Greetings and salutations from Bubbe, talking about a galaxy
far, far away!
In memory of Carrie Fisher, I'm rerunning a blog that I ran back in 2015, when the "Seventh Chapter" of the Star Wars saga came out. (NOTE: Even if we spelled it the same way, Bubbe and Carrie aren't related...but I would be proud to consider her an honorary sister)
I’ve been thinking about how the legendary Bubbe Fischer would
have fit into the Star Wars universe. Obviously the original Bubbe was a Jedi master (mistress?)—the
Yoda or Obi-Wan Kenobi of mah jongg. When I first pictured her, years ago, I
imagined someone who possessed secret wisdom. She was the ultimate mahj player,
someone who could look at a group of tiles and be able to maximize their potential.
She trusted the tiles, and let them speak to her. Bubbe knew how to use the
Force.
My own mahj persona is more like Han Solo: shoot first, ask
questions later. My opinion about calling for the first exposure, early in the
game? “Go for it.” The one exception might be in the case of Winds, where
you’re too exposed—put up those
Norths and everyone knows you need Souths, etc.
In general, I channel the gambler/adventurer:
· *Look at every section of the card—why should any
of them be off limits to you?
· *One exposure won’t make you dead and you can
switch hands if you need to
· *Put up the jokers, you have as good a chance as
anyone else of getting them back
· *Life’s too short to play boring mah jongg—don’t
just sit and be an observer
· *Even one exposure can force your opponents to
play more defensively or break up their hand
Of course, in the back of my mind, I always remember that
magic number—20. If you’ve read my book, Searching for Bubbe Fischer: The Path to Mah Jongg Wisdom, or heard me speak, you know what that
number means. Evenly-matched players, on average and over time, should only
expect to win 20 percent of the hands they play. With that in mind, I’m a lot
less fearful about losing. It happens to everybody, so I might as well enjoy my
time at the table (see the fourth bullet point, above).
All of this cavalier style is on display in the early stages
of each game. Toward the end of a
game, my mahj personality mutates. I become more conservative and logical, acting
like the protocol droid, C-3PO:
· * Don’t expose a viable joker just because you
want to “prove” you’ve got something
· *Evaluate the other players’ exposures—they may indicate
more than one hand
·
*If you can’t win, don’t lose—break up your hand,
rather than throw a winning tile
After the game, when the money’s being exchanged, I try very
hard not to be like Darth Vader:
· *
Don’t scold other players for throwing a winning
tile
· *Don’t be a sore loser; it’s just a hand of mah
jongg
· *Definitely don’t take any of this
personally—enjoy the moment!
How about you? Do you resemble anyone from Star Wars? Maybe
sci-fi adventure isn’t your thing. Perhaps you’re a clever social satirist like
Jane Austen’s Lizzy Bennet, or a sleuth like Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone. If
you want to share with me, you can reach me at bubbefischer@gmail.com
Talk to you soon, and may the Force be with you!
Bubbe Fischer
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