A mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair have turned their shared love of clicking tiles into a business, opening a dedicated mahjong studio in Blue Springs at the start of October. Deb Totten and Sami Totten built the space to give players a place to gather, learn and play the centuries-old Chinese game, and they say it fills a gap on the eastern side of Jackson County.
The studio, called Bam Bird Social, offers lessons, various ways to show up and play, and mahjong sets for customers to use, according to KSHB 41. Sami Totten said there was no similar business on the eastern side of Jackson County, which pushed the pair to bring the game to Blue Springs. The station describes Bam Bird Social as one of just two metro-area places focused on learning and playing mahjong anytime.
Per the business's own FAQ page, customers can reserve a single seat, a full table for their group, or the entire studio for a private gathering. The studio provides the mahjong sets and everything needed to play, and for newcomers who aren't ready to go it alone, it offers both Beginner's Lessons and Supported Play. Bam Bird Social plays according to National Mah Jongg League rules and does not keep score, the FAQ notes.
Where the Name Bam Bird Comes From
The studio's name has a tile-table origin story. Bam Bird draws its name from a mahjong tile, and mahjong itself translates to “sparrow,” a nod to the sound of clinking tiles during play, the station's report notes. Mahjong is a 19th-century Chinese tabletop game that arrived in America in the 1920s, and WBUR describes it as a four-player, tile-based strategy game.
The mechanics explain why the game has such staying power. Four players work with tiles to form matching sets and pairs, and an American mahjong set contains 152 tiles, with more than a thousand possible winning combinations, the station's report notes. Deb Totten said mahjong may support cognitive skills by engaging the brain, while Sami Totten said she was drawn to the game partly by its aesthetic appearance. Sami Totten said she hopes the studio will foster community, friendships and repeat visits simply for the fun of it.
A Game Riding a National Wave
The timing lines up with a broader mahjong surge. Mahjong searches have jumped nearly 4,500% according to Yelp, per the same station's report, though CNN cites a slightly different Yelp figure, reporting that searches for mahjong clubs rose 4,467% in 2025 and that searches for “mahjong store” and “mahjong club” hit an all-time high in August. KCUR reports that a whole new audience has developed an interest in the game over the past few years, with mahjong recently getting big around Kansas City specifically.
Bam Bird Social joins a growing list of regional spots catering to that demand. KCUR reports The Bam Bam Room in Leawood opened in September 2025 as the region's first dedicated mahjong parlor, offering open play sessions, classes, a shop for equipment and accessories, and league sessions. Mahjong Club KC, founded in 2024, provides private and open group classes in American mahjong along with open play sessions and special events, according to the same outlet, while The Kansas City Star notes that Kansas City Mahjong runs pop-up events around the metro, teaches lessons and sells supplies.
Starting a Home Game Isn't Cheap
Part of the appeal of a studio like Bam Bird Social is that it sidesteps the cost of outfitting a table at home, since mahjong can be expensive to start on your own. In Lee's Summit, the Charleston Club opened inside downtown's Madison Social Charcuterie in early September, offering lessons, open play and events through that partnership, and teaching an American mahjong three-lesson package for beginners, according to The Kansas City Star. The outlet reports the club drew 352 expressions of interest through an anonymous early-August social media survey, built almost 800 Facebook followers by late September, and sold out mahjong classes through December.
Elsewhere, the price of entry can climb considerably. CNN reports that Heron House, a mahjong studio in Charlotte, charges members up to $179 a month and offers discounts on tile sets that can cost as much as $475. Against that backdrop, Bam Bird Social's model of renting a seat, a table or the whole studio offers Blue Springs players a lower-cost way to pick up the game without buying in outright.
