Rulebook of the Qutopia League

1. The League

1.1 Players meet in head to head matches in the Qutopia League. Every player’s goal is to win as many matches as possible through knowledge and tactical ability, in order to place well in one’s own league and climb the ranks to the world’s elite.

2. Structure of a match

2.1 In each league match, two players face off against one another.

2.2 The player who is awarded more points for their correct answers wins the match. The match ends in a tie if both players scored the same amount of points.

2.3 Rounds start on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 09:00 UTC and end an hour before the next round starts, or at the end of the season.

2.4 Each match consists of eight questions.

2.5 Players must submit their answers and point selections before the end of a round using the Qutopia website.

2.6 Answering a question

2.6.1 All questions are text-based, sometimes with a piece of media (picture, audio, or video) as an additional clue.

2.6.2 Answers are typed into the entry field. These answers can be edited until they are collectively submitted.

2.6.3 Answers do not have to be spelled correctly in order to count. As long as the answer is phonetically correct, or the required knowledge has been demonstrated without a doubt, the given answer will probably be accepted. The decision whether to accept an answer lies with the quiz judge.

Example: The correct answer is the country Niger. Due to the similarity of the French pronunciation, “Nigere” would be accepted. However, “Nigera” could also mean the country of Nigeria, and would not be accepted.

2.6.4 If a question asks for a person, that person’s name is required, and not a description of them. Unless stated otherwise in the question, names will be accepted that this person is generally known as or performs under.

Example: The correct answer is Stefani Germanotta. “Lady Gaga” is correct. “The singer of Poker Face” is incorrect.

2.6.5 If a question asks for a person, that person’s surname is accepted, unless stated otherwise in the question. If an incorrect given name is supplied, the answer will be marked incorrect.

Example: The correct answer is Theodore Roosevelt. “Teddy Roosevelt” and “Roosevelt” are correct. “Thomas Roosevelt” is incorrect.

2.6.6 If more answers are given than required, and all answers are correct, the question will be marked correct. If at least one part of the answer is wrong, the question will be marked incorrect.

Example: The question asks to name an Italian city that begins with the letter M. “Milan” or “Milan, Modena” are correct. “Madrid or Milan” is incorrect.

2.6.7 Questions must be answered as precisely as possible. Even if an answer is not technically incorrect, the quiz judge reserves the right to mark unnecessarily general answers as incorrect.

Example: The question “What are Pongo in 101 Dalmations, Dug in Up, and Lassie in the films of the same name?” is asking for “Dogs.” While technically correct, the answers “movie characters” or “life forms” would be considered too vague and would not be accepted.

2.6.8 If a question asks to name a ruler, that ruler’s regnal number of byname must be given unless specified otherwise in the question. If neither is provided, the player will be assumed to mean the first ruler of that name.

2.7 Assigning points

2.7.1 After all questions have been viewed, the next step players undertake is assigning the points that their opponent in that round will receive for each correct answer.

2.7.2 Every round, players must assign the point values 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, and 1, for a total of 24 possible points.

2.7.3 For a correct answer to a question, each player receives the amount of points their opponent has assigned that question. Ultimately, the number of points received decides over victory and defeat, and not the number of questions answered correctly.

2.8 Submitting answers

2.8.1 After a player has chosen a valid point distribution and has answered or declined to answer all questions, the answers and point distribution for a match can be submitted. Answers and point distributions may be freely edited up to this point. As soon as answers and point distributions have been submitted, they are final.

2.8.2 Submissions must be made before the end of the round to be valid. Answers and point distributions which have been entered into their respective entry fields but not submitted will not be considered.

2.8.3 After submitting their answers, players will see the correct answers to each question and a preliminary ruling on whether their answer matches a valid answer.

2.8.4 Subsequently, all submitted answers are manually marked, in order to identify valid answers not yet marked as such. This process might result in official results that differ from the preliminary results provided to a player immediately after their submission.

Example: The correct answer is “Formula 1 race.” The answer “A race in Formula One” has not been marked as a valid answer. In the process of manual marking, this answer is deemed to be correct, and is added to the set of valid answers. This answer will now appear correct to all players who enter it.

2.8.5 Players will additionally have the option of challenging a given answer with the quiz judge, and optionally providing reasoning for their challenge, particularly if they feel that the question contains a factual error or that they have given a valid alternative answer.

2.8.6 If an answer has already been challenged by another player, this option will no longer be available, since the quiz judge has already ruled on the question or is in the process of deciding on a ruling.

2.8.7 Decisions by the quiz judge are final.

2.9 Scoring

2.9.1 After conclusion of the round, results are tallied. For each correct answer, both players each receive the points their opponent has assigned the question.

2.9.2 The winner of a match is awarded 2 points in the league. In case of a tie, both players are awarded 1 point. A loss awards 0 points.

2.9.3 Players are required to participate in all rounds of a season. If no valid submission is made in a round, the offending player will incur a penalty of -1 point(s). Repeated offenses can lead to expulsion from the league. That round’s opponent is considered victorious and receives 2 points if they answered at least one question correctly, otherwise they will be awarded a tie. They will also receive the match points they would have scored in the points distribution most favorable to them, up to a maximum of 24 match points for 8 correct answers.

3. League structure

3.1 Every player is assigned a league node.

3.2 Optimally, each league node contains at least 20 players. Each league node has an even number of players.

3.3 The Qutopia League is organized as a tree. All league nodes except for the highest node have exactly one parent node and any number of child nodes. Players who advance from a given league node are promoted into that node’s parent node. In the case that a node has child nodes, players who are relegated from the node are placed into an appropriate child node.

3.4 All players in a given node play the same questions in a given round. Different nodes may be asked different questions, both in terms of difficulty and subject selection.

3.5 Higher nodes play more difficult questions, while lower nodes play easier questions.

3.6 While the highest nodes are intended for international audiences and are played exclusively in English, lower nodes may be tailored to players from certain regions, and can be adapted to those regions in both language and subject selection.

3.7 New players are seeded into the league based on their performance in a rookie league.

3.8 Each league node has an associated language. Questions in a given node are played exclusively in the node’s language. Promotion to a higher league could involve a change in the playing language. A player can choose to decline a promotion in these cases. If that occurs, the next-highest-ranked player would become eligible for promotion.

3.9 League seasons

3.9.1 A league season typically consists of 19 rounds, which begin Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The first round of a league season will typically be the first Friday of an odd-numbered month.

3.9.2 Shortened rookie leagues consisting of nine or ten rounds start on the first Fridays of even-numbered months.

3.9.3 Leagues will observe a short mid-season break after the first ten or nine rounds to facilitate this schedule of play.

3.10 League Table

3.10.1 Players are listed in their league's table based on their position within the league.

3.10.2 The position within the league is decided by multiple factors acting as tiebreakers. These tiebreakers are points, match point differential, match points, correct answers, Elo rating.

4. Fairness

4.1 Use of any and all external resources to aid in answering a question is forbidden. This ban includes consulting a dictionary to look up an unknown piece of vocabulary, looking over at a wall-mounted map, or asking other people present in the room.

4.2 While not every breach of these rules can be recognized and penalized, we appeal to the spirit of fair competition to ask all players to follow these rules. A breach of these rules can result in expulsion from competition.

4.3 Players are asked to treat one another with fairness and respect. Any form of personal insult or denigration is forbidden. In the case that a player suspects another player of cheating, this accusation shall be communicated to the quiz judge, and not levied publicly.

4.4 A given round’s answers may only be discussed after conclusion of that round.

5. Categories

5.1 Each question in the league is assigned to one of the four main Qutopia categories.

5.2 The category World and Science contains questions about natural science, social sciences, space, human geography, physical geography, inventions, and technology.

5.3 The category Sports and Lifestyle contains questions about sports, sports organisations, teams, games, food, drink, companies, brands, celebrities, royal families, fashion, cosmetics, health, trends, hobbies, esoterics, and pets.

5.4 The category Entertainment and Media contains questions about movies, television series, literature, linguistics, music, stage productions, comedy, newspapers, magazines, and radio.

5.5 The category History and Culture contains questions about history, mythology, religion, philosophy, traditions, and art.

6. Payment

6.1 Only players who have paid their league membership fees are eligible to participate in the Qutopia League.

6.2 Participation in the Rookie League is granted for free for all players.