Format

A round, line by line

• Toss-up

  A toss-up is read to both teams at once. Either side may buzz, and the first player recognised answers alone — no conferring. Get it right and your team also gets to hear a bonus.

  Points

• Answer window

  Once you are recognised, a short clock runs. Let it close and the question is gone. You are allowed to buzz before the reader has finished, but getting it wrong on an interrupt usually costs you.

  Seconds

• Bonus

  A bonus goes only to whoever took the toss-up before it. Here you can talk it over, and one person gives the answer you agreed on. Bonuses are usually worth more, and the other team never gets a look at them.

  Points

• Conferring window

  The bonus clock is longer than the toss-up clock, because you are meant to be talking. The moderator calls time when it closes, answer or no answer.

  Seconds

• Round

  A round is a timed block of alternating toss-ups and bonuses from across the six subjects. On a competition day you play them back to back against different schools.

  Minutes

• Team on the buzzers

  A fixed number of players sit at the buzzers, usually with at least one more on the bench who can be swapped in between rounds. The competition sets that, not the team.

  Players

The points, the windows and the number of players at the buzzers are all set by the ruleset a competition is played under, and they differ from one competition to the next.