How does Solitaire scoring work?

Before the advent of Microsoft Windows Solitaire, the game of Solitaire was typically not scored*, with the player either successfully completing the game or not. Computer Solitaire changed all of that, and today the most popular scoring system in use is that used in the original Microsoft Windows Solitaire game. This is the system we use when playing here are SolitaireCat.com.

* The gambling version of Solitaire, which was known as Klondike or Canfield, arose in the very early twentieth century and also had a simple scoring system to calculate the payout.

The scoring system

It is a relatively simple system, and incorporates a time element. The scoring works as follows:

The maximum score under this system is 24,078

Assumptions
52 cards in a deck
24 cards in the Stock (=52-28)
28 cards in the Tableau (=7+6+5+4+3+2+1)
21 unflipped cards in the Tableau (=28-7)

Points
   120 : 24 cards from Stock -> Tableau (= 24*5)
   520 : 52 cards from Tableau -> Foundation (= 52*10)
   105 : 21 cards flipped in the Tableau (= 21*5)
23,333 : Maximum time bonus =  (= 700,000 / 30 seconds)
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24,078
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The Microsoft mistake

There are sites all over the Internet that claim that the maximum possible score for Microsoft Windows Soliatire is 24,113. The claim is based upon Microsoft’s own Knowledge Base Article KB101766/Q101766, which states that scoring is accomplished as follows:

• You receive 5 points per card brought from the deck to the table and 10 points per card brought from the table to the foundation at the top.
• Bonus points are calculated with the formula of 700,000 / (seconds to finish) if the game takes more than 30 seconds. If the game takes less than 30 seconds, no bonus point is awarded.

Under such a system, the highest score would indeed be 24,113, but suprisingly, this is not how Microsoft Windows Solitaire is actually scored.

During the initial deal, 28 cards are moved from the stock to setup the initial Tableau columns. Instead of receiving 140 points for this as implied by the stated rules, 0 points are awarded, and instead, 5 points are given for each of those Tableau cards when they are subsequently flipped. This would seem to produce the same outcome, but the problem is that no points are ever awarded for the initial 7 cards that are already flipped during that initial setup. As such, the actual maximum possible score is 35 points lower than that asserted my Microsoft.

During timed games, 2 points are also deduced every 10 seconds, further reducing the possible maximum score by an additional 6 points.