Dear Eric: I am a mahjongg instructor and enthusiast, and I run a mahjongg social at a public park. We have a group of anywhere from 20 to 50 players who meet up and use tables reserved for our group. Everyone knows how to play, and we welcome all levels of players.

We do not, however, provide lessons, as it is a complex game to learn. A young woman approached me as the leader of the group and demanded to be placed at a table, although she did not know how to play. She had been playing a matching tile game on her phone which calls itself mahjongg but has nothing to do with the actual game of mahjongg, in either its Asian or American variants.

I told her I would be unable to place her, but she was welcome to observe, and I could provide information on where to take lessons.

She said, “We

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