Staci Bertagna

Hi, I'm Staci — and I'm a little obsessed with mahjong. I fell in love with American Mahjong the way most people do — sitting around a table with people I adored, hearing the shuffle of tiles, and community celebration when someone yelled Mahjong, completely mystified and completely hooked...to the point I dreamt about it that night and woke eager to play again. I found a game that brought generations of the family together at the table, laughing, and connecting with no technology for hours. Daily play became a thing to unwind from my day, connecting with my family and my own inner child's love of play. What started as a personal obsession quickly became a calling. I found that teaching the game — watching someone's eyes light up when they call their first Mahjong — brought me just as much joy as playing it myself. Next thing I knew, I was teaching my son's friends, co-workers, and others. As a trained trauma therapist, I found the play of Mahjong to stimulate conversation skills at the table, social connection, and nervous system regulation. I found the game to provide neuron stimulation of memory, pattern recognition, and decision making, while engaging in mental stimulation and regulation. My teaching style is to build from the foundation up, learning the tiles and the card through simple play, and progressing in stages to learn dealing through the wall, the Charleston pass, and exposure play. My students report appreciating learning from a strong foundation to build on and feeling supported through the learning journey.