Mahjong solitaire scoring feels mysterious until you separate two things: the points a game shows while you play, and the record that actually follows you between sessions. This guide covers both—how scoring works in most versions of the game, and exactly how your personal best is tracked here on freemahjongplay.com. For deeper play strategy, pair this with our strategy guide.
How Most Versions Score
Scoring formulas vary between versions, but three factors recur almost everywhere:
- Time. Faster clears score higher. Time is nearly always the biggest single factor.
- Matches. Each pair removed adds a base score, so every clear of the same layout has the same match total.
- Penalties. Hints and shuffles usually cost points, rewarding clean solves.
Because the match total is fixed for a given layout, the only things you can really improve are speed and cleanliness. That is why experienced players treat time as the true score.
Your Score on This Site: The Personal Best
On freemahjongplay.com, the number that matters is your clear time, and we track it in the most private way possible. Below every game you will find a record bar showing Your best and a button labelled “I finished, record my time”. Here is exactly how it works:
- Finish a board, note your in-game time, then tap the record button.
- Enter your minutes and seconds (both validated 0–59) and save.
- If your time beats the stored record, it becomes your new best and a 🎉 New Best badge appears. If it does not, you see your time next to the standing record.
Your best is stored in your browser’s local storage—never on our servers, never tied to an account, and never shared. Records are kept per layout, so your Turtle best and your Great Wall best are tracked independently. Because the tracker is honor-based, the only competition is you against your past self.
What a Good Time Looks Like
Our measured averages give you a concrete target: 3 minutes on Classic, 4 on Turtle, 5 on most medium layouts, and 6 to 8 on the hard tier. If you are within a minute of the average, you are playing well; beating it consistently means you are ready for a harder layout. The full table is in our layout difficulty data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a high score important?
Only if you enjoy chasing one. The game is equally fun played casually; the record is there for players who want a target.
Why did my best time disappear?
Records live in your browser’s local storage. Clearing browser data, switching devices, or using a private window starts a fresh record.
Is there a leaderboard?
No. There is no account and no upload—your best time is yours alone, which also means it can never be lost on our end.
Ready to set a record? Open the Turtle layout, finish a board, and tap “I finished, record my time”.