diff --git a/multiplayer-todo.md b/multiplayer-todo.md
index 80f37707..bbd0384a 100644
--- a/multiplayer-todo.md
+++ b/multiplayer-todo.md
@@ -1196,7 +1196,7 @@ the local/CI/community transport, not a silent production fallback.
 | 8.16 `[D:8.14,8.15]` | **IN PROGRESS.** Pure Go candidate/team selection implements the <=100 ms ceiling, pairwise widening tolerance, anchor inclusion, deterministic set/region scoring and balanced team partitioning | `server/domain/matcher.go`, `teams.go` and adversarial fixtures cover no-common-region, tolerance boundaries, lexical ties, mean-rating balance and input-order independence; queue-backed candidate loading and full population fixtures remain |
 | 8.17 `[D:8.14,8.16]` | **IN PROGRESS.** Pure Go proposal policy sends a 10-second response window to every selected human, requires unanimous acceptance, applies exact decline/timeout cooldowns and ranked escalation | `server/domain/proposal.go` and adversarial fixtures cover partial/unanimous response, expiry, replay/conflict and ranked six-player/cooldown rules; casual 6→2 composition, queue precedence and allocation integration remain |
 | 8.18 `[D:8.5,8.14,8.17]` | **IN PROGRESS.** Go store layer defines PostgreSQL SERIALIZABLE whole-transaction retries and queue candidate/proposal claim SQL using `FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED` plus durable uniqueness/revision fences | `server/store/serializable.go` and tests cover retry classification and claim-boundary invariants; live PostgreSQL adapter/row decoding, Redis candidate index/repair, worker-failure and concurrent two-matcher integration tests remain |
-| 8.19 `[D:8.18]` | Casual policy: proposal composition above; >=1 human/team, exhaustive rating-balanced teams, bots after 60 s, opt-in kickoff-only backfill, 30 s reconnect and defined backfill/casual penalties | Every 2–6-human shape is tested; no mid-play replacement; declined/backfill participant gets no excluded rating/cooldown; original leaver gets only documented outcome/cooldown |
+| 8.19 `[D:8.18]` | **IN PROGRESS.** Pure Go casual lineup requires 2–6 humans with at least one per team, fills missing slots with explicit bots, permits kickoff-only bot-slot backfill and assigns no backfill penalty/rating update | `server/domain/casual.go` covers both-team minimum, bot shape, live-play rejection and zero-penalty backfill; queue candidate selection, opt-in 10 s backfill proposals, reconnect/leave penalties and live integration remain |
 | 8.20 `[D:8.18]` | Ranked policy: exactly six verified solo humans, no bots/backfill, only `ArenaRegistry.random`; define initial no-show, proposal timeout and reconnect/abandon transitions | Ranked rejects parties/bots/backfill/elevated arenas; every pre-live failure returns five innocent players with original precedence and applies no rating |
 | 8.21 `[D:8.5,8.20]` | **IN PROGRESS.** Pure Go rating core implements canonical Glicko-2, daily inactivity, ranked 1/3 and casual 1/N human-opponent weights, and deterministic opponent ordering | `server/domain/rating.go` has canonical/inactivity/weight/invalid-input fixtures; PostgreSQL snapshot locking, draws/OT/abandons, seasons and concurrent result transaction tests remain |
 | 8.22 `[D:8.21]` | **IN PROGRESS.** Pure Go ranked profile exposes the first ten games as provisional and keeps casual ratings outside the API | `RankedIsProvisional` covers the 0–9/10 boundary; authoritative tier derivation and UI remain |
diff --git a/server/domain/casual.go b/server/domain/casual.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..eaf9d8c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/domain/casual.go
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+package domain
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"time"
+)
+
+type CasualPhase string
+
+const (
+	CasualKickoff CasualPhase = "KICKOFF"
+	CasualLive    CasualPhase = "LIVE"
+)
+
+type CasualSlot struct {
+	Slot     int
+	Team     int
+	PlayerID string
+	IsBot    bool
+}
+
+// BuildCasualLineup freezes the live six-slot shape. Missing humans become
+// explicit server bots; no human is inserted after live play begins by this
+// function.
+func BuildCasualLineup(participants []ConnectParticipant) ([]CasualSlot, error) {
+	if len(participants) < 2 || len(participants) > 6 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("casual lineup needs 2 through 6 humans")
+	}
+	seen := make(map[string]bool, len(participants))
+	teamHuman := map[int]bool{}
+	lineup := make([]CasualSlot, 6)
+	usedSlots := make(map[int]bool)
+	for i, participant := range participants {
+		if participant.PlayerID == "" || participant.Team < 0 || participant.Team > 1 || seen[participant.PlayerID] || usedSlots[i] {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid casual participant")
+		}
+		seen[participant.PlayerID] = true
+		usedSlots[i] = true
+		teamHuman[participant.Team] = true
+		lineup[i] = CasualSlot{Slot: i, Team: participant.Team, PlayerID: participant.PlayerID}
+	}
+	if !teamHuman[0] || !teamHuman[1] {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("casual lineup requires one human on each team")
+	}
+	for i := range lineup {
+		if lineup[i].PlayerID == "" {
+			lineup[i] = CasualSlot{Slot: i, Team: i % 2, PlayerID: fmt.Sprintf("bot-slot-%d", i), IsBot: true}
+		}
+	}
+	return lineup, nil
+}
+
+func CanCasualBackfill(phase CasualPhase, slot CasualSlot) bool {
+	return phase == CasualKickoff && slot.IsBot
+}
+
+// CasualBackfillPenalty is intentionally zero: a kickoff-only backfill does
+// not receive a hidden-rating update or an abandon/decline cooldown.
+func CasualBackfillPenalty() time.Duration { return 0 }
diff --git a/server/domain/casual_test.go b/server/domain/casual_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..64505aa3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/domain/casual_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+package domain
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestCasualLineupUsesBotsOnlyForMissingSlotsAndRequiresBothTeams(t *testing.T) {
+	lineup, err := BuildCasualLineup([]ConnectParticipant{{PlayerID: "p2", Team: 1}, {PlayerID: "p1", Team: 0}})
+	if err != nil || len(lineup) != 6 || lineup[0].IsBot || lineup[1].IsBot || !lineup[2].IsBot || lineup[2].Team != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("casual lineup = %+v err=%v", lineup, err)
+	}
+	if _, err := BuildCasualLineup([]ConnectParticipant{{PlayerID: "p1", Team: 0}, {PlayerID: "p2", Team: 0}}); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("lineup without a human on team 1 was accepted")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCasualBackfillIsKickoffOnlyAndUnrated(t *testing.T) {
+	slot := CasualSlot{Slot: 2, Team: 0, PlayerID: "bot-slot-2", IsBot: true}
+	if !CanCasualBackfill(CasualKickoff, slot) || CanCasualBackfill(CasualLive, slot) || CasualBackfillPenalty() != 0 {
+		t.Fatal("casual backfill policy is incorrect")
+	}
+	if CanCasualBackfill(CasualKickoff, CasualSlot{Slot: 2, Team: 0, PlayerID: "human", IsBot: false}) {
+		t.Fatal("human slot was treated as backfillable")
+	}
+}