The program takes the form of a competition where the panel members, in turn, try to talk about a certain subject for a whole minute without breaking certain rules. If the opponents think they have heard something that goes against the rules they interrupt with an audible signal. The host then determines if the challenge will be accepted or rejected. If the challenge is rejected, the interrupted contestant gets one point and carries on. If the challenge is accepted the one who interrupted gets one point and the chance to speak for the rest of the minute. If there is uncertainty about whether or not one of the rules has been broken, the host can refer the matter to "the People's Court", i.e. the audience. First the host asks if the challenger should get the point, and after that asks the same thing regarding the interrupted contestant. The audience members answer by shouting "Yea!" when the host names the contestant that they agree with. The panelist who receives the strongest acclamation gets the chance to speak for the rest of the minute. At the end of the program the panelist with the highest score is announced as the winner. The prize is often something edible.
Rules
There are three ground rules which the contestants must obey:
A combination of hesitation and deviation was introduced by Moltas Eriksson as "homoeopathic dilution": a term originally from the field of homeopathy but used here to signify a long, meaningless string of words – what Hans Rosenfeldt usually refers to as "a stacking of words without any meaning within itself".
Scoring
1 point is given if a contestant challenges another contestant successfully or if a contestant is incorrectly challenged.
2 points are given if a contestant manages to end the minute.
3 points are given if a contestant manages to speak for the whole minute without being interrupted.
Notarius Publicus
The functions of the "Notarius Publicus" are scorekeeping, timekeeping, banging the gong when the minute is up, and announcing the winner. Helge Skoog has performed this role since early 2012. His predecessor was the producer Bibi Rödöö who had held the role from 2004. The scorekeeper's title was changed from "Chief Justice" when Skoog took over from Rödöö. The title Notarius Publicus is the Latin for Notary public; however, the similarities, if any, are slim in this program.
Prizes
Until Bibi Röddö joined in 2004, prizes had not been a part of På Minuten. The first prizes were tin cans containing exotic food. Some of them were so exotic that contestants did their utmost to let someone else win. After Bibi Rödöö had gone through most of what Stockholm had to offer in tin cans she started to bring home prices from her travels. After this the audience started to bring prizes of their own. These usually included local specialities like truffles from Gotland, chanterelles from Ludvika, or fruitloaf with homemade marmalade. Later listeners abroad started sending in prizes such as avocado crème from Israel, grasshopper lollipops from the United States, Arctic char from Canada, and a meal for two from a Japanese arctic research station. Foods are not the only prizes offered. Sometimes there are musical teachers who offer their services under the motto "Learn how to play an instrument under an hour". Contestants are not allowed to choose which instrument they will learn to play, as this is decided before recording of the show begins. The winner usually plays or attempts to play a small musical piece with the aforementioned instrument at the beginning of the following edition of the program.
Differences from ''Just a Minute''
The Swedish program has a slightly different interpretation of the rules compared to the British version.
In Just a Minute contestants are allowed to repeat words included in the subject. If the subject includes, say, the word "apple", then contestants can say "apple" as many times as they wish. In På minuten a contestant is allowed to say a word only once before he or she is interrupted or finishes the minute, regardless of whether or not the word is in the subject.
In Just a Minute contestants are not allowed to repeat a word at any time during the whole minute, whereas in På minuten they are allowed to use a word one more time following an interruption.
In Just a Minute the rule on deviation from the subject is interpreted more strictly than in På minuten. Just a Minute often does not allow deviation from the truth, logic, or grammar.
The rule "No stealing anyone's approach to the subject" does not exist in Just a Minute.
