We use several sets of rules during our tournament season. Most Fall Semester matches are played according to IHSSBCA rules or NAQT rules. Most Spring Semester matches are played according to IHSA rules. Post-Season matches are played according to the rule set of the organization that runs each competition. If you are ever unsure which rule set we will use at any event, please ask in advance.
Please always be understanding of moderators. Most moderators do not encounter unusual protest or correctness judgments very often. They might also read in many different formats during the season, and might not be very familiar with a particular tournament’s correctness rules. It is their kindness and willingness to moderate that keeps quiz bowl going in Illinois, so if you need to protest a matter of correctness, you should be ready to present a rule with proof quickly, confidently, and as politely and respectfully as possible.
All of the rules on this page are incomplete summaries, and should only be used for quick reference before you find the full rules that apply to a particular situation. They are also subject to change; most of these organizations review their rules annually and make updates at the indicated links.
IHSSBCA
IHSSBCA rule set / ACF rule set / PACE rule set
Tossups: 15 point powers, 10 point gets, no negs
Bonuses: rebound
Timing: 5 seconds to answer, 5 dead seconds after tossup, 5 seconds on bonus, 3 seconds on bonus rebound
Computational Timing: 10 seconds on computational tossups and bonus parts, if they are used
Length of Game: 20 tossups/20 bonuses
Correctness Rules (ACF)
The Illinois High School Scholastic Bowl Coaches Association is the state-level coaches association whose rules are commonly used at Saturday tournaments around Illinois. They are the default rule set for IHSSBCA Novice, Kickoff, and Turnabout. The IHSSBCA rules are simplified to be as easy as possible to read as you prepare for a tournament, so they leave more complicated rules to two organizations: ACF and PACE (see “PACE” and “ACF” sections below). ACF rules apply to any issues that are not addressed directly by the IHSSBCA rule sheet, but because the ACF format does not use bounceback bonuses, the IHSSBCA’s rules for complicated situations like replacing a bonus while using bouncebacks are addressed by the PACE rules instead. In other words, if a situation is not addressed in the printed IHSSBCA rules, check the ACF rules; if the situation is not addressed by the ACF rules, check the PACE rules.
NAQT
Tossups: 15 point powers, 10 point gets, -5 point negs
Bonuses: rebound
Timing: 3 seconds to answer, 3 dead seconds after tossup, 5 seconds on bonus, 3 seconds on bonus rebound
Computational Timing: 10 seconds on computational tossups and bonus parts
Length of Game: Two 10-minute halves, with a maximum of either 22 or 24 tossups/bonuses
Correctness Rules and Correctness Guidelines
National Academic Quiz Tournaments is a for-profit company that writes questions in bulk and hosts national tournaments. Their rule set is designed for use at their national championships, which use timed games so that they can run on schedule. Some tournaments use NAQT rules without the game clock, in which case they will announce the number of questions you will play (usually 20 tossups/20 bonuses) before the tournament.
IHSA
The IHSA rule set is linked from this page annually
2024-2026 IHSA Rule Book / 2024-2026 IHSA Case Book / 2025 IHSA Terms and Conditions (locally hosted copies)
Tossups: no powers, 10 point gets, no negs
Bonuses: rebound
Timing: 3 seconds to answer, 10 dead seconds after tossup, 10 seconds on bonus, 3 seconds on bonus rebound
Computational Timing: 30 seconds on computational tossups and bonus parts
Length of Game: 24 tossups/24 bonuses
Correctness: The IHSA rules address correctness in “Section 4-B. Answering” and “Section 4-C. Completeness vs. Prompting.”
The Illinois High School Association is the state-level organization for sports and activities in Illinois. Member schools (ours included) pay dues that entitle them to participate in a state series (Regionals-Sectionals-State) in various activities including scholastic bowl. The scholastic bowl page linked above has spaces for links to the Rule Book, the Case Book, and the Terms and Conditions document, all of which you should be familiar with before playing the IHSA State Series. These links are taken down annually and reposted in the fall or winter, usually with different URLs, so please visit the scholastic bowl page each year to find the updated rules, rule cases, and T&C.
Masonic Academic Bowl
The Masonic rule set is linked from this page annually
2025 Masonic Rule Book / 2024-2026 IHSA Rule Book (locally hosted copies)
Tossups: no powers, 10 point gets, no negs
Teamwork Questions: rebound, with equal numbers assigned to each team
Timing: 3 seconds to answer, 10 dead seconds after tossup, 10 seconds on bonus, 3 seconds on bonus rebound
Computational Timing: 30 seconds on computational tossups and bonus parts
Length of Game: 16 tossups/16 teamwork questions
Correctness: Uses IHSA rules “Section 4-B. Answering” and “Section 4-C. Completeness vs. Prompting.”
The Masonic Academic Bowl Committee is a subset of the Illinois Masonic Lodge that organizes an annual state series in their particular format. Unlike other forms of quiz bowl, the Masonic Academic Bowl divides the game into five periods, alternating periods of tossup play with periods in which teamwork questions (formatted identically to bonuses, but assigned evenly to each team) are read. Any rules not addressed directly in the Masonic rules use the IHSA rules instead.
PACE
Tossups: 20 point powers, 10 point gets, no negs
Bonuses: do not rebound, but rebounds are addressed as a rules addendum
Timing: 5 seconds to answer, 5 dead seconds after tossup, 5 seconds on bonus, (3 seconds on bonus rebound)
Length of Game: 20 tossups/20 bonuses
Correctness: The PACE rules address correctness in “Section F. Ruling on Answers.”
The Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence is a not-for-profit organization that administers the HSQB forums and the HSQB tournament database, among other public-spirited endeavors. They also run an annual national tournament, the National Scholastic Championship. Most of their rules are copies, with permission, from the ACF rules (see below).
ACF
Tossups: no powers, 10 point gets, -5 point negs
Bonuses: do not rebound
Timing: 5 seconds to answer, 5 dead seconds after tossup, 5 seconds on bonus
Length of Game: 20 tossups/20 bonuses
Correctness Rules (ACF)
The Academic Competition Federation is one of the most established and influential organizations in all of quiz bowl. The organization governs intercollegiate competitions nationwide and doesn’t have much to do with high school quiz bowl. With that being said, most of the hard work in establishing the theoretical underpinnings of fairness in quiz bowl was originally done by ACF. All of the rule sets above more or less depend on that work and are based, in whole or in part, on the ACF rules.