6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system

The 6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system was devised by David Madden in 2017, for use in the National History Bee, US History Bee, and other bee competitions. Under the system, every buzz is guaranteed to result in a point change.

System Mechanics

Correct Buzz

Every tossup is powermarked. Based on how early a player buzzes, they can earn 6, 5, 4, or 3 points (if they buzz after the end of the question).

Incorrect Buzz

If a player buzzes incorrectly before the end of the question, they incur a -2 penalty, otherwise they incur a -1 penalty.

Ending the Round

In order to win, a player must either get 50 points or have the most points after 40 tossups.

Example Tossup

A correct buzz before the (+) would be worth 6, before the (*) would be worth 5, before the end would be worth 4, and after the end would be worth 3.

An electrician named Platyev claimed to have hit the perpetrator of this event in the face by throwing a screwdriver. An order to replace Filipp Medved was countermanded by the central person in this event, who may or may not have been targeted by Vania (+) Zaporozhets. Vasili Ulrikh secretly tried the perpetrator of this event, who was given a Nagant revolver and allowed to walk into the (*) Smolny Institute. The NKVD might have ordered Leonid Nikolayev to perpetrate this event. Stalin’s pretext for his first Great Purge was, for the points, what event, the 1934 killing of the Leningrad Party Boss?

ANSWER: Assassination of Sergey Kirov

Controversy

While some people enjoy the system for allowing more people to buzz (previously 3 buzzes would "kill" the tossup), the penalty is generally considered to be more severe than before, which hinders some players with aggressive buzzing styles.