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, still with no conferring allowed. 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.

Over the years, the rules have changed very little, (other than for the anomalous 86 and 87 series) with the most noticeable differences being around scoring. In the Bamber Gascoigne series, bonuses were not necessarily always for the same number of points; although the vast majority were for 15 points in total as usual, some would be worth more, occasionally netting the teams up to 40 points. Also, when a team gave an incorrect interruption, instead of losing their team 5 points, the opposing team would be given 5 points. This was changed to the current method of deducting 5 points when the show moved to the BBC in 1994, presumably as displays could now show a negative score! Other than that, hosts have gotten stricter in insisting that a contestant give the answer to a starter straight away after his or her name is announced, and teams are generally given less time to confer during bonuses.