Inflation Hits the Mah Jongg Card

For Christmas Carter and Russ made me Mah Jongg business Cards. They secretly conspired trying to figure out what my title should be. Mah Jongg teacher was not enough for them. Instead they deemed me Mah Jongg Sage. It’s a heady title. Carter out a symbol of the One Dot on the back. So glad she didn’t use a Joker. They didn’t arrive in time for Christmas, but they gave me the mock-up.

The cards arrived today right along with the National Mah Jongg League’s yearly newsletter. The BIG NEWS from NMJL was hidden in paragraph five of the president’s letter, “the PRICE Increase of the card.” This year’s large print Mah Jongg card is $10. It has been ten dollars for a while, so the NMJL was due for more dough. The card did not go up $1 as it has in the past. Not $2, which would have been an understandable increase. No the price went up $5! That is a fifty percent increase.

I am not sure Ruth (the now deceased, long time President) would have gone for 50%. Her son Larry is in charge now.

I can make an argument that even $15 is not a hardship to play the game we love so much. The ACBL, governing body of duplicate bridge charges $40 a year to be a member and you pay dearly to play every game to accrue points that are worthless, except for bragging rights. At least at Chuck’s Cheese you get tickets when you win to turn in for a yo-yo.

There it is, Mah Jongg will not suffer due to this price increase, but I will give you one of my Mah Jongg Business cards for free.

This is just a reminder to go head and order your 2023 cards now. They won’t be mailed until the very end of March, but the sooner you order the greater your chance of getting your new card in time to play it on April 1, the start of the new Mah Jongg year.