Brain Game is a weekly quiz bowl-type show for high school students that airs on NBC affiliate WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina. The program debuted January 11, 1997, when WRAL-TV was a CBS affiliate.[1] It currently airs at 11 a.m. on Saturdays, and the current host is former WRAL traffic reporter Mark Roberts. Early programs were hosted by WRAL weathercaster Greg Fishel.[2]
Each Brain Game show is contested by three teams of three players each. Teams may buzz in and attempt to answer at any time while the question is being read. Team members may confer with one another prior to answering. Academic-based questions in the games come from the standard North Carolina curriculum for ninth and tenth graders.
Prior to fall 2008, the teams with the nine best scores advanced to a playoff of three semifinal games, with the winners advancing to a championship game. Teams could advance to the semifinals without winning their regular season games - only the score accumulated during the regular season game determined the playoff teams.
In the fall of 2008, the rules were changed so that the winners of each game would automatically advance to the playoffs. The best non-winning high score qualified a team as a "wild card" in the playoffs.
The format used in Brain Game differs from other quiz bowl formats in some ways:
Starting in 2009, regular-season matches were played with three teams competing. The top 6 teams advance to the playoffs, which have two teams competing. The winners of the three head-to-head matches in the first round advance to the second round, along with the highest scoring losing team, leaving four teams. At this point, a champion is chosen based on single-elimination rules.
Brain Game shows consist of the following segments:
Most teams that participate in Brain Game come from the WRAL-TV viewing area.[3]
The schedule switched from semesters to school years beginning in 2009-2010 season.[4]
Season | Winner | Location | |
Fall 2004 | Enloe | Raleigh | |
Spring 2005 | Leesville Road | Raleigh | |
Fall 2005 | Terry Sanford | Fayetteville | |
Spring 2006 | Terry Sanford | Fayetteville | |
Fall 2006 | Grimsley | Greensboro | |
Spring 2007 | Person | Roxboro | |
Fall 2007 | Raleigh Charter | Raleigh | |
Spring 2008 | Raleigh Charter | Raleigh | |
Fall 2008 | Enloe | Raleigh | |
Spring 2009 | Grimsley | Greensboro | |
Spring 2010 | Enloe | Raleigh | |
Spring 2011 | School of Science and Math | Durham | |
Spring 2012 | Green Hope High School | Cary | |
Spring 2013 | North Carolina School of Science and Math | School of Science and Math | Durham |
Spring 2014 | Millbrook High School | Raleigh | |
Spring 2015 | Enloe High School | Raleigh |