Shayne Moore is making mahjong accessible for all

When Shayne Moore was asked to lead Preston Hollow Women’s mahjong group, her immediate response was “No!” Now, she’s happy she changed her mind.

Moore and her husband moved to Preston Hollow about three years ago. They had spent 28 years of marriage in Moore’s hometown in Chicago but decided to move to her husband’s hometown in Preston Hollow after COVID. Moore and her husband are empty nesters, so moving to a new but familiar place with family ties was a much welcomed change. Soon after their move, Moore learned about Preston Hollow’s mahjong group from a neighbor.

“My neighbor was so sweet,” Moore says. “She told me I had to join this group, and it was the best thing I did. I did not know how to play mahjong, I only learned three years ago.”

Soon after she joined the group, she met the vice president of Preston Hollow special interest groups, Ginger Bodino. Bodino asked Moore if she’d like to lead the club, to which Moore said no. The following week while playing mahjong, Bodino asked her to reconsider, and Moore said, “OK, fine.”

“I took it on with a different kind of vision and mission for it,” Moore says. “A lot of women see mahjong as kind of this mysterious elusive thing like you need a secret handshake to learn it and get into the group. When I took it on, I had the vision for it to be open play for any women in the club.”

Moore opened up her home to any women who were interested in learning, and the ladies play every Monday from 1 to 3 p.m. Moore has six tables available, women sign up online and reserve their spot on a first come, first served basis. Moore even teaches classes twice a year for free.

“It’s literally a card game with suits, just like a deck of cards with hands, just like poker or Yahtzee. I say, ‘Ladies, you can do this,’ and they’re playing within the first two hours of talking through the tiles and just getting the lay of the land.”

Mahjong is by far one of PHWC‘s most popular special interest groups with an email list with over 180 women. A lot of women have even started their own groups.

“I’m not against people wanting to get together with their special girlfriends,” Moore says. “We have a lot of groups that just meet by themselves, but then we do a Christmas party or we do a mahjong party in the fall. It’s really fun! We all dress up, get together and there’s big prizes.”

Moore hosted a “Mimosas and Mahjong” party in April to celebrate the new mahjong card that comes out every year. She believes the group is special because it’s both social and challenging.

“Personally, I don’t drink and do mahjong,” Moore says. “You have to concentrate on what you’re doing. People say it’s 50% luck and 50% strategy.”

Moore also believes the club can be a lifeline for some women. Most members of the club are older, they have storied histories and have weathered big changes. Some are retired from their careers and have lost their spouses, so these opportunities to connect are crucial.

Moore loves to see the women who have never played finally crack the game.

“It’s intellectually stimulating, and it’s just fun,” Moore says. “Especially if you’re a gamer and you love games. To me, it’s the best game. I’ve never really been into gin or bridge, but when I got introduced to mahjong, I was like, ‘OK, I get it now.’”

In the two years Moore has been hosting the game she’s never had the same table of women.

“I never know who’s gonna sit down at that table with me, and I always enjoy whoever’s there,” Moore says. “I think that female relationships and camaraderie are so important. I get so much wisdom from these women. I love hearing them talk about their lives. Women will tell their story sitting around a mahjong table. You’ll hear about the divorces, the kids in trouble, the grandbabies being born. It’s like an old timey sewing circle.”