Quarter Quell

"*When the laws of the Games were laid out, they dictated that every twenty-five years the anniversary would be marked by a Quarter Quell. It would call for a glorified version of the Games to make fresh the memory of those killed by the districts' rebellion.*"
- Catching Fire

Every 25 years, there was a **Quarter Quell** edition of the Hunger games Quarter Quells marked the quarter-century anniversary of the districts' defeat by the Capitol during the First Rebellion, and included special celebrations and an even greater level of extravagance toward these Games preparation, proceedings, and arena they are held in than regular editions of the Hunger Games. Each Quarter Quell involved some sort of twist toward the reaping that made them even more difficult to compete in or watch. A wooden box in the Capitol had small yellow envelopes containing specific themes or twists for each Quarter Quell. These instructions were planned at the founding of the Hunger Games, with plans in place for hundreds of Games. The president would select the appropriate card and read it on live television several months prior to the Games to announce the theme of that year's Quarter Quell. It is unknown how many Quarter Quells were planned ahead of time, but it has been inferred that the founders of the Hunger Games (and confirmed in a deleted scene in the film adaptation of *The Hunger Games: Catching Fire*) intended to hold dozens of Quarter Quell and thus centuries of Hunger Games. The rules of the Quarter Quell are by no means absolute, as it was heavily implied (and confirmed in the same deleted scene of *The Hunger Games: Catching Fire*) that the 75th Hunger Games' rules had been changed specifically so that Katniss Everdeen, District 12's sole living female victor, would be forced to go back into the arena once more.

## History

### 25th Hunger Games

"*On the 25th anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that their children were dying because of their choice to initiate violence, every district was made to hold an election and vote on the tributes that who would represent it.*"
- Catching Fire
In the 25th Hunger Games, the citizens of the districts had to vote on who would compete in the Hunger Games as a way of reminding the rebels that they were responsible for the Hunger Games, and it was their fault that their children died in the Games every year. This also gave the districts a chance to either get rid of their unwanted or to up their chances of winning the Hunger Games. The victor is unknown and was deceased by the time of the 75th Hunger Games

### 50th Hunger Games

"*On the 50th anniversary, as a reminder that two rebels died for each Capitol citizen, every district was required to send twice as many tributes.*"
- Catching Fire
In the 50th Hunger Games, four tributes were chosen from each district instead of the usual two to remind the rebels that for each Capitol citizen killed, two rebels died. This put twice as many people in the arena at 48 tributes and thus made it twice as brutal. Haymitch Abernathy of District 12 won the second Quarter Quell after using the arena's force field as a weapon by letting the last tribute, the District 1 female, to throw her axe against the force field so that it would be shot back at her like a projectile, killing her.

### 75th Hunger Games

"*On the 75th anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors.*"
- Catching Fire
In the 75th Hunger games , tributes were to be selected from living past victors from earlier Hunger Games, forcing them to compete for a second time. This action was made to destroy any bonds the districts had with each other and to make them feel weak. It was meant to be a reminder to the citizens of the districts that even the strongest among them (the victors) could not overcome the power of the Capitol.

It was speculated and heavily implied that this twist was not planned at the founding of the Hunger Games, but designed specifically to force Katniss back into the arena in the hopes of stopping the rising rebellion. Even if it was planned in advance, it wouldn't have been possible if Katniss had not won the previous year's Hunger Games, as there would be no living female victor from District 12. The 75th Hunger Games were the last Games hosted due to the breakout of the Second Rebellion and was the only Games to not have a victor due to the Games being disrupted by the destruction of the Arena.