NAQT rules - Revision history

Jonah Greenthal at 20:06, 1 August 2026

2026-08-01T20:06:58Z

Matt Weiner: /* History */

2026-08-01T05:03:55Z

History

Jacob O'Rourke at 04:55, 1 August 2026

2026-08-01T04:55:37Z

Jonah Greenthal: /* Full rules */

2018-02-07T19:29:31Z

Full rules

Morgan Vincent at 20:17, 13 January 2018

2018-01-13T20:17:06Z

Jonah Greenthal at 19:18, 24 December 2017

2017-12-24T19:18:01Z

Jonah Greenthal at 19:14, 24 December 2017

2017-12-24T19:14:44Z

Jonah Greenthal: /* History */

2017-12-24T19:05:47Z

History

Gregory Gauthier: revert my changes now that the blue-link has been created

2017-12-20T21:22:04Z

revert my changes now that the blue-link has been created

Gregory Gauthier: /* History */ fix redlink, again

2017-12-20T21:21:25Z

History: fix redlink, again

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 ==Summary==
-* Matches consist of two [[timed play|nine-minute]] (middle school) or ten-minute (high school and college, including community college) halves (but may end sooner if all the questions available have been exhausted, which is typically a limit of 24 [[tossup-bonus cycles]])
+* Matches consist of two [[timed play|timed halves]] (9 minutes for middle school, 10 minutes for high school, 11 minutes for college, including community college), but may end sooner if all the questions available have been exhausted, which is typically a limit of 24 [[tossup-bonus cycles]]. As an exception, games at four-year [[SCT|Sectional Championship Tournaments]] are untimed with 11-cycle halves.
-* Four players play at a time
+* Four players play at a time.
 * Matches consist of [[tossups]] with [[powers]] and [[interrupt penalties]] available. These are worth 15 and –5 points, respectively, while non-power correct tossup answers are worth 10 points.
-* Correct tossup answers in regulation lead to [[bonuses]] comprising three parts worth 10 points each
+* Correct tossup answers in regulation lead to [[bonuses]] comprising three parts worth 10 points each.
-* Players have 3 seconds to begin answering after they are recognized for buzzing in on a tossup
+* Players have 3 seconds to begin answering after they are recognized for buzzing in on a tossup.
 * There are 3 seconds from the end of reading a tossup until the tossup [[going dead|goes dead]]. (For [[computation]] tossups, it is 10 seconds.)
 * Teams have 5 seconds to answer each bonus part; the moderator prompts after 4 seconds. (Occasionally bonuses, especially computation bonuses, may specify a longer time limit.) Bonus parts do not [[bounce back]].
-* Each team is allocated one 30-second [[timeout]]
+* Each team is allocated one 30-second [[timeout]].
-* Teams may substitute players at a timeout, at halftime, or before [[overtime]]
+* Teams may substitute players at a timeout, at halftime, or before [[overtime]].
 * If necessary, [[overtime]] consists of three tossups that do ''not'' lead to bonuses. If the game is still tied after that, it goes into [[sudden death]].

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 ==History==
-NAQT has made many revisions to the rules since they were first created in 1996. Here is an incomplete list of major changes:
+NAQT has made many revisions to the rules since they were first created in 1996. See [[History of NAQT game format]] for a log of notable changes.
 [[Category:formats]]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 ==Summary==
-* Matches consist of two [[timed play|nine-minute]] (middle school and high school) or ten-minute (college, including community college) halves (but may end sooner if all the questions available have been exhausted, which is typically a limit of 24 [[tossup-bonus cycles]])
+* Matches consist of two [[timed play|nine-minute]] (middle school) or ten-minute (high school and college, including community college) halves (but may end sooner if all the questions available have been exhausted, which is typically a limit of 24 [[tossup-bonus cycles]])
 * Four players play at a time
 * Matches consist of [[tossups]] with [[powers]] and [[interrupt penalties]] available. These are worth 15 and –5 points, respectively, while non-power correct tossup answers are worth 10 points.
 * Correct tossup answers in regulation lead to [[bonuses]] comprising three parts worth 10 points each
-* Players have 2 seconds to begin answering after they are recognized for buzzing in on a tossup
+* Players have 3 seconds to begin answering after they are recognized for buzzing in on a tossup
 * There are 3 seconds from the end of reading a tossup until the tossup [[going dead|goes dead]]. (For [[computation]] tossups, it is 10 seconds.)
 * Teams have 5 seconds to answer each bonus part; the moderator prompts after 4 seconds. (Occasionally bonuses, especially computation bonuses, may specify a longer time limit.) Bonus parts do not [[bounce back]].

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 ==Full rules==
-[https://www.naqt.com/rules.html Here.] There is also an [https://www.naqt.com/downloads/brief-rules.pdf abbreviated version].
+[https://www.naqt.com/rules/ Here.] There is also an [https://www.naqt.com/downloads/brief-rules.pdf abbreviated version].
 ==Modifications==

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:17, 13 January 2018
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	* Eliminating the [[clock-killing neg]] and, in general, specifying that the timer shall never end a [[tossup-bonus cycle]]		* Eliminating the [[clock-killing neg]] and, in general, specifying that the timer shall never end a [[tossup-bonus cycle]]
	There have also been many small tweaks about protest procedures, answer acceptability, unusual situations, etc.		There have also been many small tweaks about protest procedures, answer acceptability, unusual situations, etc.
		+
		+	[[Category:formats]]

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 * Eliminating bonuses with configurations other than three parts worth 10 points each (such as [[30-20-10 bonuses]], "5 points for one correct answer, 10 for two, 20 for three, or 30 for all four," and other schemes). [[Variable-value bonuses]] were eliminated c. 1997, while all remaining bonus formats (besides three parts worth 10 points each) were eliminated c. 2014.
 * Expanding college play from 9-minute to 10-minute halves
-* Eliminating the [[clock-killing neg]] and, in general, specifying that the timer shall never interrupt a [[tossup-bonus cycle]]
+* Eliminating the [[clock-killing neg]] and, in general, specifying that the timer shall never end a [[tossup-bonus cycle]]
 There have also been many small tweaks about protest procedures, answer acceptability, unusual situations, etc.