My good friend and photo model Muse brought this story to my attention, so now I will share it with you.
But first, some backstory.
As a child, I remember seeing my Grandma Betty and her friends playing a game called Mahjong, which involves colored Chinese tiles and such. I tried learning it, but it’s very complicated. And even when Grandma Betty tried to explain it to me, it went over my head like an airplane. I just know that it’s a game, it’s very competitive, and like contract bridge, Dungeons & Dragons, and spades, I’ll never master it. 😀
That being said, I do understand the history of Mahjong. It comes from China – from the period of the Qing Dynasty – and it is played worldwide.
Recently, Muse alerted me to this website, where someone happened to notice that there is a new “Americanized” set of Mahjong tiles. They look like this.
Wait. Skylight Blue Mahjong tiles? Paris Pink Mahjong tiles? And no Chinese characters or symbols?
Further digging into this quandary revealed this little issue.
Oh, look. These three girls look like they’re true Mahjong aficionados. Like they’re ready to make their own Netflix version of The Queen’s Gambit meets The Joy Luck Club.
But wait. Mahjong sets for over $400? Why, because they’re sky-blue and have pretty pictures on them?
I think we need more context. So let me post, from the original Facebook listing, WHY these Mahjong tiles are both unnecessary and insulting.
All I can say to this is … if I showed those to my Grandma Betty, she’s pat m on the head and tell me to put them away and go get her real Mahjong set. With the Chinese characters and all. 😀
Chuck The Writer 
It might interest you to know that Mahjong isn’t one game any more than ‘cards’ is. In fact our modern playing cards come from the ancient Chinese tiles – albeit greatly simplified and with an infusion of different cultural references.
What to make of this latest … aberration …
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