Four players are asked a series of questions. Each question has three possible answers, the last of which is always "None of the above." The players have three seconds to lock in their guess with the corresponding button on their podium. As many questions are asked as time permits, usually 20 to 25. At the end of the round, the never-seen "Inquizitor" gives out a severe tongue lashing to the player with the fewest correct answers, and that player is eliminated from the game. The scores are reset to start each new round, and play continues in this matter until only one player remains. He/she is awarded their papers, as well as a $500 cash prize.
NOTES:
- In the first season, the top prize was $250.
- During Inquizition's run, Game Show Network ran an interactive play-along contest each show via touch-tone phone. Four viewers registered with GSN were selected at random and contacted in advance. These phone players played the same questions as the studio contestants, and the low scorer was eliminated after each round until only one remains. That player wins the same amount of cash as the studio winner as well as online gift certificates.

Round 1 starts with an opinion-based multiple-choice question asked of 100 shoppers at Mall of America. Only the first player to buzz in gets the chance to guess the most popular answer. If the contestant is incorrect, another question is asked of only the remaining two players; if either of them misses it; the third player gets the next question all to him/herself. If he/she misses, everyone is eligible for the next question.
Whoever gets the most popular answer picks from one of four Mall of America stores, and a shopper is selected to play along via the "Mall-Cam". Both contestant and shopper are given a question somehow-or-other related to that store and four possible answers. The shopper guesses first, then the contestant. If the contestant answers correctly, he/she win 100 points; if the shopper is correct, he/she wins a $50 Mall of America gift certificate. Three of these questions are played in round 1.
Round 2 is played the same way, except each store-based question is worth 200 points.
LIGHTNING ROUND: Chris asks a series of mall-related questions; first player in with the correct answer gets 100 points. After 90 seconds, the player with the most points wins. Ties are resolved with a sudden-death tiebreaker.
BONUS ROUND: The winner is asked a series of questions regarding one particular store. This time, each question has just two possible answers. Each wrong answer counts as a strike, and if the contestant can answer seven questions correctly before accumulating three strikes, he/she wins $5,000. If he/she strikes out, he/she wins $100 for each correct answer.