The competitive fervor of the contest leads naturally to the establishment of rules. Foremost among them is the Credo, the most important rule of the Great Midwest Trivia Contest:
Trivia is meant to be entertainment and should be perceived solely in that light.
No one who truly understands the Credo will have trouble with any of the other rules, but there are a few more:
- Decisions made by the Head Master of Trivia or the Station Manager are final.
- When a team calls to answer a question, they will be allowed only three chances to give the correct answer. If a guess is correct, they will be asked their team name/number and be rewarded the points for that question. Only one guess can be made per call for a Garruda, and the team must identify themselves before they guess. Any team caught phone-jamming during a question will have their points for that question zeroed. Any team caught jamming during a Garruda may have their score zeroed.
- No question or Garruda will highlight or feature in any way content that is racist, xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic, or prejudiced towards any person or persons.
- Cheating is forbidden. Cheating is the only way to lose points in this contest. Cheating is defined as:
- Interfering with the ability of others to participate in the contest.
- Obtaining answers from anyone on the WLFM or Trivia staffs.
- Competing in the contest under more than one official team name.
- Abuse of the telephone system, as determined by the Head Master. Dialing to the phone numbers provided for the other team bracket is a common example.
- Prostitution of the Trivia Credo.
- Considering anything sacred.