Fantasy House Rules

[1.0 Game Play]

Welcome to Fantasy House—where strategy meets the thrill of Big Brother! If you love analyzing the game, making predictions, and competing with friends, this is the game for you. Here is what you need to know before signing up:

A note on time tracking. Fantasy House measures progress in elimination cycles, not episodes. Big Brother typically airs three times a week (Sunday at 9 PM ET, Wednesday at 8 PM ET, and Thursday's live eviction at 8 PM ET), but the schedule isn't always consistent — and live feeds reveal upcoming events long before they air. Each elimination cycle ends with that week's Thursday eviction episode. All lineup picks, trades, jury/finale picks, and HOH/Veto wagers for the upcoming cycle must be submitted before Thursday's eviction episode airs—at which point the current cycle ends and the next one begins. The only setting you make for the current (about-to-end) cycle is your Elimination Wager, since Thursday's eviction is broadcast live with no spoiler risk.

[1.1 - General Overview]

Coaches will start by selecting MVPs from the pool of houseguests competing in the latest season of Big Brother. Coaches will then draft a team with their league from the same pool of houseguests. After the jury is formed and again leading up to the finale, coaches will make Jury and Finale predictions which award points for being correct!

Each elimination cycle, coaches will set their lineup, choosing which houseguests to keep active and which to exile. Their ACTIVE houseguests will earn or lose points based on their actions in the game as detailed in the rules below. If coaches are unhappy with their team, they can get in contact with other league members and work out a trade! Trade MVPs AND/OR draft picks and make the best team possible! As long as they have a positive amount of total points going into the cycle, coaches may choose to place a wager. Wager on the upcoming eviction, or predict who wins HOH or Veto. Lastly, if coaches draft the houseguest who is eliminated first in the season, their team may receive a "Grenade" that can have severe consequences.

[1.2 - "MVP" SELECTION]

Before the draft, coaches are required to make their "Most Valuable Player" selections. By default this is two MVPs per coach, but commissioners can configure this from 0 to 4 in private challenges (Challenge Settings → Team Configuration). Each pick can be any houseguest, and coaches cannot pick the same houseguest twice. MVP points are worth double. Coaches cannot exile an MVP (put them on their bench).

[1.3 - Draft]

Following MVP selection, the draft order will be randomized. The draft will be serpentine, so if coaches pick first in the first round, they pick last in the next round, first in the round after that and so on. Every houseguest can only be picked once by each coach and coaches cannot draft someone who they chose as their MVP. By default each coach has 4 draft picks, but commissioners can configure this from 0 to 8 in private challenges (the total of (MVP Count × 2) + Draft Pick Count is capped at 8). The number of copies of each houseguest in the draft pool depends on the number of coaches drafting and follows the same logic described on the How to Host a Draft page.

Self Draft: An alternate draft mode where every coach picks their own team via a "Pick Your Team" button at their own pace—no live lobby and no manual entry by the commissioner. Public challenges always use Self Draft (it's the only way teams get filled there). In private challenges, Self Draft is optional and is enabled by the commissioner in Challenge Settings.

[1.4 - Jury & Finale Pick]

Once the jury is formed, coaches will have an elimination cycle to make a Jury pick—predicting who they think is going to win the game based on jury sentiment and edit. Coaches will do the same the cycle leading up to the finale. Jury and Finale picks do not earn coaches points like their draftees and MVPs do. If a coach's Jury and/or Finale pick is correct, they simply get points for being correct.

If a coach hasn't made their Jury or Finale pick by the time that cycle's Thursday eviction episode airs, the system auto-assigns a random houseguest still in the game as the pick.

[1.5 - Setting Lineups Per Elimination Cycle]

MVPs will earn and lose points for their teams without their coaches having the option to exile them for the upcoming cycle. Draft picks are a different story! By default, each elimination cycle coaches will be required to determine which of their draft picks are active and which one will be exiled (also known as on their bench). Their active houseguests will count towards their total score while their exiled houseguest will not. Coaches may put houseguests that are out of the game in an active spot and vice versa as a tactic.

Exiling can be turned off. Commissioners of private challenges can disable the Exiling rule (Challenge Settings → Team Configuration). When off, every draft pick is active and there is no exiled slot to manage.

Lock window. Lineup picks, trades, and wagers all lock at 8 PM Eastern when the elimination cycle's Thursday eviction episode begins its live broadcast. Submit your changes for the upcoming cycle before that Thursday airing—live feeds give away upcoming HOH and Veto outcomes, so locks are tied to the broadcast cycle boundary, not the off-camera events themselves.

[1.6 - Trades]

Trades allow coaches to trade away MVPs and Draft Picks on their team for MVPs and Draft Picks on other teams, offering strategic flexibility. All trades must adhere to the following rules:

Team Structure

• A coach may not exceed the challenge's configured MVP cap (default 2; up to 4 if the commissioner has expanded it).
• For the default 2 MVP / 4 Pick team configuration, the permitted roster compositions after a trade are:
  • 3 MVPs, 1 active draft pick, 1 exiled draft pick
  • 2 MVPs, 3 active draft picks, 1 exiled draft pick (default)
  • 1 MVP, 5 active draft picks, 1 exiled draft pick
  • 0 MVPs, 7 active draft picks, 1 exiled draft pick
• Other team configurations follow the same value math (1 MVP = 2 draft picks). The exiled-pick row only applies if Exiling is enabled in Team Configuration.

Trade Rules

• Trades must be equal in houseguest value:
  • 1 MVP is equivalent to 2 draft picks
  • Example: A coach trading away 5 draft picks may receive 2 MVPs and a draft pick or 1 MVP and 3 draft picks or 5 draft picks in return.
• By default, coaches cannot trade away or for houseguests who have already been evicted. Commissioners of private challenges may enable a setting that allows eliminated houseguests in trade proposals.
• Unlike the MVP selection and Draft, there is no restriction when it comes to having multiple copies of the same houseguest. Compile a full team of the same houseguest if you think that is the way to go!
• Trade Deadline: By default, all trades must be completed before the Final 7 elimination cycle begins. Commissioners of private challenges can change this deadline (None or Final 6–13) or disable trades entirely in Challenge Settings → Trades.
• You may not trade during the cycle's Thursday eviction airing window — see [1.5] above.
• If the cycle's Thursday eviction airs while a trade proposal is still pending, the proposal is automatically cancelled.

[1.7 - Wagering]

Feeling confident in your Big Brother instincts? As long as your team has positive points, you can place wagers on upcoming events. There are three wager types in Fantasy House: Elimination, HOH, and Veto.

All three wagers are due before Thursday's eviction episode airs. The Elimination wager is for the current elimination cycle (the one ending that Thursday). The HOH and Veto wagers are for the next cycle—HOH is decided immediately after Thursday's live eviction episode (off-camera, but the winner surfaces on the live feeds shortly after), and the Veto comp happens off-camera on Saturday with its outcome inferable from the feeds in the days before Wednesday's episode airs. Locking both wagers at Thursday's eviction broadcast keeps the game honest.

Elimination Wagering

• For the current elimination cycle.
• If correct: Gain 2x your wagered points (default odds +100).
• If multiple houseguests are evicted in the same cycle, selecting any of them wins.
• Locks when the cycle's Thursday eviction episode airs.

HOH Wagering

• For the next elimination cycle—submitted Thursday before the HOH competition happens off-camera.
• If correct: Gain 2.5x your wagered points (default odds +150).
• If multiple houseguests share HOH (twists, ties, etc.), selecting any of them wins.

Veto Wagering

• For the next elimination cycle—submitted Thursday before Saturday's off-camera Veto competition.
• If correct: Gain 3x your wagered points (default odds +200).
• If multiple houseguests win Veto in the same cycle (twists, etc.), selecting any of them wins.

Odds & Rules

• Default odds are +100 for Elimination, +150 for HOH, and +200 for Veto.
• Your commissioner can adjust odds for any of the three wager types from the standard whitelist:
  • -1000, -500, -400, -300, -200, +100, +150, +200, +250, +300, +400, +500, +750, +1000
• Negative odds mean smaller payouts; positive odds mean larger payouts.
• You can place any combination of the three wager types in the same week.
• Last allowed elimination cycles are configured separately for each wager type. The default for all three is Final 6.
• Minimum and maximum wager amounts are also configurable per wager type. The default minimum is 1 point and there is no maximum cap by default.
• Wagering is optional but can be the difference between winning and losing your league!

[1.8 - Grenade Rule]

The Grenade Rule adds high stakes to first-cycle drafting. If you draft the houseguest who is the first boot (eliminated first in the season), your team receives a "Grenade" that can severely impact your final standing—unless you meet certain conditions to defuse it.

Receiving a Grenade

• If the first boot is on your team, you receive a Grenade.
• If the first boot is on your bench (Exiled), you typically dodge the Grenade—though your commissioner can change this setting.

Grenade Effects

• Your commissioner chooses one of two penalties:
• • Auto-Loss (default): Your team cannot win the challenge, regardless of your final score.
  • Point Loss: Lose a set number of points from your final score (default: 100 points, configurable by commissioner).

Defusing the Grenade

Your commissioner enables one or more of the conditions below. By default, meeting any single enabled condition defuses your grenade. Your commissioner can also turn on "Require all selected conditions", in which case every enabled condition must evaluate true for you to defuse.

The first three conditions (Winner / Jury vote / Finalist) overlap (the winner is also a finalist, etc.) — only one of those three can be selected at a time. Jury and Finale are independent and can both be enabled.

• Winner is on your team (default on): The Big Brother winner is on your roster.
• Any member received a jury vote: At least one houseguest who received a jury vote is on your roster.
• Any Final 2 finalist is on your team: At least one of the two finalists is on your roster.
• Jury pick correct: Your Jury pick is the season winner.
• Finale pick correct: Your Finale pick is the season winner.

Defusal Reward (optional)

If your commissioner has enabled the Defusal Reward, condition-defusing your grenade also grants you bonus points (commissioner-configured). The reward only fires for condition-defusal, not for paid defusal (below).

Paid Defusal (optional, hedge bet)

If your commissioner has enabled Paid Defusal, you can pay a fixed cost (commissioner-set; default is half the Point Loss penalty) before a deadline to lock in defusal regardless of the season's outcome. Paid Defusal is a hedge—the cost is deducted whether or not your grenade would have ended up defused another way, so coaches typically use it when their condition-based defusal looks unlikely.

• Deadline: Commissioners set a "last-allowed Final" cutoff. You can only pay while strictly more than that many houseguests remain in the game—after the cutoff (or after the finale airs), the option is closed.
• Paid defusal does not grant the Defusal Reward.
• Paid Defusal is disabled on public challenges.

Standings Behavior

• For the Auto-Loss penalty, an undefused grenade ranks the team below all non-Auto-Loss teams in the standings, regardless of total score.

Configuration

Your commissioner can enable or disable the Grenade Rule and customize all of the above settings in private challenges. Public challenges offer the Grenade Rule with standard default settings only (paid defusal disabled). Check your challenge settings or standings page to see if the Grenade Rule is active and what conditions apply.

[2.0 - Points]

[2.1 - Challenges]

• 12 Points for winning HOH
• 8 Points for winning the Power of Veto
• 6 Points for winning the BB BlockBuster
• 2 Points for winning a competition that's not HOH, Veto, or BB BlockBuster

[2.2 - Advantages & Powers]

• -1 Point to the HOH for each nomination they have to make in a round
• 2 Points for using the Power of Veto on yourself or someone else
• 3 Points if the Power of Veto is used on you by someone else
• 2 Points for gaining an advantage or power
• 2 Points for an advantage / power used successfully

[2.3 - Voting]

• 2 Points for voting correctly pre-jury
• 5 Points for voting correctly post-jury
  • If a houseguest throws a hinky vote or votes wrong on purpose for whatever reason, and it's proven through the edit or feeds that they knew where the vote was going and voted wrong strategically, they will get points for voting correctly.
• -1 Point for voting wrong
• -2 Points per vote against
• 3 Points for a successful backdoor as HOH
  • Backdoors are defined as a strategy where the HOH targets a player but intentionally does not nominate them initially. This prevents the target from playing in power of veto, robbing them of a chance to get themselves immunity, and easily allowing the HOH to nominate them after the veto ceremony.
  • Backdoors include rounds where the BB BlockBuster takes place.

[2.4 - Surviving]

• -10 Points for quitting or getting medevaced or removed from the game
  • See the Consolation & Punishment section [2.5] below for the additional points awarded to the rest of the houseguest's team (Consolation) and the additional points the houseguest who left forfeits (Punishment).
• -2 Points for being nominated
• Points for not being nominated, based on weeks in a row not nominated, awarded after the veto ceremony once nominations are set:
  • 1 week: 3 Points
  • 2 weeks: 4 Points
  • 3 weeks: 5 Points
  • 4 weeks: 6 Points
  • 5+ weeks: 7 Points
• 5 Points for surviving eviction

[2.5 - Consolation & Punishment]

When a houseguest quits, is medevaced, or is otherwise removed from the game, two additional point categories apply: Consolation compensates the rest of that houseguest's team (who lost the chance to vote them out and earn correct-vote points), and Punishment penalizes the houseguest who left (who skipped the consequences of being voted out).

Consolation Points (awarded to team members of the houseguest who left)

• +2 Points Consolation Pre-Jury — mirrors the regular pre-jury correct-vote value
• +5 Points Consolation Post-Jury — mirrors the regular post-jury correct-vote value

Punishment Points (assessed against the houseguest who quit / was medevaced / was removed)

• -2 Points per Punishment vote against — mirrors the regular votes-against penalty
• -1 Point Punishment voted wrong — mirrors the regular voted-incorrectly penalty

[2.6 - Placement]

• 5 Points for getting back into the game
• 5 Points for making jury
• 5 Points for making the Final 2
• 2 Points per jury vote. The show winner's jury-vote points are clamped between 5 and 7.5 jury votes' worth — 10 to 15 points at the default value. The limits scale with a customized Jury Vote value (rounded up; e.g. at 3 points per vote the maximum is ⌈22.5⌉ = 23). Commissioners can disable this limit in private challenges (Challenge Settings → Point Values → Jury Winner Min/Max).
• 5 Points for America's Favorite Player

[2.7 - Jury & Finale Pick]

• 25 Points for a correct jury pick
• 10 Points for a correct finale pick

[2.8 - Custom Point Values]

Commissioners can override scoring on private challenges. (Public challenges always use the standard point values.)

Custom Point Values

• Every team starts the game with 30 points by default. Commissioners can change this baseline (Challenge Settings → Point Values → Starting Points); changing it before the start round resets every team's total to the new value, and it locks once the start round airs.
• Commissioners can override the point value for any scoring category on a per-challenge basis (Challenge Settings → Point Values).
• Leave a category blank to use the site default. A "Reset to Defaults" action clears all overrides at once.

Other Things to Know About Scoring

• If a private challenge has its Start Round set to a later round, all scoring before that round is forced to zero — teams carry only their starting points into the start round. You cannot bank points from earlier rounds.
• Score recalculations cascade automatically when commissioners edit past lineups, picks, or wagers.

[3.0 - Clarifications]

[3.1 - Miscellaneous]

Points are awarded on an INDIVIDUAL basis. Even though at certain points in the game, an entire side of the house may "win" a category, it is important to know that points are NOT awarded to teams—they're awarded to the individual houseguests on each team's roster.

[4.0 Tiebreakers]

In the event of a tie, the following tie breakers will be used in order as necessary across each tied coach's full roster (MVPs + draft picks):

1. Best Placement of a coach's finishing houseguests when added together
2. Least amount of votes against across their roster
3. Highest number of correct votes across their roster
4. HOH wins across their roster
5. Veto wins across their roster

[5.0 Game Modes]

All of the gameplay rules above apply to both of the modes below. Configurable settings (described above as "default" values) only apply to private challenges; public challenges always use the defaults. More game modes will be added here in the future.

[5.1 - Private Challenges (within Leagues)]

Private challenges live inside a League, which is a group of coaches you create or join by invitation. The league's owner creates one challenge per Big Brother season, invites coaches, and configures the rules. The owner can also promote other members to co-commissioner, which grants them most of the owner's powers except deleting the league and transferring ownership.

• Fully customizable: Commissioners control every gameplay setting (team configuration, wagering, grenade rule, trades, scoring, and point values).
• All draft modes: Live draft, manual draft, or self-draft (coaches pick their own teams).
• Settings templates: Save a preferred set of rules and reuse them on future challenges (up to 5 per user).
• Navigation paths to Fantasy House on the website and app will be added once Fantasy House launches.

[5.2 - Public Challenges]

Public challenges are open, site-wide buckets that any coach can join—no league or invite required. They use the site's default rules and have no commissioner; what you join is what you get.

• Capacity: Each public challenge holds up to 12 coaches. When a bucket fills, the site opens another for incoming joiners.
• Per-coach limit: Each coach can be in at most 3 public challenges per season.
• Fixed rules: Settings always use the site defaults—scoring categories are not customizable and Paid Defusal is disabled.
• Self Draft teams: Public challenges use Self Draft as the only way teams get filled. Each coach picks their own MVPs and draft picks from a curated list of houseguests still in the game—there is no live or manual draft hosted by anyone. If the start cycle begins before you have submitted all your picks, the system fills the remaining slots randomly.
• Leaving: You can leave a public challenge only before its start cycle begins.
• Navigation paths to Fantasy House on the website and app will be added once Fantasy House launches.

We hope you enjoy our game and we are always looking to improve it!