Mahjong is a Chinese table game. Four people usually sit around a table and take turns drawing and throwing down small tiles — little bricks of bone or ivory in old sets, plastic now — to make matching groups, a bit like cards mixed with dominoes. In Chinese families it is a social game, often loud, often played at New Year or at gatherings, and sometimes for money, which is why some people treat it as a bit naughty. When a player completes a winning hand, they may shout the name of the game, the way card players shout “gin.” In English the spelling wobbles: mahjong, mah-jong, mahjongg. They are the same game. You do not need to know Chinese to play, but the culture around it is Chinese. Though actually the older Chinese name is “sparrow”; the tiles’ click was likened to birds, and that nickname stuck before the name 麻將 became the usual one.