Could Mahjong Be the Brain Workout We Have Been Missing? Liezl Van der Westhuizen Makes the Case

In a world increasingly dominated by screens, notifications and digital interaction, Liezl van der Westhuizen is making the case for something much simpler: four people sitting around a table, learning, thinking, laughing and playing Mahjong.

The Cape Town-based neuroscience and mental fitness coach, keynote speaker, broadcaster and endurance athlete has spent the past year learning and teaching Mahjong to South Africans, including older adults. What she has seen repeatedly is a shift from uncertainty to confidence as beginners learn the tiles, recognise patterns, develop strategies and connect with the people around them.

Mahjong: A workout for the mind

When asked about this, Liezl said:

“There is something radical about four people around a table, concentrating, laughing and learning, without once reaching for a phone, ” said Liezl.

Originating in China, Mahjong is a four-player strategy game that requires players to draw and discard tiles while building combinations. Along the way, players use memory, attention, pattern recognition, planning and adaptability while constantly responding to the three people sitting across from them.

For Liezl, the appeal is not about claiming Mahjong is a treatment or cure, but about the combination of mental challenge, novelty, learning and social connection.

“We spend so much time talking about training the body, but the brain also needs challenge, novelty, connection and recovery. Mahjong brings many of those elements together in a single afternoon,” said Liezl.

Mahjong’s social power

The growing interest comes at a time when loneliness and social isolation are increasingly recognised as major global concerns. Research into Mahjong is also encouraging, with a 2024 review finding associations between Mahjong and positive cognitive, psychological and social outcomes among older adults, although researchers caution that more rigorous studies are needed.

Liezl has taken her interest further by creating Africa Mahjong, a growing learning community aimed at making the game more accessible in South Africa and, eventually, across the continent.

She has taught Mahjong in Zanzibar, travelled to Hong Kong to deepen her knowledge and will travel to China later this month to explore the game’s history, culture and traditions at its source.

Her ambition for Africa Mahjong is simple: More people. More tables. More connection.

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