A RIVAL OF BRIDGE.

Waikato Times, Volume 97, Issue 15230, 5 May 1923, Page 3

A RIVAL OF BRIDGE.

LONDON'S 2,000-YEARS-OLD GAME. London is in the grip of a new game which has already taken so great a hold in the United Slates as largely to supplant the playing of bridge. "Mah.longs," ;is it is called, is of Chinese ■origin, and has been the rage in China for 2,000 years. Its introduction into England has been brought about by visitors to tho East. "Mah-Jongg" is played with 136 pieces similar to dominoes. They are made from bamboo faced with bone. The face of each "title" is engraved in colours with Chinese idiographs. To come unawares on a party or "Mah-Jongg" enthusiasts is at first disconcerting. No sound is audible except the occasional muttering of "Pung," Gong," or "Chow," as the players claim their scores. After a game arguments as to what a player should have done are varied from the monotony of "If only you'd played the six of spades," etc., by heated reference to "the three of Tiao," "the eight of Tung," and why "East Wind" should have played his "Red Dragon."