Five candidates sat next to each other in a semi-circle on chairs, which, when a candidate was eliminated, were automatically lowered into the basement of the studio after a visible "buzzer" press from the presenter, thus "sinking" the candidate. The questions came from a wide variety of subject areas and were mostly of a solvable nature.

First, each of the five candidates was asked two open questions, with which they could earn one light for the main round for each correct answer. This began with an open question for everyone, which the fastest candidate was able to answer. If they answered correctly, they were allowed to choose a teammate who then had to answer the next question. Three possible answers were then given, one of which was correct. This round was played until one of the candidates answered incorrectly. One of their lights then went out, or if all the lights went out, the contestant was eliminated. The round then continued with an open question to the remaining candidates.

If three candidates were eliminated within a certain time, the final was held between the last two remaining candidates. Otherwise, the main round was ended and open questions were put to everyone. The first two candidates to answer a question correctly then played the final.

This was played in best-of-five mode with open questions, i.e. the first person to answer three questions correctly won the final.