The first written account of Mahjong in a language other than chinese was by an American anthropologist by the name of Stewart Culin in 1895. By 1910, there were several written accounts of mahjong also in French and Japanese. In 1920, the first ever American brand of the game was introduced and first became successful in New York. It was only until 1920 in which a simplified book detailing the rules of mahjong was written.
It was a great success in America in the 1920′s and was embraced prompting several names such as “Pung Chow” and “The Game of Thousand Intelligence.” Dedicated mahjong nights involved dressing rooms to simulate the style of Chinese decor. There were even several hit songs written and recorded during this mahjong fad, most notablty “Since Ma is Playing Mah Jong” written by Eddie Cantor.
By the 1930′s the mahjong craze had grown and many revisions of the rules were rising so in 1937, a standardization came with the formation of the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL). They released the first official American mahjong rulebook, “Maajh: The American Version of the Ancient Chinese Game.”
In 1977, British author Alan D. Millington revived the Chinese game of the 1920′s in a book “The Complete Book of Mah-jongg” which includes formal rules set for the game and is considered by many players in Western countries to be authoritative.
In recent years, The American Mah Jongg Assocation was formed which currently hosts tournaments across all of North America. Main events have taken place in signature places such as Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
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