MIST Quiz Bowl

BracketTeam (2-6)In-Person

View Official PDF (Page 75)

Do you get an adrenaline rush at knowing the answer to any question asked? Are you a memorization whiz? Then MIST Quiz Bowl is the competition for you!

Format

In-Person

Registration Guidelines

Teams consist of a minimum of two (2) members and a maximum of six (6).
At any given time, only a maximum of four (4) students can play.
A student can substitute for another student ONLY between rounds.
If your team has six (6) students, there will be four (4) starters and two (2) on the bench.
A team of four (4) must have all students starting.

Tournament Structure

Each tournament has:

Three (3) Preliminary Rounds
One (1) Quarterfinal
One (1) Semifinal
One (1) Final Round

Elimination for preliminary rounds only takes place after all three rounds are completed.

Room Requirements

Every MIST Bowl room requires a minimum of 3 teams and maximum of 4.

2026 Topics

Topic #	Description
Topic 1	The Flow of Water: Balancing Scarcity, Use, and Waste
Topic 2	Sudan
Topic 3	Housing Inequality
Topic 4	Seerah (Life of Prophet Muhammad)
Topic 5	Current Events

Preliminary/Quarterfinal/Semifinal Procedure

A competition consists of three rounds with a total of 38 questions.

Each round has 10-14 questions from 1-2 categories
All 5 categories are covered by end of competition
Questions are printed in one packet with appropriate point values pre-assigned

Each team is allowed 6 members, with no more than 4 participating per round.
Teams may shuffle players ONLY between rounds.
Judges announce which two categories are being played in each round so teams may arrange accordingly.
If questions are challenged, judges deliberate after the round before awarding or deducting points.
Study materials are NOT permitted at any point during competition (including for non-competing team members).

Round 1: Current Events

Round 1 ALWAYS covers only Current Events.

Format

Series of 10 toss-up questions consisting of two parts each
Moderators will prompt “for 50 points” at the half-point mark

Scoring

Scenario	Points
First part correct	+100
First part incorrect	-100
Second part correct (after “for 50 points”)	+50
Second part incorrect	-50

Rules

Once buzzed in, judges must stop reading and are not allowed to repeat the question.
If answered incorrectly, the next team to buzz gets the question for full original point value.
Teams have 10 seconds to answer after buzzing.
There is no “Done” rule for this round.

Example Question

“This tournament’s mascot, Mola the lion, appeared throughout venues in cities such as Bafoussam, Garoua, and Limbe. Despite multiple postponements due to infrastructure delays and COVID-19 concerns, this competition proceeded under strict health protocols. For 50 points: name this international football competition, held from January 9 to February 6, 2021, in Cameroon, which Senegal won for the first time.”

Answer: the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (accept AFCON 2021)

Round 2: Topic-Based

Format

Two categories announced at the beginning
Questions in ascending point value: 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140
First 7 questions from Category 1, next 7 from Category 2
Categories are randomized in each game

Rules

Judges read the point value first, then the question.
Competitors may buzz early if they can anticipate the answer.
If buzzing early, the student must immediately give the answer.
10 seconds to answer after buzzing, 10 seconds to finish = 20 seconds total.
If incorrect, floor opens to all other teams.
Once buzzed in, judges stop reading and cannot repeat the question.
Other teams can buzz as soon as judge says “incorrect” or wait for the re-read.

Scoring

Scenario	Points
Correct answer	Full point value
Incorrect answer	-10% of point value
Steal (correct)	Half point value
Steal (incorrect)	-Half point value

Round 3: Topic-Based (Same as Round 2)

Follows same format as Round 2
Two different categories announced
Penalties apply for incorrect answers
Questions dead after 2 incorrect answers

Point Summary (Prelims/Quarters/Semis)

Round	Initial Value	Second Attempt	Penalty	Time
1	Stated before question	Full value	Yes	10 sec
2	Stated before question	½ value	Yes	10 sec
3	Stated before question	½ value	Yes	10 sec

Finals Procedure

Finals consist of three rounds with a total of 40 questions.

Team Rules

6 members maximum, 4 participating per round
Players may shuffle ONLY between rounds

Finals Round 1

Free-form questions read aloud by judge.
Teams may buzz before entire question is read.
10 seconds to answer after buzz, 10 seconds to complete = 20 seconds total.
Correct answer wins points. Incorrect answer does NOT penalize.
If incorrect, floor reopens after judge says “incorrect.”
Second team to answer gets half points.
Only two teams can attempt any single question.
Each question worth 100 points.

Finals Round 2

Same rules as Finals Round 1, except:

All questions worth 200 points
Penalties apply for incorrect answers

Finals Round 3: Jeopardy Style

Team with lowest score chooses category and point value first.
- Example: “History for 300 please.”
After question is read, any team may buzz.
Correct answer = team selects another question.
Incorrect answer = penalty (same as Round 2).
Floor opens immediately after judge says “incorrect.”
If no team answers in 10 seconds, same team chooses again.
Questions dead after 2 incorrect answers.

Finals Point Summary

Round	Initial Value	Second Attempt	Penalty	Time
1	100	½ value	No	10 sec
2	200	½ value	Yes	10 sec
3	Jeopardy	½ value	Yes	10 sec

Important Notes

Judges will not announce the winner — this occurs at the award ceremony.
MIST Bowl topics are available at getmistified.com/rulebook.
Study materials are not permitted during competition.