Help - Longview Mahj Muddle

Members only — no outside players

Every seat in a match must be a Mahj Muddle member in your muddle. Playing a match that includes a non-member is not allowed.
Do not score a match that involved a non-member. Those results don't count and shouldn't be entered.
Short a player? Use the waitlist or let the match run as a 3-player match (Aunt Bea fills the 4th seat) — don't bring in someone from outside the muddle.
The one exception: a visitor pass. If your muddle offers it, you can invite one guest per season to play a single match with you — once they've paid, they're a sanctioned visitor for that one game.

Visitor passes (inviting a guest)

If your muddle has turned this on, you can invite one outside guest per season to play a single match with you — a friend who's curious about the group, someone visiting from out of town, and so on. It's the one sanctioned exception to the members-only rule.

Go to your Profile and find the Visitor pass card. Enter your guest's name, email, phone, and level, then create the pass.
Your guest gets an email with a link to pay the visitor price (set by your muddle). It's a reduced, one-time fee since they're only playing a single match.
Once they've paid, you'll see it on your profile, and when you propose a match you'll get the option to add them.
A match with a visitor still needs to fill to four real players — it won't convert to a 3-player match.
The pass is good for one match. After that game it's used up for the season. If the match they were added to is cancelled before it's played, the pass becomes reusable so you can add them to another.
Visitors don't appear on the leaderboard or in member lists, and playing a visitor doesn't count toward your diversity bonus.

Don't see the Visitor pass card? Either your muddle hasn't set a visitor price yet, or you're not currently a paid member for the active season.

Filling the match (open status)

Your match needs 4 players total (including you, the proposer)
Other players see your match and can click Join to add themselves
When the 4th player joins, the match is automatically confirmed
Everyone gets a confirmation email with the details
Players can't join if they're already in another match within 2 hours of yours

The 2-hour rule (no double-booking)

You can't be booked into two matches that start within 2 hours of each other. Since you can't physically be at two tables at once, the app blocks any match that would overlap with one you're already committed to.

The check looks at start times, and applies in both directions — 2 hours before and 2 hours after
It's enforced when you propose a match, when you join an open match, and when you accept a waitlist spot
Only your upcoming matches count (open, confirmed, or awaiting-waitlist). Completed and cancelled matches are ignored
If there's a conflict, the app tells you which match is in the way so you can pick a different time

Example: if you're already in a match at 2:00 PM, you can't join another one scheduled any time between 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM. A match at 4:00 PM or later is fine.

Heads up: the rule measures the gap between start times, not how long a session actually runs. A real game can last longer than 2 hours, so leave yourself enough room between back-to-back matches.

What if it doesn't fill?

Open matches stay open until 4 players join or someone cancels
No automatic cancellation just for being unfilled — but you, the proposer, can cancel it anytime
If exactly 3 players have joined at 1 hour before game time, the match converts to a 3-player match automatically
If only 1 or 2 players have joined by game time, the match sits unscored. Your admin can clean these up from the Stale Matches page (no penalty to players).

Once confirmed (4 players locked in)

Match is set. Show up and play.
Other players who want to play can add themselves to the waitlist in case someone drops

If someone needs to drop out

Anyone except the proposer can withdraw at any time. What happens next depends on timing:

More than 2 hours before match start, and waitlist is empty: match goes back to open status, needs a new 4th player
More than 2 hours before match start, and someone's on the waitlist: they get offered the spot via email and have 12 hours to accept (or until 2 hours before match — whichever comes first)
Less than 2 hours before match start: match is cancelled immediately. Everyone gets an email.

If leaving would cancel the match (within 2 hours of start, a 3-player match, or one where a waitlist offer is already pending), you'll be asked for a brief reason before you can leave. That reason is shared with your admin when they review the cancellation.

The 24-hour rule (penalty zone)

If you leave a confirmed match within 24 hours of its start time and it gets cancelled, you get flagged for admin review
The admin decides whether to apply a penalty — it's not automatic, and the reason you gave for leaving is shown to them
This applies to: withdrawing late, cancelling your own match late, or letting a waitlist offer expire after you left late

Cancelling your own match (as the proposer)

Open match (not yet full): cancel freely, no penalty
Confirmed match: you can cancel, but you'll be flagged for review if it's within 24 hours of start time
A reason is required when cancelling
Once cancelled, the match is dead — it can't be revived
The other players are notified by email (and push, if they've enabled it) as soon as a match is cancelled, so nobody turns up to a game that isn't happening

Joining the waitlist

Available on full (confirmed) matches
You're queued in the order you join
If someone drops out, the #1 waitlister gets offered the spot via email
You have 12 hours to accept (or until 2 hours before match start, whichever is sooner)
If you don't respond in time, the match cancels and you lose your spot
Declining the offer just sends the match back to open status — someone else has to join the normal way

After the match — scoring

One player submits the scores
The other 3 players need to confirm
You have 24 hours to confirm
At the 12-hour mark, you get a reminder email if you haven't confirmed yet
At 24 hours, your confirmation auto-fills and the match is finalized
If scores were never entered, the match stays in limbo and needs admin help

Note: the confirmation window was shortened from 48 hours to 24 hours in June 2026 to keep season standings current. Confirm scores at the table whenever possible.

Entering base points (the dropdown)

When you enter a game's winning hand, the Base Points field is a dropdown showing only the valid NMJL card values for the current year. You can't type a freehand number anymore — pick from the list.

For the 2026 card, the standard values are 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 65, 75
If your admin has customized the allowed values for this season, the dropdown reflects that
The dropdown prevents typos like entering 300 instead of 30 — a common cause of score disputes
If you somehow get an error like "base points must be one of 25, 30, ..." you bypassed the dropdown somehow — just pick a value from the list and resubmit

Introduced June 2026 to reduce score-entry errors. Don't see a value you need? Talk to your admin — they can adjust the allowed values per season.

3-player matches (Aunt Bea)

Sometimes a match can't fill the 4th seat in time. Rather than cancelling, the league lets you play with 3 real players plus a virtual placeholder we call Aunt Bea.

At 1 hour before game time, if a match still has exactly 3 confirmed players and nobody else on the waitlist, it converts automatically to a 3-player match
The 3 confirmed players get a notification email when the conversion happens
Once converted, the 4th seat is locked — no late joiners and no waitlist
You play normally; Aunt Bea doesn't actually score (she's a placeholder so the game format works)
On the leaderboard, base points scored in a 3-player match are reduced 25% to keep things fair against players who played a full 4-person match
The diversity bonus (+2 per first-time-this-season opponent) is unaffected — you only get bonus credit for real opponents anyway
Match cards show a small "3P" badge so everyone can see which matches were 3-player at a glance

How to know before you show up

Any match with fewer than 4 confirmed players shows a "Could become 3-player" hint on the matches list
The match detail page shows a prominent banner explaining the conversion timing — informational at 1-2 players, warning-flavored at 3
If a 4th player withdraws from your confirmed match and no waitlister is available, the 3 remaining players get a one-time email with the conversion deadline so you can decide whether to stay in
If you don't want to play a 3-player match, just withdraw before the 1-hour conversion deadline — no penalty

New rule introduced June 2026 to let small groups still play when they can't get a fourth. Visibility improvements added shortly after to make sure no one shows up surprised.

Disputes & admin approval

If a game's scores look wrong after they're entered, anyone in the match can submit a dispute. Disputes are reviewed and resolved by the franchise admin — scores are not wiped automatically.

You submit a dispute with a brief reason (required)
The admin gets an email with the details and a link to review
While the dispute is pending, that game's scores and confirmations are frozen — no one can submit, re-submit, or confirm
The match's 24-hour auto-finalize clock is also paused while disputes are pending
The admin either approves (scores get reset and anyone can re-enter) or denies (scores stand)
Everyone in the match gets notified of the outcome
If you change your mind, you can withdraw your own pending dispute before the admin acts
One pending dispute per game at a time

Disputes are designed to be rare and require thought. Confirm scores carefully at the table and you'll almost never need this. Rule introduced June 2026 — previously, any player could reset a game unilaterally.

When the admin edits your match scores

Occasionally an admin will need to fix a score on a match that's already finalized. When that happens, you'll get an email titled "Match #N scores updated by admin" showing exactly what changed and why.

The email shows a per-game diff (winner, base points, bonuses) for any game that changed
The email shows your old and new total points for the match
The admin's reason for the edit is included in the email
Your leaderboard standings update automatically — nothing for you to do
If you disagree with the edit, contact your admin directly (the platform doesn't have a dispute path for admin-edited scores)

This is rare — admins only edit when a real correction is needed (typo, wrong winner, rule cleanup). All edits are logged so there's a permanent record.

How points work

Only the first 4 games of your session count toward the league. Play as many as you like at your meetup, but score the first 4. For each of those games:

The winner earns the hand's value (the base points you'd normally count for that hand)
Self-picked (won off the wall, not a discard): +10
Jokerless (won without using any jokers): +20 — except on Singles & Pairs hands
Wall game (no one wins): every player gets +10

On top of the per-game points, the player who proposed the match gets a flat +3 for organizing it.

Only the winner earns base points and the self-pick / jokerless bonuses in a normal game. In a wall game there's no winner, so everyone gets the flat +10 instead.

How the leaderboard works

There are two leaderboards, shown as tabs. They reward different things, so you might rank higher on one than the other:

Cumulative — rewards playing often and playing widely. Your total is the sum of your best 2 scores from each week of the season (a week runs Monday through Sunday), plus your diversity bonus (below). More good weeks = a higher cumulative total. Playing a third match in the same week won't add to your cumulative total — but it still counts toward your average.

Average — rewards consistency. It's the mean of every match score you've played this season — not just your counted scores. So a player who plays a lot of mediocre games will see that reflected here, even if their best 2 games each week put them high on cumulative. You need to have played at least 6 matches before you appear on this board, so one lucky game can't put you on top. The average board doesn't include the diversity bonus or no-show adjustments — those aren't match scores.

Diversity bonus — you earn +2 points for every new opponent you play during the season (someone you haven't sat at a table with yet this season). It rewards mixing it up rather than always playing the same people, and it only affects the Cumulative board.

When the diversity bonus is on, two extra view-only tabs appear — they just re-sort the same players, they don't change anyone's points or prizes. Minus Diversity shows the cumulative standings with the diversity bonus removed, and Diversity ranks players by diversity points alone (ties broken by cumulative total).

Past seasons — once your muddle has run more than one season, a season dropdown appears at the top of the leaderboard. Pick a previous season to see its final standings.

Prizes — top finishers in each season win mahj gear, gift cards, and more from Mahj Muddle. Bring your A-game. The 🏆 badge on the leaderboard marks the actual prize winners.

One prize per player — if the same player is #1 in both cumulative and average, they win the cumulative prize and the average prize goes to the next eligible player. Each season has two distinct prize winners. Players flagged "Not eligible for prize" (4+ confirmed no-shows or late cancels) are skipped entirely — the next eligible player gets the prize instead.

Heads up: your muddle admin may turn on extra scoring rules for a season (like only counting your top N scores). If they do, you'll see a small banner on the leaderboard explaining it.

Tracking your own matches

The My Matches link in the top menu shows your match history for the current season. At the top you'll see your matches played, your average, and your cumulative total.

Below that is every match you've completed, with your score and who you played. Each one is tagged counted or not counted: "counted" means that score fed your cumulative total (only your best 2 scores each week count toward cumulative), while every match still counts toward your average. Matches that haven't been scored yet are listed at the bottom.

Paying for a season

Each season has its own registration fee. Once you pay, you're active for that season — you can propose, join, and score matches.

When a new season starts, your paid status resets — you'll need to pay again for the new season. The banner at the top of your muddle's home page will show "Account not active for this season — Pay $X Now" when this happens. Same goes for the very first time you join.

Signup window: registration for a season closes 4 weeks after the season starts. Miss it, and you'll need to wait for the next season to open.

If your account is inactive: if your muddle admin has deactivated your account (because you weren't playing), you'll see a "Reactivate your account" page when you try to log in. Pay for the current season from that page and you're back — your history stays intact, including any past leaderboard standings.

Heads up: this is normal — it's not a glitch. Each season is its own thing, so paying covers you only for that one. If a payment goes through but the banner still says you're not active, give it a minute (the payment notification takes a few seconds), then refresh. If it's still stuck, contact your muddle admin.

Match statuses you might see

Open — needs more players (1-3 in the match)
Confirmed — full and locked in, ready to play
Awaiting waitlist — someone dropped, waitlister has been offered the spot
Completed — match played and scored
Cancelled — called off

Quick tips

Don't propose a match unless you really plan to be there — cancelling late hurts other players
If you have to drop out, do it as early as you can — gives the waitlist time to fill your spot
Sign up for waitlists on matches you'd play if a spot opens — you'll be the first offered
Check your email — match-related emails come from your muddle

How Matches Work