Mentis

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The Mentis Company or The Mentis Group was a question provider run by Ron Trigueiro, Scott Hatfield and Ronald F. Kiser. The earliest existing packet by Mentis (Number 41) was written in 1987, and there are Mentis questions dated as late as 1990. Mentis tried to take the ACUI contract from CBI in 1988 but failed.

Format

Mentis used for their rounds a Tossup/Bonus format of 25/25. Tossups were called Teasers, and were worth 5 points, and Bonuses were called Stumpers and could be worth 10-15 points. There are also things called Super Stumpers. There was a rule book entitled "The Official Mentis Handbook of Academic Games" that contained the full rules and "strategies".

Existence

We're in this business because we enjoy these competitions as much your [BUZZER's] readers do. Our company is comprised of former players who want to advance the concept of academic buzzer games. Our ultimate goal is to legitimize and unify the various nationwide competitions. We take these games seriously and we would like to see more players and schools join us. To be sure, this is an economic opportunity for us, but, at the risk of sounding cliched, it is also a labor of love.

BUZZER #7 interview about Mentis