LearnedLeague is a web-based trivia competition operated by Seattle-based software engineer Shayne Bushfield under the pseudonym "Thorsten A. Integrity". As of November 2018, it has over 15,000 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. 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 and assigns point values to each question. 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. 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 PMPacific 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-Day Specials
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 Boston, The Middle Ages, Steely Dan, and Wikipedia. In single-day competitions, 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. Multiday competitions, called "MiniLeagues", 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.
Rules of conduct
LearnedLeague players are prohibited by an honor code from looking up answers. In addition, forfeiting matches is discouraged. Both cheating and repeated forfeiting are grounds for expulsion from LearnedLeague.
