Battle of the Brains


	General Rules Schools may only pre-test once per year. Schools must pre-test and compete in the TV viewing area that covers the school. Schools outside of a TV viewing area will compete in the region closest to their school. The Central Virginia champion will meet the Southeast Virginia champion in a Championship Game. The Championship Game will be broadcast on both Central Virginia and Southeast Virginia TV stations.


	General Rules There will be two Toss-Up Rounds and a Category Round. If the match ends in a tie, a sudden-death tiebreaker question will be asked. If a student buzzes early with an incorrect answer, the team will be penalized 5 points and the match will be over. The decisions of the Battle of the Brains judges in the studio are final and cannot be appealed. Toss-Up Rounds There is no collaboration among team members during this round. Should the Toss-Up Round end in the middle of a question, the question will be eliminated. If the round ends in the middle of an answer, the student will be allowed to complete the answer (within the 5-second limit). If the answer is incorrect, the opposing team will NOT have an opportunity to respond. A student may buzz before the host has completed the question. However, the host will immediately stop reading the question and go to that student for an answer. If the student answers incorrectly, his/her team will be penalized 5 points. The host will then complete the question. Any member of the opposing team may attempt to answer. There is no penalty should the opposing team stop the host before the question is completed. This is the only situation, other than the category rounds, in which no penalty will be assessed for an incorrect answer given before completion of a question. Each correct answer is worth 10 points. If a student buzzes early with a correct answer, the host will acknowledge the answer and then summarize the reading of the question for the viewing audience. Answers must be given within a 5-second interval. There is no penalty for an incorrect answer after the host has completed the reading of a question. The host will provide the correct answer for the audience should neither team provide an accepted response. A new toss-up question will then be read. Category Round Teams will be shown five unique categories. Examples of these: (1) 19th Century American Vice Presidents, (2) Italian Operas, or (3) Math Formulas. Each category has a total of 10 questions, each worth 5 points. A total of one minute per category is allowed. Collaboration is allowed. However, answers are accepted only from the team captain. Teams may pass items, given the time limit. There is no penalty for incorrect answers. The opposing team cannot respond to unanswered items or incorrect responses. The team that has the lead will have the first choice of categories. Approximately 15 seconds is allotted to make the choice. Following the completion of the first category chosen, the opposing team will select the next category. Immediately upon completion, this team will select its second category. After the second team has completed its portion of the round, the first team will select its second category. (One category will be unused.) A team that correctly answers all ten items in a category will be awarded 20 bonus points.


	General Rules The “All-Stars” features 8 individual players. Each player competes during 2 Toss-Up rounds and a Category Round. The decisions of the Battle of the Brains judges in the studio are final and cannot be appealed. Toss-Up Rounds Toss-Up questions are worth 10 points each. Toss-Up questions interrupted with an incorrect answer before being completed incur a 5-point penalty and the question completed for the opposition. There is no penalty for incorrect answers to completed questions. After 3 incorrect answers, the correct answer is given. Category Round There are 16 categories in the Category Round. Each specific category is revealed as the flashing categories stop. Players may select that category or pass to request an alternate category. If an alternate category is requested, the player must take the 2nd selection. Each category contains 6 questions worth 5 points. Players have 30 seconds for each category. Players may pass a question and if time remains, the question will be repeated. There is no penalty for incorrect answers. If all 6 questions are answered correctly, there will be a 10 point bonus. Sudden Death Round A “sudden death” round will occur if 2 or more players are tied at the end of the game. The first player answering correctly is declared the winner. No penalty occurs for early ring-ins and incorrect answers during “sudden death”.