LearnedLeague
|
LearnedLeague Logo | |
| Created by | Shayne Bushfield |
|---|---|
| Website | LearnedLeague.com |
| Registration | Required to participate |
| Launched | 1997 |
| Current status | Active |
LearnedLeague is a web-based trivia competition operated by Seattle-based software engineer Shayne Bushfield under the pseudonym "Thorsten A. Integrity".[1] It has over 5,000 international members.[2]
Structure
Players are organized into leagues with non-specific geographic designations like "Central" and "Frontier". Players in each league are then sorted into "rundles" based on past performance (all first-time players begin in special rookie rundles). A promotion and relegation system is used; a player can move up to higher rundles by finishing at or near the top of a lower one, or move down to lower rundles by finishing near the bottom of an upper one. The top players in each league compete annually at the Trivia Championships of North America in Las Vegas for the title of LearnedLeague Champion.
Gameplay
Regular season
Each calendar year is divided up into four seasons. Each season includes 25 match days—one per U.S. business day. Players are paired up against each other each weekday during the season and compete in a six-question trivia match. Each player attempts to answer as many questions correctly as possible ("offense") and assigns point values to each question ("defense"). Players must assign one question a value of 3 points, two questions values of 2 points each, two questions values of 1 point each, and one question a value of 0 points (allowing a maximum match score of 9 points). A player's opponent will get the assigned point value if she or he answers correctly. Since the past performance of all players based on subject matter is openly available, defense is an important factor in gameplay. Answers must be submitted by 10 PM Pacific time. Results from the previous day along with the new set of questions are released each match day by midnight Pacific time (usually earlier).
Mini-Leagues and One-Days Special
Between each regular season, a number of optional multi- and single-day competitions are held, each with a specific theme. Competitions have been on topics as varied as Boston, The Middle Ages, Steely Dan, and Wikipedia. In single-day competitions (individually known as a "One-Day Special"), all competitors answer twelve questions. All correct answers are worth 15 points, but five player-designated "money questions" award additional points equal to the percentage of all players who got the question wrong. So for example, if a player correctly answered one of their money questions that 30% of all other players got right, they would earn 70 points on top of the base 15, for a total of 85 for that question.
Multi-day competitions, called "Mini-Leagues", are run in a similar manner to regular LearnedLeague seasons, but in lieu of rundles, players are assigned to ad-hoc groups of 12. After 11 rounds of regular play are completed, the top two finishers in each group compete in a championship structured identically to the single-day competitions (non-finalists can play as well, but their scores are not recorded on the final list).
Rules of conduct
LearnedLeague players are prohibited from looking up answers. In addition, forfeiting matches is discouraged. Both cheating and repeated forfeiting are grounds for expulsion from LearnedLeague.
Players
New players can join LearnedLeague only if they are referred by current members in good standing. Prominent players include Jeopardy! champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, How I Met Your Mother producer Carter Bays, musician Jackie Fox, actor Dileep Rao, Rotisserie League Baseball inventor Daniel Okrent, and writer Anna Quindlen.[3]
References
- ↑ Bushfield, Shayne. "About Thorsten". Retrieved October 22, 2014.
- ↑ "LearnedLeague 62: All Rundles". October 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
- ↑ Kushner, Adam (August 20, 2014). "The coolest, weirdest Internet community you'll never be able to join". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 22, 2014.