Kelly Ripa may have found her latest obsession, but according to her, teaching Mark Consuelos how to play might be a terrible idea for everyone involved.
During Friday’s episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, Ripa opened up about her growing love for Mahjong. The centuries-old strategic tile-based game that originated in China is often compared to a mix of rummy and poker.
According to Mrs. Mahjong, there is an urban legend that Chinese philosopher Confucius invented the game around 500 BC, but it’s believed to have originated in China in the early 19th century, and crossed the Pacific in the early 1920s, taking on new life in the United States.
© Jan Hakan DahlstromPlayers build matching sets and sequences using decorated tiles while trying to complete a winning hand before everyone else.
Ripa recently found love in the game, and she began listing what she described as the game’s endless benefits. Many people play regularly in groups as both a hobby and a way to connect with friends and family.
According to the longtime host, the game has become much more than just a hobby. “It’s a sense of community, a sense of belonging,” Ripa explained. “It’s social, it’s mindfulness. It’s emotional regulation, because every time I don’t scream at someone when they’ve won mahjong, it’s good for me.”
She continued enthusiastically rattling off what sounded like a full wellness pitch for the game, adding that it encourages “cultural engagement,” helps reduce stress, and even “puts your brain in a flow state.”
© GettyConsuelos, who seemed both amused and slightly intimidated by his wife’s growing passion, pointed out one major benefit he noticed immediately: “You put your phone away.”
Ripa quickly agreed, adding that the strategy involved in mahjong, combined with its “tremendous emotional, mental, and social benefits,” makes it especially rewarding.
But while Consuelos admitted he wants to learn how to play this summer, Ripa appeared hesitant to let that happen, mostly because she already knows exactly how competitive her husband can get.
“You’re very competitive, and also you’re very good at tile games,” she teased. “So I think that once you play this — the best tile game of them all — you will be insufferable. So maybe I won’t teach you.” Still, Ripa admitted she believes he’d probably end up being “very good at it” and “unstoppable.”
© Disney via Getty ImagesThe couple’s playful back-and-forth eventually turned toward the more chaotic side of mahjong culture after Consuelos asked whether there’s “any smack talk during the game.”
That’s when Ripa revealed that her own games can apparently get a little intense. “It depends on who you play with,” she explained, before bringing up her friend Nancy. “We smack-talk a lot.”
According to Ripa, the pair have become so notoriously competitive that they now have their own designated table for fellow players who can handle the energy. “We’re relegated to our own table,” she joked. “The people who can handle the smack talk sit with us. And if they can’t, they leave.”
Mahjong has already become super popular in the United States, but between the wellness benefits, the competitive chaos, and Ripa threatening to gatekeep mahjong from her own husband, the game may have just found its newest celebrity spokesperson.
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