I. An original Chto? Gde? Kogda? TV version
1. A team consists of 6 players, one of them is a captain. Only one team plays in a game.
2. A packet of 12 questions is formed from questions sent to a show producing group. Anybody can sent a question, and all people watching the show are specifically asked to do so in the end of the show. Each question in the packet is assigned a number, 1 to 12, and the packet is given to a moderator.
3. The team sits around a table divided to 12 numbered sectors, each corresponding to a question. A top with an arrow sits in the center of the table.
4. A prize is announced for the current question. Somebody from the team spins the top. After the top stops, its arrow points at the number of a question. If this sector is already empty, the next question available clockwise is chosen.
5. The moderator asks the question, disclose its author and turns on a clock.
6. The team has one minute to discuss the question. The moderator must signal when 50 seconds have passed and 1 minute has passed. After that, the team must stop all discussions and answer in 20 seconds. The captain determines which player will answer.
7. After the team has answered, the moderator discloses the correct answer.
8. If the team has answered correctly, the prize goes to it, and it is awarded 1 point. If the team has answered wrong, or failed to answer in 20 seconds, the prize goes to the author of the question, and a fictitious "Team of TV Spectators" is awarded 1 point.
9. The moderator's decision whether the answer is correct or not is final and cannot be challenged.
10. If the team claims to have an answer before the moderator turns on a clock, it has a right to answer without discussion. If the answer is correct, the team is awarded (in addition to a prize and a point) one extra minute of time, which it can use while discussing any other question. If the answer is incorrect, the team receives no extra time, and a prize and a point are given as described in the previous section.
11. The game ends when the playing team or the "Team of TV Spectators" accumulates 6 points.
12. If the playing team wins, it plays in the next game. If it losses, it is replaced with a new team.
II. A tournament Chto? Gde? Kogda? version
1. A team consists of 6 players, one of them is a captain. Any number of teams can play in a game.
2. A packet of 12 questions is formed. The source of questions is irrelevant, but, of course, questions must be unknown to players. Usually hosts of a tournament obtain a packet from the Association. The packet is given to a moderator.
3. The moderator asks the question and turns on a clock.
4. The team has one minute to discuss the question. The moderator must signal when 50 seconds have passed and 1 minute has passed. After that, the team must stop all discussions and submit a written answer in 20 seconds. Assistants should be provided by hosts for fast collection of answers.
5. After all teams has answered, the moderator discloses the correct answer.
6. No extra time is awarded in a tournament version. However, if a team has an answer before 1 minute has passed, it may submit the answer any time.
7. The game ends after all 12 questions have been played.
8. If the team has answered a question correctly it is awarded 1 point. If the team has answered wrong, or failed to answer in 20 seconds, it receives 0 points for this question.
9. An independent jury of three members determines whether answers are correct or not. Decisions of jury are final and cannot be challenged. However in a rare case when a team can prove that the asked question or its presumed answer are, in fact, incorrect (that usually requires submission of an excerpt from a verified source, e.g., Encyclopaedia Britannica), this question may be cancelled for all teams.
10. A value of each question is calculated as R=N-n+1, where:
N is a total number of teams playing
n is a number of teams who have answered the question correctly.
11. Final standings of teams are determined as follows. Teams are ordered according to the number of questions they have answered. If several teams have answered the same number of questions, a team that has a larger sum of values of answered questions has higher standing.
1. A team consists of 6 players, one of them is a captain. Two teams play in a game.
2. The number of points to be reached to win is agreed. Usually, it ranges from 3 to 6 points. Also, the rule must be agreed how to resolve a tie break (see 13).
3. A packet of questions is formed. The size depends on the number of points necessary to win and is 2*n minimum (where n is the number of points necessary to win). It is wise to have several extra questions for a tie break. The source of questions is irrelevant, but, of course, questions must be unknown to players. Usually hosts of a tournament obtain a packet from the Association. The packet is given to a moderator.
4. Teams sit around separate tables. Each table is provided with a timer interruption button and a signal light.
5. The moderator asks the question, says clearly "Time" and turns on a timer.
6. Teams have one minute to discuss the question. The moderator must signal when 50 seconds have passed and 1 minute has passed.
7. When a team wishes to answer the question, the captain must press the timer interruption button. The timer stops and the light signal on a team's table flashes. After that, the team must stop all discussions and answer in 20 seconds. The captain determines which player will answer.
8. After the team has answered, the moderator decides if the answer is correct. If it is correct, the moderator discloses the correct answer; otherwise he announces that the answer is wrong and starts the timer again. The other team has what is left of 1 minute to finish the discussion. To answer, this team must press the button; if it fails to do so it cannot answer.
9. If the team has answered correctly it is awarded 1 point, the other one receives 0 points. If both teams have answered wrong, or failed to answer in time, both teams receive 0.5 points.
10. The moderator's decision whether an answer is correct or not is final and cannot be challenged.
11. If the team presses the button until the timer is on, such an event is considered a false start. After a false start, the team cannot answer the question. The other team has 1 minute to discuss and answer.
12. The game ends when one of the teams accumulates an agreed number of points.
13. If both teams reach the agreed number of points simultaneously, this
situation is considered a tie break. The teams continue to play until
the first correct answer, and the team giving it wins. Depending on the
amount of questions in the packet and preliminary agreements, either of the
two following rules may apply:
- the teams play indefinitely until the first correct answer, or
- if both teams fail to answer correctly three questions in a row,
both are considered lost.
14. Generally, in Brain Ring tournaments teams play according to a playoff system: pairs of teams are formed, they play, new pairs are formed from winners, they play etc. etc. until only two teams remain which play a final game. Of course, modifications are acceptable.
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