The noble and competitive art of dunking malted milk biscuits in tea.  

The Rules

1. Opponents take seats across the tea table with teacups ready.

2. The Tiffen Master has hot tea prepared in a teapot and pours the tea for each dueller. Milk is also added if required.

3. The Tiffen Master invites the contestants to carefully choose their weapon. The weapon being a Malted Milk biscuit chosen from a plate of Malted Milk biscuits. The rules are quite definite and clear on this, that only malted milk biscuits will do. I believe in America, another type of biscuit is used, due to a chronic shortage of Malted Milk biscuits.

4. The contestants hold their biscuit with two fingers above their respective teacups.  When the Tiffen Master gives the command 'dunk', each contestant must dunk their biscuit to a count of 3 (sometimes a count of 5). The biscuit is then removed from the tea and held upright.

5. Each contestant must then choose the precise moment to 'nom' the biscuit before it breaks and falls off. The winner is the contestant who makes a clean nom last. In the event that contestant 'A" has to go for a clean nom first, and is successful, contestant 'B' still has to make a clean nom to win the round. If they fail, contestant 'A' wins the round. If both contestants fail to make a clean nom then the round is void and the round must be replayed.

Terminology:

If the biscuit is eaten cleanly it is called a 'clean nom'. If the biscuits breaks and falls onto the table or onto the contestants lap, it is called a 'splat'. If the biscuit breaks and falls into the teacup it is called a 'splosh'.

Game Formats:

This game is often done on the best of three rounds. Sometimes it can be played as a knockout competition starting with 8 or 16 contestants. Each year, The World Tea Duelling Championships are held in Lincoln at the big three day Asylum Steampunk Weekend, held over the UK August Bank Holiday. To enter the World Tea Duelling Championships, you must have won a recognised qualifying event authorised by the Ministry of Steampunk. 

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