The game is played by two teams of four, and uses a four-quarter format. All four quarters are played to a time limit.
The first quarter is a round of toss-up questions worth 10 points each.
The second quarter uses 10-point toss-ups followed by a choice of three bonus sets. There are three questions in a bonus set, worth 5 points each, and teams may confer on bonuses.
The third quarter is the show's lightning round. The trailing team gets the first choice of three categories, and the leading team picks from the remaining two. Each team gets 60 seconds to answer either 10 questions or (rarely) either one 10-part question such as a "put these in order" question or a series of questions totaling 10 parts. Each correct answer is worth 10 points, with a 10-point bonus for going 10-for-10.
The fourth quarter is a final round of 10-point toss-ups.
The winning team advances in a season-long tournament. The final, titled "Super Granite State Challenge," there are seven rounds: the first, fifth, and seventh are toss-up rounds, the second and fourth rounds are toss-ups followed by bonuses, and the third and sixth rounds are the 60-second lightning rounds.
The 2005-2006 season is the show's 23rd season.