Big Brother 26 Rules

Welcome to Pretend Points Fantasy Big Brother 26!

In this game, we pick players from Big Brother 26 and then gain or lose points based on the things they do, the phrases they say, the comps they win, the showmances they enter and many other categories! The full scoring list is below. I’ll post a weekly recap and scoring update each week to the blog, mostly on Mondays, and send you a link via group text. 

The Draft:

• Big Brother 26 begins on Wednesday July 17^th.
• Beginning Thursday July 18^th, I’ll setup a group text where each of us will pick two (2) houseguests
• Scoring begins with the July 21st episode
• We will randomly determine the order in which we pick using The Wheel of Names. I will record and post the draft order on YouTube and share a link with everyone. 
• The first person will go first, second goes second etc…until we get to 8.  Then we go backwards so the person who picks 8^th also picks 9^th, the person who picks 7^th picks 10^th and so on until we each have two houseguests
• Any houseguest not picked goes into the “Lifeline” pool
• If your houseguest is evicted, you will choose a replacement from any remaining houseguest in the Lifeline pool
• At any point, you can change a current houseguest for someone in the Lifeline pool. 
• You CAN trade houseguests, if you find a willing trade partner
• All roster changes (trades, lifeline moves) take effect in the following episode
• We have eight (8) players. If the cast is smaller than sixteen (16) houseguests, we won’t all be able to draft two houseguests. If that happens, we will all draft one and the undrafted houseguests will be Lifelines.
• A few days prior to the season, CBS will post a page with information about each houseguest. I’ll share that with everyone, so we all start with the same knowledge.
• When your houseguests have been evicted, and there are no more Lifelines, your game is over.
• The player with the most points at the end of the season wins!

Scoring:

Scoring only counts for the episodes aired on CBS.  Live feeds / Big Brother After Dark are not scored. Often, CBS replays scenes (e.g. “Previously on Big Brother…”).  Replayed scenes are also not scored.  

Here are the scoring categories and how many points each category is worth.  You will earn points each time one of your drafted houseguests hits a scoring category (e.g. wins an HOH or is picked for veto via random draw). Some categories are things houseguests say (e.g. “In this game”).  In most cases, those categories are scored once per episode. Some categories allow you to gain points even after all your houseguests have been evicted!

Scoring Category	Points
First person evicted after our game starts	6
HOH Win	5
Veto Win	4
Special comp win (e.g. Battle Back)	4
Picked for veto via random draw	1
Picked for veto via houseguest choice	2
Gain a secret advantage (e.g. extra vote, immunity)	7
Be a secret team member (e.g. America’s Team)	7
Nominated for eviction	3
Receive vote against	1
Evicted	-2
Jury member	2
Shown on camera in gray (except initial eviction)	2 points per episode
Shown on camera making a final two deal	3
Shown on camera crying	1 point per episode
Speak in opening vignette	2
Mention Covid or something similar (e.g. “during these times” or “These challenging times”)	1
Mention “in this game”	1 point per episode
Mention “I need to win <comp name>”	1 point per episode
Mention “<X> is iconic”	1 point per episode
Mention previous season’s player	3
Come up with formal alliance name	3
Someone uses veto on your houseguest	5
Your houseguest uses veto on someone else	3
Earn a punishment / wear a costume	8
Win a cash bonus or prize	7
Be part of officially named showmance	8
Be part of officially named alliance	3
Return to the game after being evicted	7
Volunteer to go on the block as a pawn	3
Evicted after volunteering to be a pawn	-5
Removed due to Covid	7
Win HOH Part 1 (Finale)	7
Win HOH Part 2 (Finale)	9
Win HOH Part 3 (Finale)	11
Least Valuable Houseguest (the Houseguest who earned the fewest points in the season) (Finale)	5
Most Valuable Houseguest (the Houseguest who earned the most points in the season) (Finale)	5
Third place (Finale)	5
Runner up (Finale)	8
Winner (Finale)	15
America’s Favorite Player (Finale)	12
Be in Final Two deal that makes it to Final Two (Finale)	18

 Other notes:

• CBS occasionally introduces new houseguests after our draft. If this happens, they become Lifelines.
• CBS also introduces new twists every year.  I'll do my best to fit those twists into existing scoring categories
• Feel free to use the group chat to talk about their game or our game but try not to spoil things in the group chat!  If you hate group chats, please mute it.
• You can scroll back on the site to see recaps from BB 25 (and from Survivor too!)  
• Other questions?  Just text me!