I don't own the game (yet), but it seems to me that the in-game timer stays at 0 seconds until you make a move. On the Level Leaderboard, I am of the opinion that in-game time should not be used if you're allowed to look at the cards forever and plan your first move without the timer advancing.

Hi @mathgrant, when the leaderboards were made the mods + community decided to use in-game time where the game offers it (Toy Boxing, Slot Cars, solitaire games etc). It doesn’t give a massive advantage in Klondike as you can only see the top 7 cards, so it made sense to leave it as in-game time here.

The only exception is Mahjong Solitaire where it would give a big advantage, so for those ILs RTA is used. I’m obviously no mod but I hope that helps!