General tips for "mastering" the Bowl

The Bowl is a lot like the challenge. However, there are some very fundamental tips which will benefit a lot.

The Bowl is an event which is like a game show. A question is displayed on the screen, and you have a clicker which lets you answer that question. This also includes much of the curriculum. However, the Bowl is very different from the challenge in fundamental ways. Unlike most other events, it is a unique event with people cheering and talking with their team. You also get ALPACAS!!!

What you will need:

• A clicker you got/stole from the WSC team

• A water bottle, if allowed

• WSC name tag(Unless you don't want your clicker or your alpaca)

• A stuffed Alpaca from WSC - Yes, this is mandatory.

• Not a phone or computer, again. Is it just me or does WSC hate these?

• Your teammates, unless you plan to solo the entire thing.

First of all, let's go through the experience of the Bowl.

1. You get to the theatre and fumble through the crowd to get your clicker. Or you just get your teammate to do it.

2. You wait for everyone to arrive, which takes an hour. You are very bored, but then you finally start.

3. The introduction is very long. You sit back in your chair and slump down, listening to the speech the organizers are giving.

4. Finally, the Bowl. You have fun but get nervous about everyone cheering when you get a question wrong. You also see people searching for answers on their phones and computers but are too lazy to care.

5. You get alpacas halfway through the Bowl! You get to keep them forever and show your love and care to them.

6. You bet all in on the last question. It's straightforward, and you get it right. Or wrong, if you overcomplicated things.

7. After the whole process, you get up and return your clicker. You are glad that this was the most fun event in the WSC. However, you're still salty about the cheaters, which may have ruined the fun. (Just know that the questions in the Bowl can not be easily googled online, so people with devices likely know less than you do)

Now that you have a very vague and short description of the experience, here are some general tips.

1. Study. Like the challenge, the Bowl is only possible with knowledge of the curriculum they provide you. However, you can study less because the Bowl tends to be easier than its test counterpart. Many questions can be answered with a fundamental understanding of the topic and sound logic.

Note from Ryln: Sometimes, the curriculum actually throws you off by giving you a false impression on the question. It's best to know exactly what the question relates to, but don't make drawn conclusions if the question doesn't ask for them.

2. Everyone feels the same. When you hear cheering, you feel like you're doing bad when you get the question wrong. However, this is the same for every team. There are so many scholars in a competition that the cheering sounds like everyone. But you. However, you actually did better than you thought. From my experience, getting only 75% of the questions still lands you very well, and that 50% is good enough to get a gold medal.

Note from Ryln: You can ignore this point by getting everything right ;)

3. Bet big on the last buck. Usually, the previous question will be the thing which lets someone catch up and win the Bowl. This question in the Regional and Global was worth whatever you wagered, so you could choose how much to bet on this question. In the ToC, it was similar, except people would select the difficulty of the 3000-point question(While the Regional and Global were 2000 for the max bet). You want to bet big on this because the last question is usually simple. You can do it without knowing the curriculum. We got it right at the regionals despite not studying.

Note from Ryln: This tip is just from experience, if you truly do not feel confident in your answering abilities for the last question, bet smaller.

4. Refrain from overcomplicating things. Something that I've succumbed to is overcomplicating a simple question. Instead of going for the more basic and easy option, we find ways that another answer could be accurate but narrow. Many questions will need the curriculum. However, the l critical thinking component is much more important than knowing random names.

Note from Ryln: The bowl doesn't ask for much complications, so yes, it is better to think simpler for this event.

The studying tips for the Bowl are very similar to the challenge. If you want to know them, just go to the Challenge tab and see for yourself. I hope you the best of luck with your Bowl!