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Granite State Challenge is an American television game show that airs on New Hampshire Public Television. High schools from around the state compete against each other to win bragging rights and grant money for their school. It is hosted by Jim Jeannotte and Tim Estiloz, who interviews the contestants. Tom Bergeron, best known as host of Dancing with the Stars and Hollywood Squares, once hosted the show.
Rules
The game is played by two teams of four, and uses a four-quarter format. All four quarters are played to a time limit.
The first quarter is a round of toss-up questions worth 10 points each.
The second quarter uses 10-point toss-ups followed by a choice of three bonus sets. There are three questions in a bonus set, worth 5 points each, and teams may confer on bonuses.
The third quarter is the show's lightning round. The trailing team gets the first choice of three categories, and the leading team picks from the remaining two. Each team gets 60 seconds to answer either 10 questions or (rarely) either one 10-part question such as a "put these in order" question or a series of questions totaling 10 parts. Each correct answer is worth 10 points, with a 10-point bonus for going 10-for-10.
The fourth quarter is a final round of 10-point toss-ups.
The winning team advances in a season-long tournament. The final, titled "Super Granite State Challenge," there are seven rounds: the first, fifth, and seventh are toss-up rounds, the second and fourth rounds are toss-ups followed by bonuses, and the third and sixth rounds are the 60-second lightning rounds.
The 2005-2006 season is the show's 23rd season.
Past Champions
- 2002-03 Hanover def. Winnacunnet
- 2003-04 Winnisquam Regional High School def. Trinity High School, 565-435
- 2004-05 Alvirne def. Interlakes, 695-500
- 2005-06 Manchester West def. Winnacunnet*
Controversy surrounds WInnacunnet's place in the GSC Super Challenge in that their "win" against Oyster River High School in the semi final came from an answer that came after the alarm sounded that signaled the end of the game.
Note that the high scores are due to the use of an extended seven-round game. In most regular season victories, the winning team will have a score in the 200 or 300-point range.
Other versions
A version hosted by Eric Boyd, known simply as "Challenge!" airs on KEDT in southern Texas. The only differences between the two games, aside from a side-by-side setup instead of one team on top of the other and a different sound and music package, are that in the second quarter there is no choice of bonuses, and in the third quarter, the leading team also gets a choice of three, with a new category replacing the one taken. In the hour-long final, there are five rounds: extended-length toss-up rounds begin and end each game, and there is a 60-second lightning round both before and after the (also extended-length) toss-up/bonus round.
The Long Island Challenge and the New Jersey Challenge are also presumed to use this format, although this has not yet been confirmed.
External links
"Granite State Challenge"