A buzzer-based Bible quiz for grades 3–12. Twenty questions, five categories, two teams — here's how a game actually goes. This page is a friendly overview of the essentials; for the full detail behind any rule, see the official rulebook.
Everything below unpacks these four ideas.
Three to five players a side, up to four in at a time — each with their own buzzer, seated facing the audience.
Five categories, four questions each — one 10-pointer, two 15s, and a 20. Anyone can buzz; players answer solo.
After every fourth toss-up, both teams get a bonus worth up to 20 points — the whole team huddles on it.
20 toss-ups plus 5 bonus breaks, then the higher score decides. A tie goes to sudden death.
Both teams sit at tables at the front, facing the audience. Up to four players from each team are in at a time, a buzzer in front of each. Between the two team tables sits the board operator behind the buzzer board's control panel, and the quizmaster stands opposite, facing the players.
Then, before the first question: each team names a captain, both sides check that their buzzers light, a scorekeeper from each team tracks the game's score so the two tallies can be verified against each other at the end, and the game opens with prayer.
Reads every question, rules answers right or wrong, and keeps the game moving.
Sits between the teams behind the buzzer board, resetting it between questions.
One player per team relays category picks and bonus answers to the quizmaster.
One from each team's side tracks every player's points — they call the buzz-outs.
A game opens with the quizmaster reading the first category's 10-pointer. From there, play moves in one simple pattern: the toss-up cycle — pick, read, answer — runs four times, then both teams get a bonus break. Every question after the first one is chosen off the Category Board by the team who answered the previous question correctly.
| Category | Point values | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the Lion's Den | 10 | 15 | 15 | 20 |
| Name the Place | 10 | 15 | 15 | 20 |
| Card Games | 10 | 15 | 15 | 20 |
| It's Possessed by God | 10 | 15 | 15 | 20 |
| Things That Grow | 10 | 15 | 15 | 20 |
The last team to land a correct toss-up chooses the next category and point value — and their captain calls the pick to the quizmaster.
Toss-ups are open to either team, and a player can buzz before the question is finished. The moment someone buzzes, the quizmaster stops mid-word.
The player who buzzed has 3 seconds to start answering, no help from teammates. A right answer scores the points; a miss rebounds the question to the other team.
After the fourth toss-up, play pauses: both teams get a bonus worth up to 20 points, taken one team at a time — which team goes first alternates each break. Then it's back to the toss-ups.
Five times through the pattern clears the category board — 20 toss-ups and 5 bonus breaks in all.
When a player scores 75 toss-up points or more in a single game, he's "buzzed out." The game pauses while the whole room applauds. That player sets his buzzer down for the rest of the game, but isn't done: he stays at the table and huddles on every bonus. If the game ends in a tie, he's back as a buzzer for the tie-breaker.
After 20 toss-ups and 5 bonus breaks, the higher score wins. A tie goes to sudden death: one 1-point toss-up with every buzzer live again — even players who buzzed out.
Toss-ups are the heart of the game — open to either team, answered solo. A player can buzz even mid-question: the quizmaster stops the instant a player buzzes in, and the player has 3 seconds to start answering. The first answer given is the one that counts.
The team gets the points, and the team takes control: their captain picks the next available category and point value.
No points come off, but the question is re-read for the other team, and every player over there gets one chance — after each miss the next may buzz in, until any one of them answers correctly.
Real categories from past seasons. Open a category, then flip its toss-ups.
After every fourth toss-up, both teams get a bonus. Bonus questions are often multi-part, read one piece at a time, and worth up to 20 points. The team huddles and the captain gives the team's answer to the quizmaster.
Every answer comes from the season's Study Text itself — no interpretation questions, no opinion, no denominational angles. If it isn't explicitly found in Scripture (the Study Text), it isn't asked.
A correct answer contains the significant words — the nouns, verbs, and modifiers the question needs. Articles and prepositions can be added or dropped freely. Only quote questions must be recited exactly (rule 2.5.4.4).
When a team believes a ruling was wrong, teen teams can contest it and have it verified against the Study Text right there; the rulebook covers the full procedure.
This page covers the game as it's usually played. For advanced or unusual scenarios — contentions, player substitutions, replaced questions, officials' duties — check the rulebook.
The complete official rules · Last updated Jun 15, 2026. Also available as a bound book.
Team play is the heart of the game, but there are also a few extra events where players can compete individually alongside it — these are available at some local and national events. All individual competitions are optional.
Solo buzzer play, eight to a room with the top four advancing. Sharper stakes than team play: misses cost points, and buzzing out at 50 sends a player straight to the next round.
A solo test on the month's material, taken online, and over the entire season's material taken in-person at Nationals.
Try a sample testQuote assigned Memory Verses, word-for-word, before judges. Five rounds — three with prompts, two without — and everyone still standing at the end finishes Gold Level.
