OFC Scoring, Royalties and Fantasyland: How Points Are Really Won

Your board is full. Now comes the fun part: counting. Three layers decide the score — row points, royalties, and the big prize, Fantasyland.

Layer 1 — Row points and the scoop

Your top row is compared to your opponent's top; your middle to their middle; your back to their back. Each row you win, +1 point. Each you lose, −1. A tie is 0. Win 2 rows and lose 1, and you net just +1.

But win all three rows — a scoop — and you get a +3 bonus on top of the 3 row points: +6 total. That's the famous 1-6 system: normal hands are decided by 1-point swings, a scoop is worth 6. Scoops are where OFC is really won.

With more than two players, you're compared separately against each opponent — you can scoop one and lose to another in the same hand. All the matchups add up.

Layer 2 — Royalties: bonuses for strong hands

Royalties are extra bonuses for building strong hands, and you collect them whether or not you win the row (as long as you don't foul). They stack on top of row points.

BACK row royalties

MIDDLE row royalties

Look closely: the middle pays double the back for the same hand (flush +4 vs +8, full house +6 vs +12). Why? Because it's much harder to build a strong middle without breaking the golden rule. That makes the middle the most profitable row — and the one that causes the most fouls.

TOP row royalties — the top only has 3 cards, so it rewards pairs and trips:

Trips on top are pure gold: from 222 = +10, climbing by one all the way to AAA = +22.

Layer 3 — Fantasyland: the crown jewel

See that pair of queens at +7? It's worth far more than 7 points, because QQ+ on top (QQ, KK, AA, or any trips), without fouling, sends you to Fantasyland.

The reward: on the next hand you receive all your cards at once, face-down, to arrange however you like — while your opponents place blindly, card by card, you already see everything and build your perfect board. Loading up royalties and grabbing scoops from Fantasyland is easy. That's why the smallest row is actually the most strategic one.

The variants: Progressive and Ultimate. In Pineapple Progressive and Pineapple Ultimate, your entry hand sets how many cards you receive:

The difference between them: in Progressive, a Re-Fantasy always deals 14 cards; in Ultimate, you receive the same count as your first Fantasy. Pineapple Progressive is the most common format in tournaments.

Re-Fantasy: how to stay in (this is key!). You can chain Fantasyland — that's a Re-Fantasy. To repeat, you must build, without fouling, one of these two hands:

• Trips or better on top, or
• Four of a kind or better at the back.

Important: a full house in the middle does NOT give you a Re-Fantasy. Strong players don't just enter — they Re-Fantasy hand after hand, and that's where the scoreboard really takes off. Almost all the strategy in Module 2 revolves around one question: do I go for Fantasyland or play it safe?

Quick recap

• Rows: +1 / −1 each, tie 0. Scoop (all 3) = +6.
• Royalties stack on top and pay even if you lose the row (no foul).
• Back: straight +2 → royal +25. Middle: double the back (plus trips +2). Top: pairs 66=+1 … AA=+9, trips 222=+10 … AAA=+22.
• QQ+ on top = Fantasyland: all your cards at once next hand. Progressive/Ultimate: QQ=14, KK=15, AA=16, trips=17.
• Re-Fantasy: trips+ top or quads+ back only — a full house in the middle does NOT count. Progressive Re-Fantasy always deals 14; Ultimate repeats your first count. Progressive is the tournament standard.

Next up

That closes Module 1 — you now know the whole game. Module 2 begins the real strategy: how to place your cards well.