game spreads through a town by way of one person who keeps setting the table, and the venues follow.