Keep score at your mahjong table

Record the result everyone agreed to.

A useful mahjong score record identifies the rules, the players, each winning-hand value, and the payments between players. Keep hand values separate from running balances: a self-draw can collect the full hand value from three opponents.

These examples use the LRC Taiwanese rules from December 2024 and a 500-point starting balance per player. Other tables may use different rules or starting amounts. You can follow the method on paper while the Mahjong app is being prepared for release.

Agree on the table before the first hand.

1. Write down the four players and their seats, the dealer, starting points, and the exact ruleset.
2. Agree on discard and self-draw payments, calling rules, and any dealer-streak options.
3. For each win, record the winner, winning tile and source, payer if applicable, and scoring breakdown.
4. Record immediate payments and any draw-pot contributions as separate events. Check balances after each event.

A correction should explain which entry it replaces. Keeping the original event and its correction makes a disagreement easier to resolve than silently changing yesterday’s total.

Follow 2,000 points around the table.

Here is an illustrative three-hand ledger using the same three scoring examples. Player names stay fixed; dealer and seat rotation are tracked separately. In each hand below, the winner is not the dealer, and no dealer addition, pot, or immediate payment applies.

Every row totals 2,000. The last hand moves 24 points to Drew, with eight leaving each opponent. Bo and Drew finish tied on 517; this sample has no tie-breaking rule.

If money is sitting in a draw pot, include that pot when reconciling the table total. Player balances alone will be lower until the pot is awarded.

Scorekeeping in Mahjong.

The app’s in-person scorekeeping workflow uses a shared group on our Cloudflare backend. Players must accept their invitations before being seated. The setup selects exactly four accepted members, the settlement profile, and available house-rule options. Seats and house rules lock when the first shared event is recorded.

In the hand editor, record the tiles, exposed sets, flowers, winner, and winning source. Resolve any requested arrangement or rule confirmation, review the payment, then apply the score. Photo assistance has additional requirements; manual entry is the basis of this workflow.

In-person scorekeeping is being prepared, and its availability in the first App Store release has not been confirmed. The workflow above is a preview. You can use the worked ledger on paper today.

Shared group setup needs a connection, Sign in with Apple, and accepted invitations. For independent local play, use offline Taiwanese mahjong.

A score record is not a skill rating.

In-person games are unranked. Manually recording a hand does not turn it into a rated engine-play result. MRS needs a qualifying match and its evidence, not just a balance entered by a player.

The worked ledger is only three hands and is illustrative. It is not eligible rating evidence and predicts no MRS change. Learn more about placements, uncertainty, and the rating standard.