Battle of the Books

Rules and Regulations

School Year 2008-2009

• Any group of three to four students may form a team and challenge any other team in their grade level by making arrangements with the librarian and teacher.  No changes in membership can be made to a team once it has been formed.

• Each team is made up of three to four players.  If a member is absent, the remaining players play as a team with no substitutes.
• There are five rounds to a game.

• Each team has 30 seconds to give the correct answer. It is recommended that they confer with each other first before stating the answer.  When teammates have agreed on an answer, their spokesperson will state the answer in the form of a question.  For example, “What is The Black Stallion?” and “Who is Walter Farley?”.

• Students are expected to answer with the complete title issued by their librarian from the official list disseminated to all librarians at the beginning of the school year. It is the local librarian’s responsibility that all lists disseminated to students are current and accurate. Any part of the title omitted, including articles “an” “the” and “and”, in the answer will not be considered correct or count.

• Questions may be asked on any of the books on the given grade list, but on no other books.

• The team receives two points for each correct title and one point if they can give the correct first and last name of the author, for a possible total of three points per question.

• If, at the end of 30 seconds, the team is unable to answer the question, the opposing team has five seconds in which to give the correct answer.  Once the spokesperson has started the answer, he/she may finish even though time has been called. But the spokesperson must clearly and succinctly state the title without pause before the answer may be accepted for 2 points. They may not offer the author for an extra point if time has been called. They have only one chance to answer.  If they miss, the next team starts with a new question. The timekeeper may warn each group when only ten seconds remain.

• If the first team is able to answer the title of the book (and scores two points), but cannot name the author, the opposing team does not have a chance to answer the question for the additional one point and is asked a new question.

• The audience may not coach members of the team, or talk while the battle is taking place. 

• In an effort to maintain the integrity of the competition and accommodate any possible space limitations of the host school, only one chaperone per team will be permitted to observe the morning elimination rounds. All other guests will assemble in a designated area to await results and the championship competition.

• All students must remain in their seats at all times. No bathroom breaks are allowed.

• Have at least two moderators for each battle; three is best though. A time keeper to watch the clock, a quizmaster to read the questions and a scorekeeper.  You may want to have a judge to handle challenges.  At the Archdiocesan level, quizmasters must be assigned to rounds in which their school is not participating.

• The team with the lowest score is eliminated at the end of each game and a new game of five rounds is started. Each game consists of five rounds of play.

• A set of books for each Battle of the Books list will be available to settle challenges.

• Only students may immediately challenge a question, but the decision of the quizmaster (or judge, if available) is final. Two to four judges will supervise and float between elimination rounds to handle challenges during the Archdiocesan competition.  Judges will evaluate the challenge by referencing the book in question, validating the clarity of the question, and/or lending support to quizmaster.

• The following rules apply for settling tie breakers for elimination. If there is a tie, continue with only the tied teams until a team with the lowest score is eliminated. That is, continue with a sixth, seventh, etc. round until a single team with the lowest score is determined at the end of each round. Eliminate that team and begin another new game of 5 rounds with the remaining teams. However, if there is a tie-breaker between the lowest scoring teams in any particular game, after five additional rounds, if the teams are still tied, the lowest scoring tied teams will be eliminated.

• The following rules apply when determining the championship team.  If there is a tie, continue with the tied teams until a team with the lowest score is eliminated.  That is, continue with a sixth, seventh, etc. round (however many are needed) until a single team with the lowest score is determined at the end of each round and you have your champion.

Information adapted from Cook, Sybilla, Frances Corcoran and Beverley     

     Fonnesbeck. “Battle of the Books and More” Fort Atkinson, WI:

    Alleyside Press, 2001.

                                                                                                                         Revised 09-26-08