Bible Bowl Rules —Summarized from the official Bible Bowl Rulebook
Disclaimer: This rules summary is provided to help students learn the rules of Bible Bowl. It is not a substitute for the official Bible Bowl rulebook. This summarizes the rules of Bible Bowl, not Beginner Bible Bowl, although references to Beginner are used to help Beginner Bible Bowl players make the transition to Bible Bowl.
I. Tossups and Bonuses
Bible Bowl follows the same rules for tossups and bonuses as Beginner bowl. A tossup is read to both teams. The first player to buzz in tries to answer it. Once a player buzzes in he or she has three seconds to begin the answer. If the answer is incorrect the tossup is finished for the other side. If the answer is correct the team is given the chance to answer a bonus question. Tossups are worth 10 points and bonuses are worth 20-40 points depending on length and difficulty. Only the player who buzzed in can attempt to answer the tossup. There can be no discussion on a tossup question.
II. Types of Tossup questions
Unlike in Beginner Bowl, there are three different types of tossups. General, keyword, and specialty.
General tossup—This type of tossup is made up of a clue called a “lead-in” followed by an actual question. The clue can help a player guess what verse the answer comes from.
Keyword tossup—This type of tossup is similar to the general in that it has a lead-in followed by an actual question, except in this case the lead-in contains a “keyword,” which is a word used only once or twice in the text. The answer(s) comes from the verse(s) that the keyword is in. If a twice-used word is the keyword, the question must be either a two-part question or it must say which chapter the question is from.
Specialty tossup—These questions do not have lead-ins. Rather, they have different categories of questions. Categories include: “Who said the following and to whom was it said,” “Alliterations,” “Words within words,” “Clue-by-clue,” and many other things. Specialty tossups are generally self-explanatory. These may have one, two, or three answers.
For general and keyword tossups only: A player may quote the verse (or verses if it is a two-part tossup with answers from two verses) that the answer is from and be correct, as long as he or she doesn’t leave the verse. Once the actual answer is given, the player is correct no matter where in the verse he is at the time. (So if a player gives incorrect information after giving the correct answer because the quizmaster could not stop the player in time, the extra information is disregarded and the player is correct. However, if you give incorrect information before completing the required answer, the player is ruled incorrect). If a player begins in the middle of the verse, he or she may “go back” once. If the player goes back twice the answer is incorrect. A player may also just give the actual answer, of course, but quoting the verse(s) allows a player to answer a question very quickly, since the actual question may not have been completed before the correct answer is given.
For specialty tossups the player may only give the actual answer(s) to the question. If a player gives extra information that is outside of the answer, the answer is ruled incorrect. Specialty tossups are very precise, and the answers are typically very short.
Unlike in Beginner Bowl, not all answers have to be exact. Some questions are labeled “quotation” (i.e. “I have a general quotation tossup for 10 points), in which case the answer must be exact. Otherwise, the answer must contain all significant words, phrases, and modifiers without changing the meaning.
After a player answers a tossup, the team gets a bonus question worth 20-40 points. The team may work together on the bonus, but the final answer must be given by a player who is designated “captain.” Before the game begins, the quizmaster will ask both teams to choose one player to serve as captain. A captain may appoint another player temporary captain, in which case that player is the captain for the remainder of the current bonus question (just say "I appoint so-and-so"). After that bonus is over, the regular captain becomes the acting team captain again. Bonus questions can ask just about anything they want, but they always clearly explain exactly what they are looking for. Some bonuses can be tricky, so the captain should always consult with the rest of the team before giving answers.
If you feel the quizmaster has made a mistake, or if a question is incorrect, you may challenge the ruling (just like a coach’s challenge in football). You must use the word “contend” or “contest” in your request. (i.e. “I’d like to contest that question.”)
Two people are to discuss with the quizmaster during a contention, the person who answered and the person who contested. If this is the same person, the captain of the opposing team is to represent his team. Everyone else must remain silent during the discussion.
Tossup Contentions
If you think your tossup answer is right when the quizmaster said it was wrong:
If a player on the opposing team is ruled correct and you think he’s wrong
When this happens the quizmaster will call “time out” and you will discuss the contention and settle it.
Bonus Contentions
You may discuss the contention as a team
The captain must be the one to contest
Only the captain can present arguments to the quizmaster. However, the captain may appoint a temporary captain to discuss with the quizmaster.
When this happens, the quizmaster will note the question contended, and the contention will be settled after the game is over (or during halftime, if applicable). The captain will then discuss the contention with the quizmaster. The quizmaster's ruling following a contention is final.