How to Start a Mahjong Program at a Library or Senior Center

To start a mahjong program at a library or senior center, pick one format first: a weekly drop-in for people who already play, a short beginner series, or a lesson with a volunteer or paid teacher. Book a room with tables of four, gather one American Mahjong set per table and current NMJL cards, and cap sign-ups with a waitlist. Then check people in at every session, so you can show who came.

This guide is for the staff who plan programs: librarians, programming coordinators, activities directors and recreation managers. If you are a player looking for a game, browse the club directory or read what mahjong open play is instead.

Why Mahjong Programs Work

Mahjong is played four to a table, seated, for a whole afternoon, so it gets people out of the house and talking. It also works the brain: players plan a hand, track discards and change course as the game moves. The research points the same way, with limits worth knowing:

• A 2020 randomized trial in Frontiers in Neurology randomized 69 older adults with mild cognitive impairment, 56 of whom finished, to play mahjong three times a week for 12 weeks or keep their normal routine. The authors concluded that playing improved executive function, the skills used to plan and decide.
• A 2022 study in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience followed 11,821 adults aged 65 and older for 10 years. People who played cards or mahjong almost every day had a lower risk of dementia than people who rarely or never played (a hazard ratio of 0.63).
• A 2019 study in SSM Population Health found that older adults who often played cards or mahjong were less likely to report loneliness that lasted. The authors wrote that mahjong "may be used as an intervention strategy to prevent and alleviate chronic loneliness among older adults."

All three studied older adults in China, and the two large studies show links, not proof. So your flyer can call the game social and mentally engaging, but shouldn't promise it prevents anything. For more, see is mahjong good for seniors, mahjong and brain health and what the research says about mahjong and loneliness.

Pick a Format

Here are the three common formats, with real programs from pages checked October 18, 2026.

Drop-In Open Play

A drop-in is the lightest lift: you provide a room and a time, and players seat themselves. Albert Wisner Public Library in Warwick, New York, runs "Mahjong @ the Library" every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is free and open to all skill levels. Players with sets are asked to bring them, because the library has only a few to lend.

The Robert Livermore Senior Center in Livermore, California, charges a $2 drop-in fee for afternoon mahjong on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, listed for ages 50 and up. Even its Tuesday beginners' game asks for "basic knowledge of how to play." That is the catch with drop-ins: they don't teach.

A Beginner Series

A short series takes a group from zero to a real game. Montecito Library, part of Santa Barbara Public Library, ran "Learn to Play Mah Jongg for Beginners in Four Easy Lessons" in April 2026. It was limited to 16 people, which is four tables of four, with two experienced instructors and cards and sets provided. The page asked people to "register only if you can attend all four lessons."

Hampton Park Library, part of Forsyth County Public Library in Georgia, runs a free three-week Beginning Mah Jongg course and expects attendance at all three sessions. Its next course meets November 2, 9 and 16, and registration opens October 19, 2026. Lewisboro Library filled its four-week February 2026 session and invited people to email the library to join the waitlist for the next one.

Copy two habits: ask for a commitment to every session, and keep a waitlist for the next series. See also how to run a multi-week mahjong series.

A Lesson With a Volunteer or Paid Teacher

ACC Senior Services says volunteers are often on hand to teach newcomers at its regular sessions, and its first mahjong tournament, on May 21, 2025, drew 48 players. A paid instructor costs more but brings a lesson plan. Rates vary by area, so ask two or three teachers for a quote, and see our guide for mahjong instructors for how teachers price a class.

A good path for a new program: a beginner series first, then a weekly drop-in for the people who finish it.

Budget and Supplies

Sets and cards are the main costs. These prices are from the National Mah Jongg League store, checked October 18, 2026, and are subject to change.

Sets. Plan one set per table, and make sure each is an American Mahjong set with jokers, not a set made for another style of the game. Our guide to choosing a mahjong set explains what to look for, and the Bam Good Time shop sells tiles and accessories.

Donated sets. Ask your community; plenty of families have a set in a closet. Count the tiles and check for the jokers before you use one, because a set with missing pieces stalls a game.

Cards. The League says its cards of standard hands "are changed annually" (NMJL), so last year's card won't do. Decide whether you will lend cards or ask players to bring their own, and say which on the flyer. New to the card? Here is how to read the NMJL card.

Fees. Albert Wisner and Hampton Park are free, and Livermore charges $2 a visit. A small fee can pay for new cards each year.

Finding a Teacher

Start with your own patrons: someone who has played for years may be glad to teach. Beyond that:

• Instructor directory. The Bam Good Time instructor directory lists American Mahjong teachers by state and city, free to browse.
• Lesson listings. The lesson directory shows upcoming classes by state, with dates and teachers, so you can see who already teaches near you.
• A local club. The club directory lists more than 1,600 mahjong clubs. One near you may lend a volunteer, send players to fill your tables, or introduce you to its teacher.

Ask a teacher how many beginners she can handle at once, whether she brings sets and cards, what she charges for a series, and whether she teaches from this year's card. More questions are in how to find a mahjong instructor near you.

Setting Up the Room

• Tables of four. Square tables work best. The League's own table cover is 40 inches square and snaps down to 37 inches (NMJL store), a good guide to table size. Leave room between tables for walkers and wheelchairs.
• Light. Tiles carry small symbols and numbers, so use bright, even light with no window glare.
• Noise. Shuffling tiles is loud. Book a meeting room, not a corner of the reading room.
• A front table. Put check-in, spare cards, loaner sets and the sign-up sheet for your next series by the door.
• Odd numbers. Plan for a table of three, or let players rotate in. Bam Good Time's automatic table assignments, included on every plan, build the seating chart for you.

Registration, Waitlists and Reminders

A capped sign-up with a waitlist keeps a popular program fair. Past one table, a free tool saves staff time. Here is how it works on Bam Good Time, on the web:

• A cap and a waitlist. Set capacity to four times your tables and tick "Enable waitlist when event is full." When someone cancels, the next person waiting moves up automatically and gets an email. In the last three hours before the start, everyone waiting gets an email with a link and the first to claim the seat gets it.
• A whole series in one sign-up. Create an Event Series and tick "Automatically register members for all events," and one sign-up seats a student at every session. A series with a fee can also sell single sessions, or sell by session only, such as a daytime or an evening choice.
• A reminder the day before. "Send reminder email 24 hours before" is on for every new event. You can also email everyone registered, the waitlist, the people who came or the no-shows.
• Flyers and the door. Each event has a sign-up QR code for your flyer and a printable QR poster for checking in at the door.
• Payments. If you charge a fee, players can pay you by Venmo or cash and you mark each person paid. Taking cards online needs the Starter plan ($19 a month).

Every club also gets a free website at yourclub.bamgoodtime.com.

What the Free Plan Covers

The Free plan includes up to 5 events a month and 50 players, with registration, waitlists, check-in and reminders. Each session counts as one event, so one weekly program fits, but a weekly drop-in plus a beginner series in the same month goes past five. That is the time to move to Starter: $19 a month or $200 a year, with 12 events a month and 150 players. Everyone who signs up counts toward the player limit. Past it, people can still sign up, but you can't create new events until you upgrade. See the pricing page.

Making the Program Accessible

• Large cards. The League sells the 2026 card in a large size (6 1/8 by 4 3/4 inches) for $15, beside the standard 5 1/8 by 4 inch card for $14 (NMJL store). Keep a few on hand.
• Seating and signs. Sturdy chairs with arms, tables a wheelchair fits under, and large, plain signs.
• Timing. Daytime sessions suit patrons who don't drive after dark, and a three-hour game needs a break.
• No smartphone needed. Keep a phone or desk sign-up. On Bam Good Time, staff can add a patron to the list from the event page, even one with no email address. If you allow drop-ins, walk-ins can check themselves in by scanning the QR poster, but a brand-new person is asked for a phone number and texted a code first. For a patron without a cell phone, check her in yourself.
• A gentle pace. Keep a separate beginner table with a patient host, and say on the flyer that mistakes are expected.

Counting Attendance for Your Reports

Your director, board or funder will want to know what the program delivered. Decide what to count before the first session: sessions held, total visits (one person at four sessions is four visits), different people served, new people, and how many waited for a seat, which shows demand for another table.

The only reliable way to count who came is to check people in. Hang the QR poster and let players scan in, or check them off on the roster. If you forgot, "Archive Attendees" on the event page marks everyone who signed up as attended, so use it only when you know they all came.

Then pull the numbers from the Analytics page on the web, included on every plan:

• Attendance Ranking lists everyone who came at least once in the dates you pick, for one type of event (such as Open Play or Lessons) or all of them, with how many sessions each person attended. The count at the top is your number of different people, and the Events Attended column adds up to your total visits. It counts only people who were checked in or played a scored game, not sign-ups or no-shows, and downloads as a spreadsheet (CSV).
• The Analytics CSV gives one row per event, with registrations, capacity and how full the session was. A Financial Summary PDF covers revenue, and the dashboard shows new players in the period you choose.

Pair the numbers with a sentence or two from participants, with their permission.

Getting Started

Pick one format, find one teacher and book one room. Run it for a season, count who comes, and let the waitlist tell you when to add a table. When you are ready to take sign-ups online, set up a free club page for your program on Bam Good Time.