Mahjong is an ancient Chinese game, played with ’tiles’ instead of cards. We do ‘pay’ each other according to the scores we achieve, but we use ‘tallies’ (plastic sticks) NOT money !
It’s a game you can play at several levels. At its most basic, you could learn to play it in one or two sessions, especially if you take home and study the (National) u3a’s guide to the rules.
Before long, you’ll be ready to try the more complicated levels and even beat those of us who have been playing for years.
When you’re actually playing, you can sometimes have a score higher than the person who calls Mahjong (who goes ‘out’ first). It’s that sort of game !