With its neon lights and mirrored ceilings,
886, a Taiwanese restaurant in New York's East Village,
has the vibe of a nightclub.
But on a recent Wednesday night, you could hear shouts of "Pong!" and "Chow!" rather than thudding beats.
Dozens of young people descended on the hip eatery
to enjoy black-pepper beef, sesame noodles—and a few rounds of mahjong.
As they tried to assemble a winning hand by drawing and discarding tiles,
players were overlooked by a huge mural of Taiwanese celebrities immersed in the game.
Mahjong has long been a popular pastime among older generations of Asians and American women.
But now it is attracting a young crowd, too.
Global attendance at mahjong events has more than tripled in the past year,
according to Eventbrite, a ticketing platform.
Regular events are held in Berlin, Helsinki, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Sydney.
Some, such as the event at 886, are intimate; others attract as many as 800 people.
Naturally these new fans are spreading the word online.
There are hundreds of mahjong tutorials on YouTube.
There has been a 70% surge in mahjong content on TikTok in the past year:
over 100,000 posts now talk about it.
Some share videos extolling the pleasures of playing with friends
("This & three hours of uninterrupted yapping")