I. Love. Mah Jongg.

Formerly a game where for your Bubbe and her blue-haired friends, Mah Jongg  is cool amongst the 40- and 50-something crowd. Tiles and numbers, symbols and strategy, rules and adult women telling each other they’re doing it wrong. It’s the best.

Mah Jongg, or Mahj for short, is a club similar to others we know of, like book club.

I could never be in a book club because being assigned a book is too much like homework, and the only novel I really can get into is the Cheesecake Factory menu.

Between Mah Jongg and the Aldi shopping cart situation, I’ve really highlighted my need to hoard quarters.

| RELATED: Everything you need to know about the new 2024 Mah Jongg card

Does playing Mah Jongg make me feel like my group is the modern-day version of “The Golden Girls?” Yes. Does it make me want to buy boxy linen button-down shirts and chunky statement necklaces to wear on a cruise ship? Yes. Does it make me want to always have a variety of shelf-stable snacks on hand in case an impromptu game whips up out of nowhere? Yes, but to be fair, it’s important to have shelf-stable snacks on hand anyway. You know for, like, a Tuesday.

It’s hilarious that no matter how long you’ve played, we still question the rules and rhetoric. Is Charleston clockwise or counterclockwise? Can you do both mish mosh and optionals or only one? Will my group ever fall for my made-up situations where it’s legal to use a Joker in a pair?

Nothing can beat the private jokes in your Mahj group. Ours has so many that we’ve started keeping a journal of them because who can remember? We spend more time eating and talking over one another than actually playing the game. No one can finish a sentence and everyone is hilarious. Once I laughed so hard tears were running down my legs.

We discuss things that are important to us, like hot flashes, what to cook for dinner and a recent sighting of a Groupon for skin tag removal.

The game is more than just a game. Similar to Bridge, Bunco and Canasta groups, it’s about the friendships and fun that you look forward to. I asked several Mah Jongg Mavens why they love their grown up group playdates.

“I love spending time with friends, laughing over strategy and unique game rules, and using my brain a bit.”

“It’s a social connection and a way to challenge myself differently than my day-to-day tasks.”

“It’s our group, the camaraderie, and our inside jokes about the tiles and rules.”

“I like the strategy of the game, the company of the people, and screaming over each other to pick a flipping hand already.”

Actually, the last game I played, we had pushed out the fourth wall, and one of the girls said, “OK, I’ve finally decided on a hand.”

If you love to play Mah Jongg and have a group, or you want to play but don’t have a group, or you’ve always wanted to learn, come to Tiles Tuesday, every Tuesday in July, starting July 2. Jewish Federation of St. Louis Women’s Philanthropy group is hosting it at Mirowitz Center at Covenant Place, 7-9 p.m. It’s $18 a session and includes the 2024 card. For more information and to register, go to www.jfedstl.org/events/tiles-tuesday

Women’s Philanthropy President (and wicked good Mahj player) Amy Lampert says, “We created Tiles Tuesday because a lot of people said they wanted to learn to play, and also because it brings people together, many of whom you might not meet otherwise. Mah Jongg isn’t just a game. It’s a way to connect as a Jewish community and build new friendships.”

One of these days I’m going to figure out a way to use a Joker in a pair.