Are you looking forward to a fun and raucous game of Birthday Jeopardy at your next party? If so, we’re excited for you. Birthday Jeopardy is an excellent way to keep birthday party guests entertained and engaged while maintaining the birthday person as the center of attention.
If you’re making your Jeopardy game board and you’re struggling to come up with good category themes to use, look no further. We’ve come up with 30 categories you can choose from to keep your Birthday Jeopardy game stimulating and exciting for all involved. Keep scrolling to read through all 30 options, plus an array of example clues and answers you can use during your game. Let’s go!
What Is Birthday Jeopardy?
We all know Jeopardy!, the renowned American quiz television show, but what about Birthday Jeopardy? Well, Birthday Jeopardy is a game that follows the format of the classic show but with birthday-themed categories to promote the festivities ensuing at one’s birthday party. It’s a simple concept that makes for a fun activity to play with friends during a happy celebration.
How Do You Do Jeopardy for a Birthday Party?
When planning your Jeopardy game for a birthday party, we suggest designating roles ahead of time. A game of Jeopardy needs one host and three or more players to be successful. If there’s a willing, charismatic guest who’s close with the birthday person, ask them to host—that way, the birthday person can enjoy their own party without the stress of emceeing a game. They can sit and spectate while watching as their friends valiantly try to answer rapid fire trivia questions. Any other guests who aren’t as keen on trivia can spectate, as well—but really, if they don’t like trivia, then why did you bother to invite them?! (All jokes, we promise!)
There are plenty of ways that you could present your Jeopardy game to the group. If you’re crafty and you’d like to keep it analog, you can construct a 3-D Jeopardy board using a tri-fold posterboard. Folded cardstock can serve as a question-and-answer square, with the clue written on the outer surface and the answer sandwiched between the fold. Get creative with this—you can adorn the tri-fold with colors and illustrations that express the individual tastes of the birthday person.
In terms of digital Jeopardy boards, you’ve got a lot of options. Search for a PowerPoint template that will allow you to create your own board, or visit one of many websites that have coded a similar template for the use of the public (we outlined a few of our favorites here in this article.) If you’ve got a big screen or a projector that can connect to a computer, use it to expand the Jeopardy board for all to see.
As far as game structure goes, you’ll probably have to modify the traditional Jeopardy procedure to allow for more players (unless you’ve only got three guests who’d like to play, in which case, kudos for keeping it small). Contestants can buzz in with an app or come up with their own personal sound effect to notify the host that they’re ready to answer. Stick to five categories with five questions each if you’d like to keep the game brief, or add more categories if you’d prefer to play for a while.
Now, let’s get into those aforementioned categories.
1. Birthday Year Trivia
This category is a simple one: what happened during the birthday person’s birth year? Customize these questions to reflect the specific birth year of the person you’re celebrating and recall the most interesting events of the time.
Question: Who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981, and why was their appointment notable?
Question: Which new artist dominated the 2003 Grammy Awards with her album Come Away With Me?
2. On This Day in History…
Similarly to the one above, this category recalls the events of yesteryear. Feel free to delve as far back as history allows and include interesting fun facts and tidbits that happened on the birthday person’s birthday throughout the decades.
Question: What organ was transplanted successfully for the first time from one human to another on December 3, 1967?
3. General Birthday Trivia
There’s a lot to be said for birthdays in our society—they hold a lot of power and meaning for many as they move from one age to the next. But what do you know about birthdays in general? Ask your guests these questions to test their knowledge.
Question: What is it called when the date of your birth is the same number as the age you are turning?
Question: What is the most common birth date in the United States?
4. Memorable Birthdays of Yesteryear
Recall fabulous memories of birthdays from previous years by writing custom questions about the birthday person’s favorite experiences! This category is ideal if your party guests are old friends who’ve been around in your life for a while, AKA those who have celebrated past birthdays with you, too.
5. The Best Birthday Gifts…
What would the birthday person most like to receive on their special day? Call upon their favorite things—perhaps something they collect, or paraphernalia pertaining to a favorite hobby of theirs—and quiz guests on what they are. Who knows, perhaps someone brought one of the items mentioned as a present!
6. …And the Worst Birthday Gifts
By the same token, the birthday person surely has some items that they’d hate to receive at their party. Maybe they’ve got a very specific pet peeve, or an item that they’ve received in excess in the past. Whatever it may be, this is your chance to poke a little fun at the birthday person—all out of love, of course!
7. Birthday Traditions Around the World
Have you ever wondered how people celebrate traditionally celebrate birthdays in other parts of the world? See how much your friends know about birthday customs in foreign countries.
Question: What are the two most important birthdays in Korea?
Question: How do you say “happy birthday” in French?
Question: What happens in New Zealand after a birthday person has blown out the candles on their cake?
8. Astrological Sign Trivia
What do your guests know about the stars? Test them with this fun category. You can either center the category on the specific zodiac sun sign of the birthday person, or make it revolve around astrology as a whole—up to you!
Question: What two months can a Leo be born in?
Question: Which sign, born in September and October, is regarded as charming, sociable, and well dressed?
Question: Virgos, Capricorns, and Tauruses make up which elemental sign group.
9. Birthday Movies
Plenty of famous movies have an iconic birthday scene or center themselves entirely around a character’s birthday. Pick your favorite flicks and get your guests guessing!
Question: A tween girl receives her wish to be 17 years older after hosting a failed birthday party in this early 2000s rom-com.
Question: In this classic Disney cartoon based on the Lewis Carroll children’s book, a motley crew of misfits celebrate what they call a “very merry unbirthday” by cavorting around and sipping tea.
10. Birthday Songs
Dozens of songs about birthdays and birthday parties have popped up in the zeitgeist over the years. Choose your favorites, and then make a playlist of the songs to stream as you play your Birthday Jeopardy game—it’ll help players get a hint or two for this category if need be.
Question: When was “Birthday” by The Beatles released?
Question: What artist proclaims the following on her 2022 album: “Is it your birthday, girl? ‘Cause you lookin’ like a present!”
Question: In “Moon Song,” Phoebe Bridgers describes a dream she has about a birthday party. What is the theme of the party?
Question: In what 2003 hit rap song does 50 Cent instruct the listener to “party like it’s ya birthday”?
11. Famous Celebrities Born on This Day
No matter what day you were born, you surely share a birthday with somebody famous! See if your friends know which celebs were born on this day in history.
Question: If you were born on February 20, you share a birthday with this Barbadian pop icon.
Question: If you were born on July 4, you share a birthday with this early 20th century president.
Question: Which former member of the band One Direction was born on August 29?
12. Characters Born on This Day
In the same vein as the previous category, there are plenty of characters in famous media who have designated canon birthdays. Find a few that were born on the birthday in question to feature in your game of Birthday Jeopardy.
Question: If you were born on July 31, you share a birthday with these two fictional wizards.
Question: If your birthday is January 18, you share a special day with this fictional mayor of Pawnee, Indiana.
Question: What famous superhero was born on Leap Day, AKA February 29?
Question: If your birthday is on March 15, then you were born on the same day as this enthusiastic paper company manager.
13. Birth Decade Trivia
What notable events took place in the decade that the birthday person was born? Choose a variety—make sure you include some happy ones, not just downers! —and don’t shy away from specifics, especially since a decade is a broad amount of time! Alternatively, you can choose to include clues about trends from the decade in question.
Question: Who competed in the wildly hyped “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match in the early 1970s?
Question: This purse worn around the waist was extremely popular with men and women in the 1990s.
14. All About the Birthday Person
Birthday Jeopardy is a perfect time to pay homage to the guest of honor, so why not make a category all about them? Ask about important events in their life, their idiosyncrasies, and any fun facts that might be hard to guess. They’re sure to feel extra loved once they see all their friends clamoring to answer!
15. The Birthday Person’s Favorite Foods
Make sure the snack table is well stocked before you play this category! Ask the birthday person ahead of time about all of their favorite dishes and then write clues that pertain to them. This can also be a fun theme if the birthday person is a picky eater.
16. When They Were Your Age…
With each age comes more expectations set by those who came before you—so why not quiz guests on what other famous folks have accomplished while they were the birthday person’s age? While this can be fun, try to keep it light—no need to rub it in that no one in the group has become president or developed a life-saving technology! Still, it can be fun to find out when public figures accomplished certain big milestones.
Question: Playwright Tennessee Williams was 33 years old when he published what famous work?
Question: Which album did Taylor Swift release when she was 22 years old?
17. You’re Turning 50—How Well Do You Know 1950?
In this category, test guests’ knowledge of 20th-century happenings. Swap out 50 for whichever age the birthday person is turning to quiz them on the corresponding year from the previous century, good and bad.
Question: What Virginia Woolf novel was published in 1927?
Question: Which American pilot was detained for two years beginning in 1960?
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Answer: Pilot Francis Gary Powers.
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18. Birthday Books
Loads of famous books feature birthday-centric plots, scenes, and motifs. If your guests are a bunch of bibliophiles, this category will be much appreciated.
Question: Which birthday does the hobbit Bilbo Baggins celebrate in J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Fellowship of the Ring?
19. All About Birthday Cake
What’s a birthday party without cake? Use this category to refresh your memory of your favorite fluffy baked good, then cut yourself a slice or two.
Question: Which special ingredient makes angel food cake so airy?
Question: Name two fruits that typically appear on top of an upside down cake.
20. Societal Birthday Milestones
There are plenty of markers in American society that come along with a certain age. Include monikers associated with specific ages that might be unknown to guests—there are lots of obscure ones.
Question: What teenage birthday often comes along with a saccharine descriptor?
Question: What birthday is considered the silver birthday?
21. What Were Your Baby Birthdays Like?
Recall how you celebrated your birthday as a child in this fun category. Perhaps include a photo round and ask guests to guess how old you were turning in the pictures shown. If you celebrated with themed parties as a child, all the better.
22. All About Your Parents
Pay homage to the people who raised you in this personalized, family-oriented category! This is an especially fun one to play if the birthday person’s parents are in attendance at the party.
23. All About Your Birthstone
Every month has its own birthstone, but how much do players know about the birthday person’s specific one? Use reputable sources to cite the properties and meanings of the stone in question.
Question: Opal is the most widely-regarded birthstone for the month of October. What’s another October birthstone?
Question: What qualities do May’s birthstone, emerald, supposedly promote in their bearer?
24. The Miracle of Birth
We’d be remiss not to include a category about giving birth itself. After all, what’s a birthday without paying homage to the process of being brought into this world? Text your mom a thank you, and then introduce your friends to this fun category.
Question: What do you call a pregnancy that develops inside of one of the Fallopian tubes, as opposed to in the uterus?
Question: Before beginning a natural delivery of a baby, how many centimeters dilated must the cervix be?
25. Generation Generalizations
No matter when you were born, you’ve definitely fallen prey to some stereotypes about your generation at one point or another. It seems like no age group can escape from generalizations, whether they’re insightful or harmful. Show your pride for the birthday person’s generation by asking fun questions in this category.
Question: What foods do millennials stereotypically spend too much money on?
Question: What family role is often used to describe the personalities of those born during Gen X?
26. Birth City Trivia
If the birthday person is particularly proud of their hometown, opt for this category and ask guests all about the place that they were born. Whether it’s a big city or a small town, there’s sure to be plenty of fun trivia facts to fill a five question Jeopardy category.
27. Birth State Trivia
Similarly to the category above, this one concerns the state in which the birthday person was born. Gather up a boatload of fun facts about their birth state and go to town! Alternatively, if the birthday person was born in a different country, ask questions about it here.
28. Personal Birthday Traditions
If you’ve got any birthday customs that you honor every year—visiting a certain restaurant, performing a certain personal ritual—why not share it in this category? Your friends will surely know more about you afterwards and can help you to better fulfill your favorite traditions next year.
29. What’s in a Name?
Does the birthday person share a name with someone famous, or is their name featured in well-known media? Take advantage of these fun facts in this quirky category.
This theme can make for a lot of fun during Birthday Jeopardy, perhaps more so for those with common, iconic first or last names. If the birthday person doesn’t have a name with any famous links, then disregard this category and move on to another.
30. Birth of the Earth
Oh, so you think your birthday party is massive—ever heard of the Big Bang? If you’re a science nerd, use this category to chat about the formation of the globe in all of its molten, gaseous glory.
Question: How old is Earth compared to the universe itself?
Question: Name two theories of how the moon came to be.
Final Words
Thank you so much for reading through our epic list of 30 Birthday Jeopardy categories. We hope you found a few you’d like to include in your next party game. For more party inspiration, check out these fun Baby Jeopardy categories for a baby shower, these bridal shower Jeopardy questions, bride and groom trivia, personal trivia questions for friends and family, fun trivia category ideas, 55 Jeopardy! questions for families, as well as where to hire a trivia company for your next event. Looking for more unique trivia question inspo? Here’s a list of 75 weird questions and 101 super funny trivia questions!
Got another Birthday Jeopardy category suggestion? Let us know in the comments below.
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