With a massive increase in game-related events in recent years, American Mahjong has taken the country by storm. Players of all ages enjoy the tile-based game, which is currently played almost exclusively in a digital format, and as the popularity of the game continues to increase, two local entrepreneurs discovered a niche within the industry that spawned the creation of a new company.
Amanda Wolsey and Bethany Factor, two Fort Worth-based female entrepreneurs and passionate advocates for the American Mahjong community, co-founded the American Mahjong Ranking (AMR) Authority, announcing in late April the launch of the first official worldwide ranking system for American Mahjong, debuting with a comprehensive mobile app available for download on iOS.
According to a news release, the platform provides a unified framework for ranked play, connecting players, clubs, leagues, instructors, and facilities through a standardized system of competition. Wolsey said the genesis of AMR was inspired by a mutual passion she shares with Factor for the game. “Bethany and I were already pretty deep in the Mahjong world through teaching, hosting events, and building a community at The Mahj Clubhouse (TMCH) — our home for all things Mahjong located off Pershing and Camp Bowie — when the idea for AMR first came about,” Wolsey said. “Like most great ideas, it started over cocktails. We were talking about the wide range of player abilities we were seeing at TMCH and kept asking ourselves why there wasn’t a better system to rank skill level in Mahjong.”
That’s when she noticed something significant. “We saw firsthand how intimidating it could be for a newer player to sit down with seasoned players, and on the flip side, how frustrating mismatched tables could be for experienced players as well,” Wolsey said. “Bethany is an avid tennis player, and she immediately compared what we wanted to create to the USTA tennis ranking system. The second she said it, we looked at each other, hugged, and knew exactly what our next move was going to be. Wolsey and Factor found a developer and officially started building the app in January 2025, with a beta launch hitting the Apple Store in September of that same year.
AMR is an Elo-based ranking system similar to USTA and DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating). It tracks wins and losses, factors in the skill level of players’ opponents, and rewards active players through inactivity decay. AMR was designed to be a worldwide ranking system for anyone playing American Mahjong using the National Mah Jong League rules.
“Our goal is to create a universal standard that allows players to track their growth, compete more fairly, and connect with the larger Mahjong community no matter where they are playing,” Wolsey said. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and former teacher, Wolsey said the AMR provides a structure for the American game and allows players to have a better idea about where they stand among peers.
“One of the biggest things we’ve noticed so far is that people are simply playing more Mahjong,” Wolsey said. “Since a match requires four games, we’re finding ourselves and other players more inclined to stay longer and keep playing in order to log scores and complete matches. “We’re also seeing players pay much closer attention to line values and strategy because every point matters more in a competitive format. Overall, we’re helping build the framework for competitive Mahjong, and it’s been exciting to already see players becoming more engaged, strategic, and competitive in their game.”
Factor, a graduate of Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, said one of the things that has become clear to her as she and Wolsey were building AMR is that the growth of Mahjong is not merely a trend. “Eventbrite reported a 179 percent increase in U.S. Mahjong events from 2023 to 2024,” Factor said. “Gen Z is driving the recent increase as they are leaving their phones at home to play tiles. The demographic sweet spot is women aged 35-40. They’re calling it ‘Momjong,’ but it’s spreading fast across generations, and the growth potential and view of the game slowing down is not in sight.”
Currently, AMR employs co-owners, Factor and Wolsey, a VP of Operations, CRM Manager, Coding engineer and several partners who help run tournaments, marketing and public relations. “Amanda and I are pretty much always on call as new entrepreneurs go,” Factor said. “It’s always on our mind, and we work when we can and at really an hour.”
Factor said the expectation is that AMR becomes the company that Mahjong players rely on to know where they stand and what is going on in the realm of American Mahjong. “Our ultimate vision is for AMR to be the ultimate authority for each player’s rank and the source for accurate NMJL information and events,” Factor said.
On the horizon, AMR will introduce a tournament software for all destination tournaments, and as to how Factor deals with working on a daily basis with a University of Texas graduate, the A&M alum said she has opted to look past it, given what Wolsey brings to the table.
For Wolsey, the feeling is mutual. “It is definitely a company divided,” Wolsey said. “But honestly, like any great partnership, we celebrate each other’s strengths and accept each other’s weaknesses — like choosing to be an Aggie.”
The AMR Authority app is available for free download on the Apple App Store and is coming soon to Google Play.
