MODIIN, Israel - The Factor family, Warren, Nancy and their children 6 thru 16 invented Mahjong Junior, a children’s version of mahjong. Three years ago while living in Boca Raton, Florida , Nancy Factor came home to find her five children unresponsive to her call for dinner. Mrs. Factor claims her children were watching T.V. as though they were in a trance.
She was so disturbed by this sight that she decided to take a stand. She disconnected the television set. “It was quite a challenge,” Nancy says. “I had to drive with the T.V. cord in the trunk of my car, or my kids would find a way to reconnect it.”

With all of the extra time on their hands, the family decided to invent a game. Their game was inspired by the idea that the neighborhood kids often hovered around the mahjong table without ever being able to play. They chose to invent a game that would be a foundation for children and teens to one day play the complicated adult version of mahjong. They wanted it to cover the age gap that would enable families of various ages, to play together, reconnect, and not get bored.

Three years later, Warren, Nancy and their five kids now live in Modiin, Israel, there is still no T.V, and they are releasing their first Factor Family game... Mahjong Junior. The game is currently only available for purchase on the internet. The Factor’s are self publishing and pre-selling the game with a limited run available for the holiday season.

Fair Trade

Mahjong Junior is not only Eco-Friendly, but the Factors were careful to select a manufacturer that followed the principles of Fair Trade. Fair Trade is a concept with a governing body, the World Fair Trade Organization whose aim is to help individuals and communities rise from poverty by establishing decent wages, working conditions, and the use of environment conscious products and resources.

Mahjong Junior (mahjongjunior.com) is suitable for families with children of all ages, as there is no reading or previous mahjong experience necessary. One particularly important difference between the adult version, and the children’s version is that the junior version only needs a minimum of 2 players instead of the adult model of 4 players. The game-makers also claim educational value as well. The game teaches sequencing, odds, evens, patterns, it promotes planning, strategy, organizational skills, and taking turns. The game also adds an element of history, another culture, and is a true stepping stone to eventually play the real game.

Donjara

The family claims that 'Mahjong Junior' is the 'first ever' children's version of mahjong, but it is not. In Japan, the game 'Donjara' has been on sale for some time.

In Donjara, also called Ponjan, players use 81 tiles instead of 136 or 144 tiles. Traditionally they come with pictures of boats, planes and trains of different colors, or more recently, with characters on different color tiles. Donjara is the Bandai registered trademark version of this game. The game is played with 2 to 4 players.

The player who begins the first round is called the Oya, the parent, while the other player is Ko, the child. The winner of the previous round is Oya. Each player begins the game with 2,000 points, and over the course of five rounds, each player attempts to collect points from his opponent. The object of the game is to take all of the opponent's points. Each player draws 10 tiles and attempts to create a winning combination or three triplets of matching tiles with one to throw away. When she has accomplished this, she declares "Donjara" and the round is over. The winner takes away the appropriate number of points from her opponent.

With the cooperation of Benjamin Boas

More info about Donjara and other Japanese kids games

(NewsWire Today)