After the Museum, now the Mah-Jong Shop is for sale
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- Created on Wednesday, 20 January 2010 16:11
- Last Updated on Wednesday, 28 November 2012 18:00
- Written by Staff
HANOVER - The Mah-Jong Shop, ‘Europe’s largest online shop for mahjong paraphernalia’, is for sale. Just some weeks after the famous American Mah-Jongg Cyber Museum announced a closing-down sale, Stephan Hilchenbach has decided to sell his mahjong business.
However, neither the closing down of the museum nor the sale of the Mah-Jong Shop is a result of the world-wide credit crises. Jim May, the owner of the museum, felt that the museum was taking too much of his 'quality time' he wanted to give to his family. In the case of Stephan Hilchenbach, his job as an IT-consultant is keeping him so busy that he does not have enough time left for the online shop.
Championship
Stephan started his business as a hobby in 2003. In 2005, he provided the tiles for the first European mahjong championship in Nijmegen. After that championship, mahjong spread at a fast pace all over Europe. Especially, the lovers of the new mahjong competition rules founded national organizations all over the continent. Also, since a couple of years, the interest in the Japanese riichi rules is increasing. The Mah-Jong Shop provided many of the mahjong players with new sets.
Stephan: “Yet, despite the very good prognosis, I have decided to sell the Mahjong shop and I hope to find a worthy successor.”
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With a search on google I found a shop that sells toothpick holders. A mahjongtile to keep (and distribute) you disposable common wooden toothpicks. See for example mydashop
IMO, kuitan nashi will be the most problematic point for a world championship.
To shorten my point, kuitan-nashi Mahjong is like Formula 1 racing with 3 tires. It's probably a great learning exercise (good) that they turned into the only form of testing (bad). If that was the only problem, most people could live with that. The bigger problem for EMA Mahjong is their tolerance for a type of call that would be considered cheating anywhere else: tolerating the pick-and-switch for the same tile. (chi 78+9, throw nine; pon 11+1, throw one)
For a WC-Riichi event to succeed, that last point needs to be addressed once and for all. As for the rest of the rules, it will most likely be a take it or leave it scenario. There's nothing we can do about it.
But i appreciate the current changes cuz they minimize the luck factor a bit.