(My 50th post… should I celebrate?)

The kids really enjoy when we’re all together and the mahjong tiles come out. The little one is getting into it. I’m sure generations of my husband’s family have played and handed down the rules, etc. I never quite understood the game as played by Filipinos, but when I watched and learned from my husband, it became much simpler. The Chinese (family) rules are much more complex than the Filipino version. Don’t ask about Hong Kong style. I hear it’s a whole other level.

Personally, I haven’t played in a while, and I still can’t score my own points. I’m usually the one at the table saying, “Just tell me how many points I have… I trust you.” Basically, I’m intimidated to play with my in-laws and I was never really up on strategy games either. I get stressed out especially when someone’s standing behind you saying, “Oh, why did you pick that tile?” or “Oh, don’t give up that tile…” Worse than backseat drivers.

They play on a homemade, custom table top that goes over a regular card table: Plywood, 1x material, felt and window screening. Tiles move around like butter. My family borrowed it and really liked it. So, Husband got material from a friend, who in turn pre-cut and routed all the material for us. Husband took friend out for breakfast.

Here’s the new table top for my aunt and uncle. I think the red felt behind the screen material is great!

The backside of the table top is much neater than ours, of course, this is the 3rd one my husband has made with our soon-to-be brother-in-law. Lightweight staple gun with staples less than 1/2″ does the trick.

Close up of fine “Chinese craftsmanship”… tiles don’t fall off the table because of the frame.

Could this be a “cottage industry” sort of product? How much would mahjong players be willing to pay for this?