There’s a class at Cooper YMCA that you won’t find on the group exercise schedule. On Tuesday mornings at 9:30, Marcia and others teach Mah Jongg (also spelled mahjong) in the lobby. There's no dumbbells, mats, or music. Just colored tiles, smaller than a standard domino, painted in suits of bams (bamboo), craks (characters), and dots (circles).
The 19th-century Chinese tile game has exploded in popularity globally. At the start of 2026, Yelp reported searches for “mahjong clubs” were up 4,467% and “mahjong lessons” were up 819%.
Marcia, a WaterFit Combo instructor at Cooper for 16 years, first saw the game played in movies. She'd been looking for an activity that would keep her mind active, and bridge hadn’t captured her interest.
After learning how to play Mah Jongg through a Southeast Community College class, Marcia started to play weekly with her WaterFit Combo peers.
The part-strategy, part-luck, part-skill game is as much about building a wall with tiles as it is about building a community.
While Marcia, Connie, Pam, Pat, and Kat played, a woman walking by paused.
“I recognize you! Do you play around town some?” she asked one of the women.
A Y member on her way to work out stood over Pat’s shoulder to see how her friend was faring. Pat would go on to win the final game.
As the women slid their tiles into bags at the end, Kat, who had just learned how to play that morning, reflected on her first Mah Jongg class: "Oh, guys this was so much fun!”
We love the member-created groups that form at the Y! Reach out to your branch to learn about existing groups like Mah Jongg or to start your own!