Mah jong’ can be translated from Chinese as ‘clattering sparrow’, ‘flax sparrow’ or possibly as ‘hemp bird’. Tom Sloper suggest that this is due to the fact that the tiles when shuffled make a melodious noise reminiscent of the noise of numerous sparrows squabbling over scattered food crumbs..

Lifting the ban on the commoner’s right to play mahjong enabled the game to spread to various countries around the world, including England and Australia. Its invasion into the United States did not occur until 1920. Joseph P. Babcock, an American resident of Shanghai, was the person responsible for introducing mahjong to the United States. He coined and copyrighted the term “mah-jongg,” along with a simplified set of rules which he put together. To promote the game in the U.S., Babcock also gave English translations to the tiles and added index letters and numbers familiar to card players. Babcock was also responsible for the first few mahjong sets ever to be imported into the U.S. 7. By 1923, mahjong’s popularity was growing at a tremendously rapid rate. Mahjong sets were being shipped into the U.S. by the thousands and stood sixth in value in the list of exports from Shanghai. Standing at a total value of $1,505,000 (1923), mahjong sets were only surpassed by exports of silks, laces, skins, eggs and tea. 8 The popularity was so immense that one American factory had on file unfilled orders for thousands of mahjong sets. In one of New York’s largest sporting goods store, a man was sent to China with a bag of gold and instructions to buy every set of mahjong he could get his hands on. Most peculiar of all, perhaps, was that the Department of Commerce reported that large quantities of bone were being exported from Kansas City and Chicago to China in order to turn out more sets of mahjong. 9

By the late 1920’s the popularity of mahjong seemed to taper off. Its popularity faded away almost as quickly as it came, leaving importers with an estimated two million dollars of unsalable mahjong sets. 10 For many, mahjong was just another fad in America’s long list of leisure fads. However, for a group of enthusiasts, this game became a permanent part of their lives, for they continued to play the game in hopes of rejuvenating the craze. The depression of the 1930’s sparked the revival of many table games, card games and board games. Among them was no other than mahjong. Experts speculated that the resurgence of certain games came about because many were bored with movies, concerts and radio. People desired the mental agility that games of the past had to offer. 11 If a mental challenge was what people wanted, mahjong was definitely the game, for it was often called the “game of a hundred intelligences” simply because it required much concentration. 12 Although the game never reached its initial popularity, mahjong was revived after 1935. Once again, the game was among the many leisure activities that America engaged in. In fact, to this very day, mahjong is still being played. There are many national tournaments being played around the country.

If you think “T’ang” is an orange drink and “Zhou” is where animals are put on display, you obviously aren’t too familiar with Ancient China. No worries - play a few rounds of Mahjong Escape , and while you won’t turn into Confucius overnight, you’ll learn a thing or two about Chinese history and be entertained with some relaxing game-play at the same time. Your adventure begins in 2000 B.C. as you travel through 11 Dynasties to unlock 4000 years of priceless treasures, beautiful scenery and hundreds of Chinese proverbs to make you wiser. The name of the game is Mahjong, also known as Shanghai or Taipei, the ancient tile-matching pastime where you’re presented with a board of 144 tiles and must correctly match and remove two identical tiles from a pile, but only the ones on the top and sides of the pile are available to the player. The goal is to clear the screen entirely, but it’s not as easy as it seems — there is often more than one possible match per tile design; choose the wrong one and the tiles underneath may become inaccessible.

Some tiles can be paired if they’re related instead of identical, such as matching two out of the four different kinds of flowers (e.g. orchids and plum) or seasons (e.g. winter and spring). In the main Dynasty Adventure mode, players move onto the next board once two magic gold tiles are found and matched. A map screen shows players traveling through the various Dynasties, beginning with Xia in 2000 B.C. and ending off with Qing in the 20th century. New background art is unlocked with each of the 11 Dynasties.One of the more unique and interesting features in Mahjong Escape is the introduction of power-ups, special tiles that perform a specific function. The first one you’ll encounter is a key that opens a locked tiles on the board. Later on, players will see joker tiles that can be used with any other tile on the board and magnetic tiles that can pull another tile towards it in order to make a match.Another unique feature in the game is unlocking ancient Chinese wisdom after completing each of the 50-odd boards (roughly five per Dynasty). Examples include “A smile will gain you ten more years of life,” “Wherever you go, go with all your heart” and “If you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else.” These proverbs fit the relaxing game-play and tranquil Chinese music.

The second Mahjong Escape mode is Classic, which lets players choose from one of 126 different board layouts, such as a cat, diamond, spider, key or 3-D cube. Regardless of the mode chosen, you can choose from one of three difficulty levels, plus you can decide if you want the game to reveal which tiles can be paired up on the board or not (note: Mahjong is tougher when you can’t see these tiles highlighted!). Players can also choose from one of six tile sets. Aside from the fact there are dozens - nay, hundreds - of Mahjong games on the market, there’s not much to complain about with Mahjong Escape ; the game offers two fun modes, beautiful graphics and music, and thought-provoking Chinese proverbs.Perhaps what’s missing is some information on each of the Dynasties, such as a splash screen with some interesting facts. Another idea: maybe the game’s sequel can reward good players with the ability to unlock additional tile sets, ancient wisdom or new tile layouts (e.g. “Good job! You just unlocked the “Peacock” board in Classic mode”).