Game Format Summary

Tossups:

Powers in the PACE-NSC format are worth 20 points. The portion of the tossup that is worth 20 points is in bold. Power ends at the (*) in the written question. A correct answer during the remainder of the tossup is worth 10 points. A player must begin giving an answer within 5 seconds of buzzing in. If no one has answered a tossup correctly within 5 seconds of its completion, the tossup goes dead and the next tossup will be read.

There are no point deductions for incorrect interrupts. However, if a team incorrectly interrupts a tossup, that team is locked out of answering that tossup. A score check will be performed after 10 tossups. Teams also have the opportunity to make substitutions at this time (and at this time only).

Bonuses:

After a team correctly answers a tossup, that team is awarded a bonus. Bonuses should be read in order; bonus number does not correspond to tossup number. The controlling team should be prompted for an answer to each bonus part after 4 seconds. If the controlling team answers a bonus part incorrectly, the other team has the opportunity to “steal” the part. This is called a bounceback. The rebounding teams has 3 seconds to answer a bounceback. Bouncebacks occur after each part, not the entire bonus. The controlling team always has the first opportunity to answer each part.  

If the game is tied after tossup 20:

The moderator will read an additional (sudden death) tossup. If someone gives a correct answer to that tossup, the appropriate number of points is added to their team’s score and the game ends. If nobody answers tossup 21, additional tossups will be read in sudden-death fashion until one team answers a tossup correctly.