Mah Jong

You HAVE to play Maj Jong if you're in China. The experience just isn't complete without it.

Consequently, I found myself explaining the game to my Stanford friends. Those who have played the game know that you need to collect tiles in sets of three, and that if you have two of the same tile and someone else discards that tile, you can "Pong!" and take it. There is another rule where, if you already have three of the same tile and someone discards the fourth, you can "Gang!" and take it, although this impressive move is pretty rare.

But when I taught the "Gang!" move, my friends said, "Oh! So it's like...a MEGA PONG!" Indeed it was. In the games we played thereafter, we refer to eating that fourth tile as a "MEGA PONG!"

Mah Jong just became infinitely more fun. :D