Take your Mahj Game to the Next Level!

We hope that you've found our learning resources useful, in particular our Complete Guide to American Mahjong Strategy. We've also curated a list of books, tutorials and videos to help you develop a solid grounding in the fundamentals of Mah Jongg.

But this is only a first step. Now is the time to apply the knowledge you've gained by practicing with other players. After all, you would never think, for example, that just reading a book on tennis would suddenly enable you to be a great player. It takes practice, practice and more practice.

If you're new to the game, look for people in your area to play with on a regular basis. Even if you already have a small circle of friends you play with periodically, we would encourage you to expand that circle and regularly play with different people. In all sports or mental games (such as chess), coaches will tell you that it's the variety of playing partners and not just the sheer number of games played that will raise one's game dramatically. Indeed, each player has a different style and game strategy, but if you always play with the same group of people, you will get used to their ways and your game will stagnate. Only by practicing with a variety of players will you develop a well-rounded game.

So, we encourage you to find other Mah Jongg players in your area and to expand your group, if you already have one. The bigger the group the more diversity there will be and the more opportunity you'll have to grow and take your skills to the next level.

I Love Mahj was created to foster this sense of community and help you to connect with other players in your area. You can find existing groups by searching on the site. If there is no existing group in your area, we suggest you do one of the following:

• Click "Let me know when a group is created in this area". You will then be notified when someone creates a group near you. This will also register your interest and people who search the same area will be aware that other players are interested in creating a group.
• Start a group. Why not be the first one to create a group in your area? You can then recruit friends to join your group and other players in your area will be able to find you too. You may also keep your group private if you wish, so that new players join the group on an invitation-only basis. The choice is yours.

When meeting in person is not an option (either because there are no other players near you or a pandemic is keeping us isolated), online games can be a great way to practice and play with a variety of people. Check out our guide to online Mahjong tools

Most of the services on the I Love Mahj website are completely free of charge. If you choose to start a group, you'll receive a free 2-week trial to explore the features of this part of the website, which should be more than enough time to get a group up and running. After that, the subscription is just $1/month, which gives you access to an unlimited number of groups. Take your Mahj game to the next level and make new friends along the way!