The Surge
Party invitations show mahjong nights nearly doubling in a year
Invitation-platform data cited by the Boston Globe shows American social mahjong gatherings up 94 percent year over year in 2026.
According to the Boston Globe, the invitation platform Evite reported that American social mahjong events grew 94 percent year over year in 2026. That is more than double the 46 percent increase Evite recorded between 2024 and 2025.
The platform told the Globe that the game has, in its words, moved past the trend phase, a sign that the tile table is settling in as a regular fixture on the social calendar rather than a passing fad.
The figure lines up with other tallies of the American game's growth. Yelp reported mahjong-club searches up 4,467 percent and lesson searches up 819 percent between September 2024 and August 2025, and Bam Good Time's State of American Mahjong 2026 counted 1,026 organized clubs across 51 states and territories, with 98 percent of them playing the American (NMJL) game. The sources differ, but they point the same direction.