How to Play a Hand of Pineapple OFC, Step by Step
You know the board. Now let's see how a hand is dealt and played from start to finish. It's easier than it looks.
The start: your first 5 cards
At the start of the hand you get 5 cards at once and place them wherever you want across the three rows. You can group them or spread them out — your call. This first placement is the most important decision of the hand (it gets its own lesson in Module 2).
The heart of Pineapple: 3 cards, place 2, discard 1
From then on, each turn you get 3 cards: you place 2 on your board and discard 1 face-down (that card is gone — nobody uses it). This is what sets Pineapple apart from Classic OFC, and it's what gives it its spark: every turn you choose which two cards to keep and which one to sacrifice.
Until you fill all 13
You repeat that "get 3, place 2" until your board is full:
- Start: 5 cards placed.
- Then: 4 turns placing 2 → 8 more cards.
- Total: 5 + 8 = 13. Board complete.
Along the way you'll have discarded 4 cards. Once everyone fills their board, hands are compared and points are counted (next lesson).
One important detail: position
Players act in turn, one after another. Acting later is an advantage: you see what others place before you decide. We'll dig into this later.
Quick recap
- You start by placing 5 cards.
- Then each turn: get 3, place 2, discard 1.
- Repeat until you have 13 cards (4 turns).
- Then hands are compared and scored.
Next up
How points are won, what royalties are, and the reward that changes everything: Fantasyland.