Here is how Mahjong Island scoring works: every winning hand scores Chips × Mult. Chips are points, and Mult is a multiplier. Multiply the two, and that is the score. Only the winner scores.
You win by completing one hand on the Island Card, Mahjong Island's own card of hands. Each hand on the card is written as groups of identical tiles. A Pair is 2 identical tiles, and a Set (called a pung in traditional mahjong) is 3. A Quad is 4.
If these words are new, the Mahjong Island rules guide explains them step by step. Then come back here to see how a win is counted.
What are Chips?
Chips are the points in your score. They come from two places. The first is the hand's own points on the Island Card. The second is the Chips of every tile in your winning hand.
Each tile has a simple value:
Add the hand's points on the card to all of those tile values. That total is your Chips. For example, a 9 Dot adds 9 Chips, and a Red Dragon adds 10. A hand full of high numbers, Winds, and Dragons carries more Chips than a hand of low numbers.
To learn each kind of tile by sight, the guide to Mahjong Island tiles shows the suits, Winds, and Dragons one at a time.
What is Mult?
Mult is the multiplier, and it starts at 2 on every win. Mult Hands and Jokers make it bigger. Then your Chips are multiplied by the final Mult.
There are two kinds of Mult Hands. A +Mult Hand adds to the Mult. A ×Mult Hand multiplies it. The order never changes: every +Mult Hand adds first, then every ×Mult Hand multiplies.
Which Mult Hands are there?
Mahjong Island has four Mult Hands right now. Two add to the Mult, and two multiply it. A winning hand can earn more than one at once.
Here is the order in action. Mult starts at 2. Fully Concealed adds 3, so Mult becomes 5. If the hand is also Jokerless, ×2 doubles that to 10.
You can see every hand on the card with real tiles in Mahjong Island winning hands.
What do the Jokers add?
Jokers add to your score in two ways. First, a Joker scores the Chips of the tile it stands for. Second, each Joker kind adds its own Mult.
Every Mahjong Island game deals 8 Jokers, each a different kind. So the Jokers in your hand can change your Mult in different ways.
Here are four Joker kinds and what each one adds:
Each Joker's Mult is counted once per Joker of that kind in the winning hand. The Mahjong Island Jokers guide covers every Joker rule in full.
Who scores, and when?
Only the winner scores. You can win on a tile you draw, a Self-Drawn Win. You can also win by taking another player's discard when it completes your hand. If the Draw Pile runs out and nobody has won, nobody scores.
How can you score more?
A ×Mult Hand, such as Jokerless or a Bonus Hand, doubles all the Mult you built before it. For simple habits that help you win more often, read Mahjong Island strategy for beginners.
The easiest way to learn scoring is to watch it happen. You can play a hand against 3 bots in your browser right away. It is free, with no sign-up and no download.