Woman's Club plays benefit tournament

FALLBROOK – Profits have been tallied for the Fallbrook Woman’s Club’s mahjong tournament last month and the $1,500 raised will directly benefit various charities and scholarships that the club supports. Seventy-two women paid $15 for the event that included lunch. Various prizes were awarded to the high scorers in the tournament, and the lowest scorer also received a prize.

Mahjong is a somewhat complicated game that originated in China and is commonly played by four players. Similar to the card game rummy, mahjong requires skill, strategy and a bit of luck.

It’s played with a set of 136 tiles, each adorned with Chinese characters and symbols. Players begin with 13 tiles, and then pick up – or draw – new tiles and discard their unwanted ones. The object is to set one’s hand into a winning combination of groups called Pungs, Kongs and Chows before one’s opponents. Scores are then tallied to determine the winner. Veteran players say it is exciting just learning to play the game, and getting the hang of it is an exciting challenge in itself.

Members of the Fallbrook Woman’s Club play mahjong for fun the first Monday of each month at the clubhouse located at 238 Mission Road. They hold the tournaments two or three times a year. Players need not be club members to play.