How to Host a Mahjong Night at a Bar or Restaurant

To host a mahjong night at a bar or restaurant, pick one format (open play, a beginner lesson or a tournament), set aside tables for four, and decide up front who brings the tile sets and cards. Then choose how the money works: a ticket that includes food or a drink, a free game where players buy food and drinks, or a fee to a partner club while the venue keeps what it sells. Take sign-ups from one link so you know how many tables to set.

This guide is for hosts: owners and managers of bars, breweries, cafes and restaurants, and the organizers who run nights at them. The examples come from venues' and clubs' own event pages, checked on October 18, 2026.

Looking for a game to play, not one to host? Search the club directory, which lists more than 1,600 clubs, or read what mahjong open play is and how to find a drop-in game.

Why Venues Host Mahjong Nights

We know of no study of what a mahjong night earns a venue. The event pages do show the deal:

• The group signs up ahead. Main's Treat Coffeehouse in Romeo, Michigan asks for registration "so we can ensure we have enough seating and table space for everyone attending."
• The venue sells food and drink while people play. The same page asks guests "to support our local host business by purchasing food and beverages during the event so we can keep these events free for you!"
• Players stay a while. The nights in this guide run two to three hours, and a tournament can fill an afternoon.

Pick a Format

Choose one for the first night. A beginner class and open play need different hosts.

Open Play or a Social Night

Open play is for people who already know how to play. The host groups them into tables of four and they play casual games. Sparrow Mahjong Club's open play at Open Tap in Charlotte, North Carolina says "this is not a lesson" and points beginners to a 101 class. A social night adds a little structure: GoatLab Brewery's "Mahjong Social with Prizes" plays four games, rotates players between tables and gives door prizes.

On Bam Good Time, post it as an Open Play event ("Casual play session, anyone can join") or a Social Event ("Game night, social, or custom event").

A Beginner Lesson Night

New players need a teacher. Green Dragon Mahjong Club ran a "Tiles & Taps" beginner class at Tailwinds Brewing Company in Union Grove, Wisconsin for $35, including instruction, "1 beverage (beer, wine, cider, or soda)" and "All materials provided."

To find a teacher, browse our instructor directory and lesson listings. On Bam Good Time, post it as a Lesson event.

A Tournament Night

A tournament keeps score across rounds and ends with a winner. Sparrow's 2nd Annual Bam-Boo Tournament at The Auto Pour in Charlotte runs "Three rounds, three games each" from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a Sunday, with a cash prize for first place and "A light lunch is provided." It needs a director who knows the rules; see our tournament guide. On Bam Good Time, tournaments with rounds, seating and live standings are on Pro at $49 a month, and anyone can list a tournament free.

Tables, Light and Noise

• One table seats four, one player on each side. Cosco, a card-table maker, sells a 34-inch square card table and describes its 36-inch XL table as having "12% more surface area than a traditional card table." Each player needs room for a rack and tiles, with the discards in the middle, so bigger is more comfortable.
• Cap sign-ups at four per table. Eight tables seat 32. Keep a spare table for walk-ins or a table of three.
• Light the tables well. Tiles are small, and players read a card all night.
• Keep the music down. Players name each tile they discard, so the table has to hear. A felt mat on each table softens the noise of shuffling.

Sets and Cards: Who Brings Them

Each table needs one complete American Mahjong set of 152 tiles, with racks. Each player needs the current NMJL card, and a new one comes out every spring. Real nights split it three ways:

• The host supplies sets. Open Tap: "Full table setup is provided (tiles, racks, and mats) but you must bring your own NMJL card." Main's Treat: "Sets will be provided."
• The host lends cards to newcomers. GoatLab: "2026 cards provided for those who do not have a card yet."
• Players bring their own card. The Bam-Boo Tournament says "Bring your 2026 NMJL card."

Say which on the listing. On Bam Good Time, add the sign-up question "Tile capable (can bring tiles?)". When you seat tables, Auto-fill tile bringers picks one player at each table who said yes. If she has notifications on, she gets "You're bringing tiles!" with a tap to confirm. That works on the web and in the iPhone and Mac apps, on every plan. If the venue wants sets of its own, our shop sells American Mahjong sets, mats and racks.

How to Price a Mahjong Night

Five real listings, checked October 18, 2026, before booking fees:

On Bam Good Time, every plan, including Free, takes sign-ups and tracks who paid by Venmo or cash. Card payments online start on Starter at $19 a month, paid into your own Stripe account with no markup on Stripe's fee. To sell two tickets on one event, the way Open Tap has a member ticket and a regular one, turn on Add a second price and name both. That works on the web and in the Mac and iPhone apps, on any plan.

Partner With a Local Club or Instructor

Four of these five nights are a club running the game at someone else's venue. The club brings the players, the know-how and often the sets. The venue brings the tables, the food, the drinks and the staff. Find a partner in the club directory, the instructor directory or the lesson listings.

Agree in writing on who sells tickets and keeps which money, who supplies sets and cards, and what happens if few people sign up. If the club takes card payments (Starter), its Payment Ledger on the web lists every payment and what Stripe settled, and downloads as a CSV for settling up.

Promote the Night

• One link and one QR code. Every published event on Bam Good Time has a Copy Link button, and on the web Sign-up QR downloads a code that opens the sign-up page, for flyers and table tents.
• Put it on the venue's website. Embed on Your Website, in Settings on the web, gives you event cards, a list or a calendar to paste in, on every plan.
• Track what works. A discount code worth 0 is tracking-only: "It takes nothing off and still counts who used it." Give the venue's newsletter one code and the club's email list another, and the roster download shows which code each person used.

Run the Night

• Check people in at the door. Print the QR Poster from the event page (on the web and in the Mac app, or QR Check-In Poster on iPhone). Players scan it with their phone camera and check in, no app needed. With Allow drop-ins on, a walk-in can check in by scanning without signing up first; a brand-new player confirms a phone number with a texted code. You can also add a walk-in from the live check-in screen.
• Seat the tables. Generate Tables seats everyone at tables of four on every plan: mixed by skill, grouped by skill, by friends, or at random. AI seating, which takes requests in plain English, is on Starter. Once you publish seating, a player who checks in by QR sees her table and tablemates.
• Handle odd numbers. Players rotate sitting out, or one table plays three-handed.
• Order before play. Main's Treat asks players to "arrive a little early to grab a coffee, snack, or dinner and get settled before play begins."

Make It a Regular Night

Run it on the same night at the same time. Sparrow's open play at Open Tap is every Tuesday at 7 p.m. A fixed night is one players plan around and the venue can staff. More in how to grow a mahjong event.

On Bam Good Time's website, the schedule step's pattern helper picks recurring dates in one go. The free plan covers 5 events a month, enough for a weekly night; Starter covers 12 and Pro is unlimited.

Turn on Enable waitlist when event is full. When someone cancels, the next person moves up on their own. In the last few hours before the start (three by default, set per event), the seat is offered to the whole waitlist to claim instead. See our waitlist guide.

The club owner can also print one permanent Door QR from Settings on the web. On any day, it takes a scanner to that day's event check-in, and if two things are running, it asks which one.

Let Players Book Tables Themselves

For venues that want players to reserve tables themselves, there is venue mode, on Pro at $49 a month, for up to 20 tables. Players book seats or whole tables from Reserve a Table on the club's website or in the iPhone and Mac apps. On the web, the venue can also set:

• Day-of-week prices, with optional start and end dates, so a promotion stops on its own
• Members-only times, if you sell memberships, while staff can still seat anyone at the desk
• Meal options players can add when they book a seat paid by card

Venues that let players book are listed on Find a Table.

What Each Plan Covers

The pricing page has the full list.

Host Your First Night

Pick a format, find a partner if you need one, and put the first date on the calendar. Start a free club on Bam Good Time to take sign-ups, check players in and seat the tables.