Images of smoky late night mah-jongg dens packed with gamblers slamming down tiles with noisy abandon are best left to the movies.

At the Matsumi-Gakuen free school in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, engaging conversation and laughter fills the room.

Classes are pitched to truant and socially withdrawn students.

Clearly, the students find the sessions worthwhile.

“That’s Thirteen Orphans! Wow!” one player exclaimed after witnessing the highest-scoring hand in mah-jongg to loud cheers from fellow players.

As often as not, competitors are agog at the tactics adopted by their opponents. Others spend the time teaching novices the game. Typically, 15 or so senior high school students turn up for a class, as was the case in early November.

Teacher Tomoaki Saito, 42, who worked hard to establish the club in spring last year, is ever thankful for mah-jongg, which he said helped him make new friends when he was a college student.

“The charm of mah-jongg is that it provides a comfortable distance for people to connect with each other, where they can choose to talk or not to talk,” he said.

“Because many of us are shy, it’s difficult to talk to others without a reason,” said club president Shuya Sato, a 17-year-old senior high school student. “Our mah-jongg club stimulates exchanges with older and younger students.”

After he joined the club, Sato pored over strategy books to hone his skills. Now he aspires to become a professional player.

A second-year senior high school student, who is also 17 and joined the club in September after she was invited by a friend, had to learn the game from scratch and now plays mah-jongg like a regular player.

“During my visits to the club, it seemed sincere and fun,” she recalled. “I continue to enjoy the game because beginners can win sometimes.”

Mah-jongg is growing in popularity among young people, thanks to the M.League, which bills the game as an intellectual sport.

Imposing a no-gambling policy, the professional league was founded in 2018 to have nine four-member teams compete with each other.

Now in its sixth year, the M.League has helped change the negative image associated with mah-jongg.

The unique communication style of the four-player game for the benefit of children’s development is clearly paying dividends even though some parents, guardians and school staff had their doubts before the club was set up.

Sato recalled he had to rewrite the project proposal and hold repeated exchanges with the concerned parties before he could get the club off the ground.

But now, he gets pats on the back for pursuing the initiative.

The club has also initiated exchanges with members of a local mah-jongg class, motivating its students to go outside the free school.

“We have created an environment where children can get better at what they like to do,” Sato said. “I feel they have learned how to behave and be considerate to others. Of course, we want to continue our efforts.”

Moves are also under way to offer even younger children the chance to learn mah-jongg.

One Sunday in November, about 30 elementary school pupils started learning the basics of the game from a professional player at a venue in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward.

The place was vibrant with the pupils learning how to make hands and calculate points. Some talked about what they want to learn next time they visit.

Rentaro Kanzaki, 7, enjoyed playing the game after making friends with other children who received the initial instructions at the same table.

Rentaro said he has no friends at his school with whom he can talk about mah-jongg.

“I couldn’t be happier because I can talk a lot about mah-jongg with people  around my own age,” the first-grader said.

His father Ryosuke, 47, added, “I really appreciate it because elementary school kids rarely can find an occasion to play mah-jongg with people other than their own families.”

Daisuke Ishiyama, president of PPP’s Inc. which operates mah-jongg classes for adults and provides IT services, said he has always wanted to host a mah-jongg class for children to create a new image for the board game.

“I want to provide a platform where young people can get together with mah-jongg serving as a starter,” he said. “I hope they can make friends with their peers and set up mah-jongg clubs for elementary and junior high school children in the future.”

M.League player Hiroshi Daigo also attended the event as an instructor.

“You can always be connected with others, regardless of age and gender, once you learn how to play mah-jongg,” he said. “I saw the future (of mah-jongg) in children who learn the game with more enthusiasm than adults.”