When I was a kid growing up, I knew that my aunts played Mah Jongg and my Uncles and my Dad played cards, mostly poker. My Mom didn’t play either one – her reason, if she needed one, was that she worked – she was a high school biology teacher – and didn’t have time for either cards or Mah Jongg!
So needless to say, I never had the opportunity to learn Mah Jongg – I too, had a demanding job which took up nearly all of my time and the time I did have, I chose to spend hanging out and traveling with my husband. None of my friends or coworkers played cards or Mah Jongg either.
But then – I retired from work and a good many years later found myself living alone as a widow. Sooooo – I proceeded to heed the advice of my Florida cousins and went out to learn to play Mah Jongg and Canasta, at nearly the same time!
Mah Jongg was a whole lot more intricate than I’d imagined – lots and lots of rules to remember. Some rules seemed to be needlessly complex – the Charleston rules eg. and why is the white dragon (which doesn’t look like a dragon) have to have another name, “Soap”? Also, I can’t imagine being able to play rapidly like an experienced player does – I seem to require lots of time to assess which category and line on the card, I’m going to play.
Canasta has its own set of seemingly superfluous rules – are 7’s good to hold or good to discard? Well, it depends – on a thousand other things.
I can’t say that I’m at the point where I enjoy either game yet but I will say I’m drawn to them – and intend to keep learning and playing each of them!!
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