The rules of University Challenge

Questions begin in the form of starters for 10 points, and must be answered on the buzzer with no conferring. The team that answers a starter correctly then gets three linked bonus questions for 5 points each during which the team may confer, with the captain (who sits third from the left) giving their final answer. If a contestant interrupts a starter question and answers incorrectly, his or her team loses 5 points (sometimes leading to negative scores!) and the other side gets the whole question. There are also 2 picture and 1 music rounds during each show (5 points are not lost for incorrectly interrupting the music starter). The actual game lasts around 26 minutes and is ended with the famous sound of a gong. If at the end the scores are level, the game is decided by a single tie break starter, with the winner being the first side to answer a starter correctly. However, if someone interrupts the tie break incorrectly, then their side loses 5 points and they lose the game.