How It Works & Rules of Play

Play will begin with two teams of up to four players each; a team may have an additional member as an alternate. Each game will have three parts and the competition will follow this format.

Each game should be completed within 30 minutes, as indicated on the brackets.

1. First part.
   1. 6 questions.
   2. 5 points awarded for a correct answer.
   3. 0 points deducted for an incorrect answer.
   4. 3 questions will be directed to each team in an alternating manner; Question 1 will go to the first team, question 2 to the second team, question 3 back to the first team, question 4 to the second team, and so on.
   5. The other team will not have the opportunity to answer if the first team answers incorrectly; “stealing” the question is not permitted.
2. Second part.
   1. 10 questions.
   2. 10 points awarded for a correct answer.
   3. 5 points deducted for an incorrect answer.
   4. 5 questions will be directed to each team; they will NOT be “toss-ups.” The questions will be asked in an alternating manner; question 6 will go to the first team, question 7 to the second team, question 8 back to the first team, question 9 back to the second team, and so on.
   5. The team to whom questions are directed may pass without penalty: no points are deducted in this round for passing.
   6. “Stealing” the question is permitted. If the first student who buzzes does not give a correct answer, or if that team passes, a student from the other team may attempt to answer but is not required to attempt an answer.
3. Third part.
   1. 14 questions.
   2. 20 points awarded for a correct answer.
   3. 10 points deducted for an incorrect answer.
   4. The questions WILL be “toss-ups” – the first student to buzz must answer.
   5. If the first student who buzzes does not give a correct answer, a student from the other team may attempt to answer but is not required to attempt an answer.
4. Tie-breaker/"Overtime."
   1. Each "Overtime" period will have 3 questions.
   2. 20 points awarded for a correct answer.
   3. 5 points deducted for an incorrect answer.
   4. The questions will be “toss-ups” – the first student to buzz must answer.
   5. If the first student who buzzes does not give a correct answer, a student from the other team may attempt to answer but is not required to attempt an answer.
   6. The team with the most points at the end of the "Overtime" period will be the winner. Competition will proceed through 2 overtime periods if the score is tied after the end of the first "Overtime" period.
   7. If the score is tied after the second "Overtime" period, the format will shift to "sudden death" with 20 points awarded for a correct answer and 5 points deducted for an incorrect answer.

Multiple Choice Questions. For multiple-choice questions, the quizmaster will display the question first, then the list of possible answers with another click. Students may not buzz in before the list of possible answers is revealed. If a student does buzz-in before the list of possible answers is revealed, that will be considered an incorrect answer and points should be deducted as appropriate for that round. Points should NOT be deducted automatically if a student buzzes in before the quizmaster finishes reading the possible answers.

Student who buzzes must answer. For all questions, the student who buzzes-in must provide the answer – a team “captain” will NOT be required to answer on behalf of the team and MAY NOT supersede the student who buzzed-in. The student who buzzes-in must give the answer immediately after pressing the buzzer (no more 5 second grace period), and MAY NOT confer with his/her teammates after pressing the buzzer. Conferring among team members before the buzzer is pressed is permitted.

If a student buzzes before the Quizmaster finishes reading a question, the Quizmaster will stop reading the question. If the student answers incorrectly, the Quizmaster will read the question again.

No prompting by volunteers if partially-correct answers provided. Students will not be asked to “expand on” initial answers and/or to “give us more,” and may not do so. Students will not be allowed to supplement answers initially given; the Quizmaster and judges will consider only the student’s initial answer, and will award or deduct points based solely on that response.

This rule pertains to the situation where there is conversational give-and-take between judges and students. The reference to “initial answer” does not mean judges should penalize misspeaking that is corrected immediately and unilaterally by the student, such as “the stop sign was green…oops I mean red.” This is within the judges’ discretion.

Volunteers may wish to give “short answer” explanations about the questions and answers after points have been awarded, as long as each game is completed within the allotted 30 minutes.

Students may not have calculators, writing implements, and/or pieces of paper with them when competing.

It will be within the sole discretion of the competition officials at the time the answer is given whether any given answer is correct. There will be no appeal beyond the ruling of the competition officials at the time the answer is given. When a competition official indicates that all questions have been presented the game will be declared completed.