Variable-value bonus

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Revision as of 15:20, 20 December 2017 by Jonah Greenthal (talk | contribs) (Jonah Greenthal moved page Variable value bonus to Variable-value bonus)
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A popular format in the 1990s, the variable value bonus (VVB) assigned each bonus question an arbitrary point value of 20, 25, 30, or 35 points. In a format with VVBs, it was mathematically possible for a team to lose despite answering more tossups and having a higher bonus conversion, if a disproportionate number of the higher or lower valued bonuses went to one or the other side. Such a game was known as the "Colvin Unfair Result," after Matt Colvin, who was noted for his criticism of the VVB's fairness as a format. In response to Colvin and other critics, the variable value bonus has been abandoned in legitimate circuit quizbowl; its last appearance was at Penn Bowl VIII in 1999. The last refuge of the variable value bonus was College Bowl, which retained this unfair format for unknown reasons.