A Monday night club brings American Mahjong to the King Road library in Toledo

A public library is one of the kindest places to meet a new game. Nobody is selling anything, the chairs are free, and the person at the next table is usually as curious as you are. On Monday, November 16, the King Road branch of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library will put that idea to work for American Mahjong.

The library's [event listing](http://events.toledolibrary.org/event/16351845) describes a Mahjong Club for Adults, for players 18 and older, running from 6 to 8 in the evening in Meeting Rooms A and B at 3900 King Road. The listing says the club is a place to gather, learn and play American Mahjong whatever your skill.

Who is teaching

The evening is hosted by Cordial Rivalry, a small Toledo group that teaches classic table games. According to the library's listing, instructors from Cordial Rivalry will be on hand to help new players, and the evening will touch on the history of the game, how to tell the tiles apart and how to read the card.

Those are the same three subjects Cordial Rivalry has taught before. Its ticket page for an earlier beginner class, held in September at The Casual Pint on Executive Parkway, laid out a two class course at $15 a class, with the promise that a student should be ready to play on her own by the end of the second. The same page says the group tries to travel around the Greater Toledo area to keep its classes easy to reach.

A library room is a natural next stop on that route. The listing gives the room a capacity of 75, which leaves space for a good many tables of four.

“Gather, learn, and play American Mahjong, regardless of skill level.”Toledo Lucas County Public Library event listing

What to know before you go

The library's listing does not name a price or say whether players must register ahead, and it does not say whether sets and cards will be supplied. It shows a single date, so a reader hoping for a regular night should ask whether more evenings will follow. The King Road branch can be reached at 419.259.5380.

The evening is held in the branch's meeting rooms, and those rooms are the library's own. That matters for a newcomer: there is no bar tab, no membership and nothing to buy before you learn whether you like the game.

OOTT is not affiliated with Cordial Rivalry or the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, and does not sell mahjong sets.

Prim's view

This is Prim's opinion. The first evening at a table is the one that decides whether a person becomes a player. A free room, a patient teacher and a few friendly strangers make that evening far more likely to end with a smile and a plan to come back.

Prim likes, too, that the library has asked teachers into the room rather than leaving new players to puzzle over a card on their own. Reading the card is where most beginners lose heart, and a kind guide at the elbow makes all the difference.

If you are in Toledo and have been watching the game from a distance, Monday evening is your invitation. Call the branch first, bring a friend, and leave room in your week for a second visit.