Naperville Magazine Feature - Jan 2026

Mahjong is really everywhere these days and definitley exploding here in the western Chicago suburbs, and I'm so grateful to play a part in it! This game truly brings people together in the most joy filled, wholesome way and I was delighted to be interviewed by Lisa Arnett (thank you Lisa!) as part of the "Learn Something New" article for the Jan 2026 issue of Naperville Magazine. I am tickled to be featured, but I am especially filled with joy that mahjong is spreading to so many social circles and bringing people together through play. Read the article on the Naperville magazine site here. (Or read the excerpt below.)

From Naperville Magazine Jan 2026 "Learn Something New" article by Lisa Arnett:

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Mahjong is having a moment. Whether it's Meghan Markle playing with friends on her Netflix show or social media stars Kim and Penn Holderness singing about it to the tune of Sisqo's "The Thong Song," the game is everywhere you look.

One of the instructors teaching this complex and addictive game to west-suburban newbies is Geneva resident Lisa Oleson of Blue Tiger Mahj Club (formerly called the Mahjong Guild). Her Mahj 101 classes ($75 to $100, bluetigermahjclub.com) hosted at local venues such as Harvey's Tales in Geneva, Park & Oak in Glen Ellyn, and Tierra Distilling Co. in Clarendon Hills consistently sell out, and she's booked up months in advance for private lessons.

The tile-based game dates back to 19th-century China and now has dozens of variations, including Hong Kong-style mahjong, riichi mahjong, and American mahjong. While living as an American expat in Singapore, Oleson learned to play Singaporean mahjong. "It was a lovely way to connect with the culture and also grow my friendship circle in a new place where I didn't know anyone," she says.

When she returned to the States, Oleson discovered American mahjong and started teaching family members and friends. "When mahjong first came to the U.S., it was a translation of the chinese game and players started to make their own house rules," she says. The game became popular in Jewish communities, and in 1937, a group of Jewish women founded the National Mah Jongg League in New York City to standardize rules for the Americanized version of the game. What makes American mahjong different from other variants is the use of NMJL's card, which details what groupings of tiles (called hands, like in a card game) players can assemble to win. With the patience and enthusiasm of a kindergarten teacher (her bachelor's degree is in elementary education), Oleson teaches the vocabulary and rules of American mahjong and helps decode the NMJL card, which can be dizzying and daunting for newcomers.

"I think we're seeing a renaissance of [American mahjong} right now for a mulititutde of reasons," Oleson says. "We are all discovering that it's worthwhile to spend quality time with one another and get off of our devices and focus our brain on something that's challenging...You really have to be present while you're playing the game; you can't be surfing on your phone." To give her students more opportunities to play, Oleson is starting a weekly social league in 2026 [...] at The Cottage in Wheaton. If it's well attended, she hopes to continue it seasonally.

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