BLUE SPRINGS, MO — KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Grain Valley. Share your story idea with Claire.
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A centuries-old Chinese tabletop game has surged in popularity, with mahjong gaining a nearly 4,500% increase in searches, according to Yelp.
Now, the game has found new life among new players, including in eastern Jackson County.
—Watch: New Jackson County business focuses on teaching mahjong game—
Bam Bird Social opened in Blue Springs at the start of October. While mahjong pop-ups and clubs are happening across the metro, the business is one of just two places focused on learning and playing the game anytime.
The 19th-century Chinese tabletop game has boomed back into popularity after coming to America in the 1920s.
That virility is what led Deb Totten and her daughter-in-law, Sami Totten, to open the Blue Springs studio dedicated to gathering, learning and playing.
"We saw the opportunity that there was nothing like that on the eastern side of Jackson County, so we thought it would be perfect opportunity to bring some fun into Blue Springs," Sami Totten said.
Mahjong is not as simple to pick up as maybe Yahtzee is — many compare it to rummy. The game requires four people to pick through 152 tiles (if you're playing with an America set) to create matching sets and pairs, with over a thousand combinations possible.
"It is a strategy game made up of these tiles, and it's kind of in a simple way is kind of making order out of chaos," Sami Totten said.
She found herself pulled to the game by its aesthetic looks.
The chaos is what attracted Deb Totten and her friends — and what the pair expects to bring more people to the table.
"Using your brain, you know. And a lot of a lot of women that are my age that we're worried about using our brain enough and things like that. So it's very good for your cognitive skills," Deb Totten said.
Bam Bird's name comes from a mahjong tile, with mahjong meaning "sparrow" because of the comparitive sound of the clinking tiles.
The studio offers lessons, various ways to show up and play, and sets for people to use, because it can be expensive to start your own table.
"We just hope to have like a sense of community here, where people can can meet other people that want to play mahjong, meet new friends, and just keep coming back for fun," Sami Totten said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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