Montana Mahj, the state's first dedicated mahjong house, opened August 14 at 2528 Grand Ave. in Billings, founded by litigation attorney Brooke Murphy and physician assistant Randi Ellis — two friends who say the game gave them something they hadn't realized they were missing.
Mahjong, the tile-based game with roots in 19th-century China, has been experiencing a genuine nationwide resurgence, particularly among younger adults looking for social activities that don't revolve around screens or bars. Murphy and Ellis tapped into that wave and decided Montana didn't need to wait for the trend to arrive — they'd bring it themselves.
The Billings space is designed as a community hub where players of all skill levels can come to learn, play, and connect. Mahjong has a long and layered history in the United States, including a decades-long association with Jewish-American women's social clubs and a parallel tradition in Asian-American communities, and the game's current moment is bringing those threads together in new ways.
Helena doesn't have anything quite like Montana Mahj yet, but the concept — a dedicated social space built around a single game and the community that forms around it — is the kind of thing that tends to spread once it takes root somewhere in the state.