A game of tones
All you really need to set up a game of mah-jong is a formica-topped square table and perhaps some layers of brown paper for protection. Oh, and the tiles, of course. Even with options like green baize coverings or dedicated countertops, some would argue that the distinctive click-clacking of the tiles as they are mixed (‘washed’ in Chinese) and smacked against the table to indicate victory or frustration is best with that basic combo. Until now.
Utilising its expertise in creating distinctively futuristic and stunningly realised table tennis, poker and billiard tables, Los Angeles’ 11Ravens is taking a hand at the ancient game of China. With a base of high-grain Macassar ebony wood bordered by aluminium bars finished in gold leaf, the Macon Mahjong table has all of the bleedingly-cool Tron edge that 11Ravens is known for. By default, the table surface is black, but is fully customisable, either for taste or superstition. Perhaps an auspicious red? Or a prosperous gold? Either and anything else is possible, within a price tag that begins at US$12,000 (US$52,250).
It might look out of place in your grandmother’s den, but this sleek, slick table shows that this player means business; and it manages to produce the same hypnotic clicks of the tiles that triggers a Pavlovian response. As the 11 Ravens motto goes – the mah-jong game hasn’t changed… but the playing field has.
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