Circle of death

Circle of death is a strange, archaic term for the common tournament occurrence of "three-way tie." It is also possible to get a five-way tie, where everyone is 2-2 among the tied teams.

It is considered good quizbowl to avoid paper tiebreakers like head-to-head, PPG, or bonus conversion when possible, though they are used when time or the number of questions is limited. The current ACF rules provide for the use of PPG and then bonus conversion if there are not enough packets to play off the tie.

The term "circle of death" is also used by the NAC to designate the double-elimination playoff at the end of the tournament.