Licensing and collaboration deals involving mahjong sets are proliferating as the pastime continues to gain popularity beyond its home region of Asia, including in the U.S. market. The properties dipping their toes into the category are expanding beyond the art, lifestyle, and fashion labels that first gained a foothold and remain common partners. Meanwhile, the licensees active in the space now include not only the mahjong specialists — which still dominate — but also mainstream board game companies and other marketers.
Here is a sampling of some of the deals announced since last December:
- Artist Amanda Norman worked with Hootenanny Games on a mahjong playing card set, launched this month, that has the same game play as traditional American Mahjong but is played with cards rather than tiles for a more portable product. The Nashville-based artist was inspired by luxury collectible mahjong sets when designing this set, the first in a planned artist collection series of mahjong playing card sets from Hootenanny. The Norman-designed cards come in a keepsake box with pearlescent dice.
- The Grateful Dead paired with Bespoke Mahjong for a collection of mahjong tile sets, portable travel tile kits, and accessories (game mats, tile bags, storage boxes, and dice), introduced in August. The designs included tie-dye patterns in several colors and Grateful Dead-specific icons like the Dancing Bears, Steal Your Face album-cover art, the Bertha skeleton, roses, and lightning bolts.
- East Hampton, Long Island-influenced lifestyle label Aerin and The Mahjong Line collaborated on a Botanical Collection mahjong set released in July. The set, in a soft blue, captured the look and feel of the Aerin label and featured a vegan leather tile bag, green racks/pushers, and metallic gold details on the Joker tiles.
- Hallmark partnered with Miss Mahjong to create a mahjong set announced in March, as a promotion for the Hallmark Channel movie All’s Fair in Love & Mahjong, which debuted in May. The gift set, which included the tiles, a playing mat, and a storage box, was inspired by archival Hallmark art, including its enduring pansy card design. It was available for sale on Hallmark’s and Miss Mahjong’s websites and also had a role in the movie, which featured a group of friends who regularly played the game.
- Disney’s deal with The Noble Collection for a line of Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar games, announced in February 2026, included mahjong sets, along with chess sets, checkers, balance games, and more. The first products will release in Europe and North America in time for the holiday season this year.
- In December 2025, Clot, a streetwear brand with an East-meets-West sensibility, paired with luxury handbag label Coach for a mahjong set retailing for $1,650. It had a black mahogany case that was designed to be both functional and decorative. The set was part of a broader co-branded mahjong-themed collection that included t-shirts and hoodies, jackets, outerwear, Coach bags, and bag charms (including mahjong tiles).
See our previous coverage of licensed mahjong products, including a review of the lifestyle, art, and design licenses held by three mahjong specialist companies, posted last September, and a look at the many sets in Asia tied to luxury brands, published in early 2023.
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