LearnedLeague is a web-based, invitation-only global quiz league operated by

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-based software engineer Shayne Bushfield under the

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"Thorsten A. Integrity". As of September 2022, it has over 26,000 members worldwide.

Structure

Players are organized into leagues with nonspecific 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

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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 at or near the bottom of an upper one. The top players in each league compete annually for the title of LearnedLeague Champion.

Gameplay

Regular season

Each calendar year is divided into four seasons. Each season includes 25 match days—essentially one per U.S. business day. Players are paired against each other each day 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, two questions values of 1 point, and one question a value of 0 points (allowing a maximum score per player of 9 points). A player's opponent will get the assigned point value if they answer 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.

MiniLeagues and One-Days Special

Between regular seasons, a number of optional multiday and single-day competitions are held, each with a specific theme. Competitions have been on topics as varied as

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, and

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. In single-day competitions (individually known as a "One-Day Special"), all competitors answer 12 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 answers a money question that 30% of all other players get right, they earn 70 points on top of the base 15, for a total of 85. Some One-Days Special follow a constraint where each question is accompanied by an image or audio, known as Just Images or Just Audio one-days, respectively. Other One-Days Special have a hidden connection that is not announced beforehand, known as a Mystery Theme. Multiday competitions, called "MiniLeagues", are run in a similar manner to regular LearnedLeague seasons, but in lieu of rundles, players are assigned to

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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).

LearnedLeague Championship

The LearnedLeague Championship is an annual competition between the top competitors of each league. To qualify, a player must be ranked in the top three in an A Rundle in any of the preceding four seasons. The format is similar to the one-day format, with 12-question sets of which five must be moneyed. There are four such sets, and after the first two only those who score in the top half continue to the last two. The winner is the person who scores the most total points, and earns a scarf. Unlike regular LearnedLeague gameplay, the championship sets are proctored on a web communication platform such as

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, and have a shorter timeframe to answer and money the questions.

Rules of conduct

LearnedLeague players are prohibited by an honor code from looking up answers. In addition, forfeiting matches is discouraged (if players are aware of a scheduling conflict, they can request access to up to ten days' questions in advance per season). 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 ''

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'' champion and host

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, ''

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'' showrunner

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, musician

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, actor

Guy Branum Guy Branum (born November 12, 1975) is an American comedian, writer, and actor best known as the head writer of, and a sketch performer on, ''X-Play'' on the G4 network and as a regular panelist on ''Chelsea Lately'' on the E! network. He used t ...

Rotisserie League Baseball Fantasy baseball is a game in which the participants serve as owners and general managers of virtual baseball teams. The competitors select their rosters by participating in a draft in which all relevant Major League Baseball (MLB) players are avai ...

inventor

Daniel Okrent Daniel Okrent (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and editing, editor. He is best known for having served as the first public editor of ''The New York Times'' newspaper, inventing Rotisserie League Baseball, and for writing several books ( ...

, writer

Anna Quindlen Anna Marie Quindlen (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, journalist, and opinion columnist. Her ''New York Times'' column, Public and Private, won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992. She began her journalism career in 1974 as a re ...

, politician and former White House Chief of Staff

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, economist Steven Levitt, and journalist

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References

External links

* {{official, https://learnedleague.com/ 1997 video games Trivia competitions Games and sports introduced in 1997 Online games