Set Your Rack
A Scotch Plains center books mah jongg straight through December
The JCC of Central New Jersey lists four separate mah jongg courses this fall, two for beginners and two for players who already know the game, with the first deadline on September 2.
The JCC of Central New Jersey in Scotch Plains lists four mah jongg courses running from September into December, according to its arts and culture class page. The fall lineup starts with Advanced Beginner Mah Jongg, Strategy and Building Confidence, meeting Wednesdays September 9 and 16 from 10 a.m. to noon, with a second run on October 7 and 14. The page says to register by September 2 for the first one.
The evening beginner course meets Mondays from 7 to 9 p.m., first on September 28 and October 12, 19 and 26, then again on November 9, 16, 23 and 30. A daytime beginner course meets Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon on November 4, 11 and 18 and December 9 and 16, with no class on November 25 or December 2.
The page prices the beginner evening course at $100 for members and $125 for non-members, the daytime beginner course at $125 and $156, and the advanced beginner sessions at $50 and $62.50. It describes the beginner courses as covering the rules of the game as sanctioned by the National Mah Jongg League, and the advanced beginner course as learning when to change your hand and how to tell a strong hand from a weak one.
What stands out is the second rung. Plenty of places teach beginners. Fewer build a course for the player who has finished the beginner class, can hold her own at a table, and still does not know when to abandon a hand.