> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.toqui.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Scoring Modes: Pick the Right Rules for Your Pool
> Compare Toqui's scoring modes — Casual, Escalating, Cascading Bracket, and Custom. See point values, lock timing, and which mode fits your group.
Your scoring mode determines two things: what earns points (predicting the right winner, the exact score, the correct margin, and more) and when picks lock. You choose it when creating the pool, but it isn't set in stone — the pool's organizer or an admin can change the mode, the point values, and the lock timing at any point during the tournament. It's still worth understanding your options up front, because changing scoring after games have been played recalculates every score and notifies all members.
Nothing here is permanent. Organizers and admins can edit the scoring mode, point values, individual rules, and lock timing whenever they need to — handy for fixing a rule that was set up wrong. If you change **scoring** after results are already in, Toqui recalculates every score and notifies members. See [Editing the rules later](/en/guides/prediction-deadlines#editing-the-rules-later).
Lock timing is configurable **per stage** from the **Scoring Rules** screen. Each preset below sets sensible defaults, but you can override them — for example, leave group-stage picks on a single stage-start lock and switch knockout stages to per-match locks. See [Create a pool](/en/guides/create-pool) for the three lock options (Per match, Stage start, Custom).
## The three presets
Flat points every stage. Best for groups new to prediction pools.
Points multiply as the tournament advances. The most popular option.
Predict the full knockout bracket upfront. All-or-nothing drama.
***
## Casual
Casual is the simplest mode. You earn points for getting the right outcome (who wins or if it's a draw) and bonus points for nailing the exact score. Every stage — group stage through the final — is worth the same.
| What you predicted | Points |
| ----------------------------------- | ------ |
| Exact final score | 3 pts |
| Correct outcome (win / draw / loss) | 1 pt |
**When picks lock:** individually, at each match's kickoff. You can submit or update a pick up until the moment the whistle blows.
Casual is the easiest mode to explain to people who've never done a prediction pool before. If your group includes casual soccer fans or people who just want to participate without overthinking it, start here.
***
## Escalating
Tagged **Popular** — the most commonly chosen mode on Toqui.
Escalating works like Casual but stakes rise with each round. Group stage points are modest; a correct final prediction is worth ten times as much. This means anyone can catch up until the very last match, and nobody is mathematically eliminated before the quarterfinals.
| Stage | Exact score | Correct outcome |
| ----------------- | ----------- | --------------- |
| Group stage | 3 pts | 1 pt |
| Round of 32 | 5 pts | 3 pts |
| Round of 16 | 7 pts | 5 pts |
| Quarter-final | 10 pts | 7 pts |
| Semi-final | 15 pts | 10 pts |
| Third-place match | 20 pts | 15 pts |
| Final | 30 pts | 20 pts |
**When picks lock:** at the start of each stage — once the first match of a round kicks off, picks for that entire round are locked. This creates a natural deadline per round rather than per match.
Escalating is tagged "Popular" for a reason. It keeps everyone competitive deep into the tournament, rewards knowledge without punishing casual players too harshly early on, and creates genuine tension at every knockout stage.
***
## Cascading Bracket
Tagged **Most fun** — the highest-drama option Toqui offers.
Cascading Bracket flips the format. Instead of predicting match by match, every member submits their complete knockout bracket in one go before the first knockout game kicks off. You call every matchup — who beats who from the first knockout round through the final — all at once, with a scoreline for each.
The same escalating point values apply, but drama compounds as teams are eliminated. Every upset ripples through your bracket. If the team you picked to win the final goes out in the quarterfinals, you lose all the downstream points you'd built around them.
**When picks open:** members predict the **entire knockout bracket up front**, before any knockout game kicks off. Your own picks cascade through the rounds — the R32 winner you pick auto-fills your R16 slot, your R16 winner cascades to QF, and so on. You don't wait for real results to confirm a matchup; you pick it yourself.
**When picks lock:** all bracket picks lock at the first knockout-round kickoff (Round of 32 or Round of 16, depending on the tournament). There are no per-match or per-round deadlines — just one deadline for the whole bracket. See [Set prediction deadlines for your pool](/en/guides/prediction-deadlines) for the full breakdown.
Point values for Exact Score and Correct Outcome are identical to Escalating (see the table above). Cascading Bracket also enables a knockout-only **Team Advancement** rule that scores when the team you picked advances — even if your predicted matchup never happened, and even when the match is decided on penalties. Default Team Advancement points per round:
| Stage | Team Advancement |
| ----------------- | ---------------- |
| Round of 32 | 4 pts |
| Round of 16 | 6 pts |
| Quarter-final | 9 pts |
| Semi-final | 13 pts |
| Third-place match | 18 pts |
| Final | 25 pts |
For a full explanation of how bracket pools work — including a worked Team Advancement example — see [Bracket pools](/en/guides/bracket-pools).
***
## Custom mode
Custom mode lets you set your own point values for each scoring rule and each stage of the tournament. It's built for organizers who want a specific format — like awarding bonus points for predicting a clean sheet, or weighting the final more heavily than the escalating preset does.
### The six scoring rules
| Rule | What it checks |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Exact Score** | You predicted the exact final score (e.g. 2–1 is 2–1) |
| **Correct Outcome** | You predicted the right result — home win, draw, or away win |
| **Correct Margin** | You predicted the correct goal difference (e.g. a 1-goal win, regardless of the exact score) |
| **Total Goals** | You predicted the correct total number of goals in the match |
| **Clean Sheet** | You correctly predicted that one team would concede zero goals |
| **Close Score** | Each of your predicted scores was within 1 goal of the actual score, for both teams |
In Custom mode you assign a point value to any combination of these six rules, independently for each tournament stage. Rules you leave at zero (or toggle off) simply don't score.
A seventh rule, **Team Advancement**, is available only in Cascading Bracket mode — it's tightly coupled to the bracket-prediction format and doesn't apply to match-by-match modes. See [Bracket pools](/en/guides/bracket-pools#team-advancement) for details.
A popular custom setup: use Exact Score + Correct Outcome as the base (like Escalating), then add Clean Sheet and Correct Margin for a few bonus points. This rewards deeper tactical knowledge without making Exact Score feel arbitrary.
***
## How scores are read
Score-based rules (Exact Score, Correct Outcome, Correct Margin, Total Goals, Clean Sheet, Close Score) are scored against the **full-time + extra time** result — penalty kicks don't count. If a knockout match ends 1–1 after 120 minutes and is decided on penalties, a 1–1 prediction is treated as the exact score regardless of who wins the shootout.
There's no way to predict penalty kicks in Toqui. Whatever scoreline you enter applies to the regulation + extra time result.
In **Casual**, **Escalating**, and **Custom**, each match is scored on its full-time line independently. **Cascading Bracket** layers two extra behaviors on top:
* If your predicted matchup for a given match never happens (because the team you picked got knocked out earlier), the score-based rules earn 0 points for that match regardless of the score you wrote down.
* The **Team Advancement** rule still pays out when the team you picked wins — including on penalties — so a broken matchup isn't always a wipe-out. See [Bracket pools](/en/guides/bracket-pools#team-advancement) for the full explanation.
***
## Comparing all modes at a glance
| | Casual | Escalating | Cascading Bracket | Custom |
| ------------------------ | ----------------- | ----------- | -------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Scoring rules | 2 | 2 | 2 + Team Advancement | Up to 6 |
| Points vary by stage | No | Yes | Yes | Your choice |
| Picks submitted | Per match | Per stage | All upfront | Per match or stage |
| Picks lock | Per match kickoff | Stage start | Before R16 | Configurable |
| Rewards shootout winners | No | No | Yes (via Team Advancement) | No |
| Best for | Beginners | Most groups | Drama seekers | Power users |