A company in Texas apologized on Tuesday after being criticized for replacing traditional Chinese mahjong tiles with redesigned game pieces covered in images of items such as bubbles and bags of flour.
Another Twitter wrote: “There's a Dallas-based ‘What if mahjong, but for white people?’ company... The color palettes are jarring and ugly. Also calling a line ‘minimal’ but stamping it with both symbols and numbers defeats the point,” referring to the tiles imprinted with both the Chinese and the Arabic numericals.
"We are always open to constructive criticism and are continuing to conduct conversations with those who can provide further insight to the game's traditions and roots in both Chinese and American cultures," the company said. “There was this paradoxical fascination,” Heinz said. “White Americans embraced the game because marketers attached the game to ancient Chinese courts that were seen as highly esteemed, but also distanced themselves from Chinese American people who were denigrated and caricatured, and subject to nativism and anti-Asian sentiment.”
Heinz added that the company's critics, meanwhile, reflect a different blind spot: gameplay and mahjong tiles have evolved over decades across the country and the world.
NBCAsianAmerica You’re just going to increase their sales.
NBCAsianAmerica Oh No! Next breaking news! 'Boca Riots break out over changed mahjong tiles!'
NBCAsianAmerica 🙄
NBCAsianAmerica 😡