Now in private TestFlight

Find a game.
Find your people.

Find your people, organize the games, and build the community around them — anywhere in the world, regardless of level. The platform mahjong players have been waiting for.

Join the TestFlight See what it does

Free on iPhone. No ads. No subscriptions.

Why now

The biggest mahjong moment in a century.

+179%
Growth in mahjong events on Eventbrite, 2024.
9+
Luxury houses now sell sets — Hermès, Tiffany, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Brunello Cucinelli.
2026
NMJL membership at a multi-year high. The card is the headline; the night is the product.
The problem

Mahjong is having a moment.
The players still can't find each other.

Players are scattered across group texts, private clubs, classes, and Instagram. The cards are beautiful. The sets are on the coffee table. But the path from interest to a real table — at the right level, with the right people — is still searched for in DMs.

How Pongo connects them
  • 1

    Players nearby who don't know you exist

    Someone who plays at your level, in your neighborhood, on the same week — and you have no way to find them.

  • 2

    Beginners with nowhere to start

    Bought the card, watched the videos, owns the tiles. Still doesn't know one person to play with.

  • 3

    Coaches and tournaments hidden in private circles

    The best teachers and events run on word of mouth. Newer players never get an invitation.

  • 4

    Group texts that quietly die

    Even your existing group still negotiates every week in iMessage. One missed week becomes two. Then quarterly. Then it stops.

How Pongo works

Three pillars, one app.

A community for mahjong players, with the tools to keep the games coming.

Find your people

Compatible mahjong matches by level, variant, and location. Discover events and coaches in your area or anywhere in the world. The community grows from there.

Community

Organize the games

Propose 1–3 time slots. Members RSVP. As soon as four players say yes to the same time, anyone in the group can lock the game — host, location, and confirmed players written to your iOS Calendar.

In v1

Track the season

Score each game, settle the night, and roll up the year — biggest hand, longest streak, who hosted last. Profile stats derived from real results, not manually edited counters.

Phase 4
What it does

From finding the table — to keeping it.

Seven things mahjong players actually do each season. Ranked by how often it pulls on the week.

  1. 1

    Book the night

    One date, up to three time slots. Members tap yes, no, or maybe. As soon as four people land on the same time, anyone can lock the game and it writes to your iOS Calendar.

    In v1
  2. 2

    Find a sub

    Someone bails Tuesday afternoon. Pongo surfaces the next available player, ranked by who has played least recently. First to claim the seat fills it.

    Phase 3
  3. 3

    Track who's hosting

    Last-hosted timestamp per member. The rotation gets fairer without anyone having to keep score. The volunteer-coordinator tax disappears.

    Phase 3
  4. 4

    Score the night, settle the night

    Quick score entry, optional Venmo deep-link to settle pennies-a-point. Player profiles roll up games played and wins from real results, not manually edited counters.

    Phase 4
  5. 5

    Remember the season

    A running tally across weeks plus a year-end recap your group will actually screenshot — biggest hand, longest streak, quietest closer.

    Post-v1
  6. 6

    Bring a friend

    One-off guest invite for the visiting sister or the new neighbor — without making them a permanent member.

    Post-v1
  7. 7

    Learn together

    Beginner mode with the NMJL card built in, a hand finder, and a snap-of-your-rack helper for the player still figuring out what they're holding.

    Post-v1
Mission & Vision

A platform for mahjong players, everywhere.

Our mission

To be a platform that enables mahjong players all over the world to seamlessly find mahjong matches regardless of playing level, and build meaningful connections and community.

Our vision

To build the largest global mahjong community where anyone can learn, compete, and build meaningful connections.

The tiles

Three ways to render the same set — all of them respectful.

Tradition is the default. Modern variants are options, not replacements.

Default

Traditional

Bone tile face, Songti serif, traditional Chinese characters. The respectful baseline — what the game actually looks like on a real table.

Option

Modern soft

White face, single-color rose or jade glyph, Chinese characters retained. Matches a curated coffee-table aesthetic without erasing heritage.

Required

Dark mode

Deep ink background, gold accent for warmth. Built in from day one because mahjong is mostly evening play. Every tile renders both light and dark.

Who it's for

Built for the woman who already organizes the night.

Primary ICP

Alex, 36.

City
Austin
Group
Six women, Thursdays, two years running
Sets
One heritage, one Oh My Mahjong on the coffee table
Card
2026 NMJL, taken with her mother-in-law
Income
$150K–$400K+ household
Other
Pickleball, run club, dinner clubs, sober-curious
"It's my version of book club, but I'm actually obsessed with it. We've played every other Thursday for two years. The texts to plan it are unhinged."

Jen, 42

Adjacent

Newer to mahjong (1.5 years). Knows three players, wants ten. Uses Pongo to find a 4th when friends bail and to sit in on a beginner-friendly event.

Players globally

Emerging

Adults learning, competing, or connecting through mahjong — American, Chinese, or both. Pongo's matching layer is built so this segment is first-class as the platform grows.

Heritage, plainly stated

A game that belongs to the people who built it.

Mahjong was born in Qing-dynasty China and traveled the world through Chinese diaspora communities. About 85% of the National Mah Jongg League's century-long player base is Jewish-American women, who built American Mahjong into a thriving parallel tradition. Pongo treats both lineages with respect.

Tiles render with their traditional Chinese characters by default. Names appear bilingually where space allows — 萬子 / Characters / Craks. We do not "modernize" or "fix" the game. We make the night around it easier to keep.

"I used to spend an hour a week chasing the same six people. Now we propose on Sunday and the table is locked by Monday morning."
Linda M. — Greenwich, CT · Thursday Ladies, est. 2023
Questions

A few things worth answering.

Is Pongo really free?

Yes. Free on iPhone. No paywall, no in-app purchases, no subscription, no ads. Our priority is growing the community first; if monetization happens later, it will not touch the core scheduling, scoring, or group features.

Which mahjong styles does Pongo support?

American (NMJL) and Chinese mahjong at launch — and players who play both. Each group picks the style it plays so the schedule, scoring, and hand reference fit the table.

I'm a complete beginner. Will Pongo work for me?

Yes. Profile setup includes "0–6 months" and "never played." Beginner mode (post-v1) ships with the NMJL card reference, a hand finder, and a snap-of-your-rack helper.

Do I need to own tiles?

No. Pongo asks whether you own a set so we can match you with hosts or players who can bring tiles. Showing up empty-handed is fully supported.

How does Pongo handle privacy?

Email, optional phone, exact location, and birthday are private by default. Anything that feeds future matching surfaces will use coarse location, first name or username, photo, level, and variant only — and only with explicit visibility rules.

Why bilingual tile names?

Because the game is Chinese, and a respectful product treats that as obvious. Setting a tile's name as both 萬子 and "Characters" costs nothing and signals everything. Players who only know American terms see them; players who grew up with Chinese names see those.

When can I download it?

Pongo is in private TestFlight today. Drop your email below for an invite when public TestFlight opens.

Coming to iPhone

Find your game. Find your community.

Free on iPhone. iOS 18+. American and Chinese mahjong, every level.

Join the TestFlight See what it does