One of the quiet strengths of mahjong solitaire is how it handles time: it tracks your personal best without ever pressuring you. There is no countdown and no game-over—only a clock counting up and a record waiting to be beaten. This guide documents exactly how timing and best-score tracking work on freemahjongplay.com. Pair it with our scoring guide for the full picture.
The In-Game Timer
The game tracks your elapsed time while you play, from the first tile to the last. There is no pause in standard play; if you walk away, the clock keeps going. For that reason, most players treat a clear as a single sitting rather than something to come back to. When you finish, that final time is the number worth remembering.
The Record Bar, Step by Step
Below every game on this site sits a record bar. It is our own addition, built to be simple and private. Here is the entire flow:
- The bar shows Your best for this layout—or a dash if you have never saved a time here.
- After clearing a board, tap “I finished, record my time”. Two small fields appear: minutes and seconds.
- Type your finishing time and hit Save. Entries are validated: minutes 0–59, seconds 0–59.
- Beat the stored record and the bar updates instantly with a 🎉 New Best badge. Fall short and it politely shows your time alongside the standing best.
Entry is manual on purpose. An automatic timer would require the game to report back to us; a manual one means nothing about your session ever leaves your browser. It is an honor system in the best sense—the only person you could cheat is yourself.
Where Your Best Is Stored
Your records live in your browser’s local storage, with a separate slot for every layout—and, on this multilingual site, a separate slot per language version of each page. Nothing is uploaded, no account exists, and clearing your browser data resets your records. Switching from the English to the Spanish version of a page also starts a fresh record, so pick one language if you are chasing a time.
Beating Your Record
There is no leaderboard and no comparison to other players; the only target is your own previous time. When you save a faster time, the badge confirms it immediately and the new number becomes the one to beat. For concrete targets, our measured averages—3 minutes on Classic, 4 on Turtle, 5 on most mediums—are published in the layout difficulty data, and our speed guide covers how to drop your time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a countdown timer?
No. The timer only counts up. You can never run out of time.
Can I pause the timer?
Not in standard play. Treat each game as a single sitting.
Why enter the time manually?
Because it keeps your data on your device. An automatic upload would need accounts and servers; manual entry gives you a personal record with zero data collection.
Ready to chase a record? Open the Turtle layout and try to beat your best time.