What to feed players

Mahjong is a long game. Three to four hours is normal. People get hungry. The wrong food kills the night faster than a bad hand.

Three rules: nothing greasy (tiles get slippery), nothing crumbly (tiles get gritty), nothing that requires a second hand (you only have one to spare).

What works: olives in a small bowl with a second small bowl for pits. Marcona almonds. Cubed cheese with toothpicks. Cornichons. A bowl of clementines that someone else has already peeled. Halvah cut into small squares. Sesame candy. Anything you can pick up between turns and not think about.

What does not work: anything dusted in powdered sugar; anything wrapped in pastry; anything that drips. Save those for after.

The dinner question is its own piece. Some tables eat first, then play. Some tables play, then eat. The first kind of table has more energy at midnight; the second has happier hands at the table. Pick a side and stop relitigating it every week.