I tend to lose at Mahjong. I was introduced to this game by some good university friends who decided that it was about time I shun my inhibitions of time-wasting and mental anguish. They decided to teach me to play without the 'teaching fees'. This means we went through the rounds without any monetary wins or losses, just affirmations of the right moves or bad decisions. Ego boost or ego crash. But the illicit pleasures of gambling crept in soon enough, at low values of course. In fact, the current bunch of like-minded tile-tackling addicts I play with have not expressed any dire need to increase the 20-40 cents 5-double tolerance. Not yet.
Competition aside, it's the peripheral activities that make playing the game so enjoyable. The conversation, the food, the drink, and even TV form part of the distractions to concentration. Welcome distractions, otherwise one gets too caught up in the supreme gambling fetish versus participation in the social buzz. The conversations go on about anything and everything. That is what I believe is the hook. Winning is great and losing sucks but being with friends, telling stories and random eating and drinking are the proverbial icing on the cake.
