Many people dream of being contestants on Jeopardy!. Imagine walking that stage, getting to press the buzzer, and answering the questions in front of a live studio audience. Before you get on that stage, you need to pass an online quiz, attend live auditions, and impress the show runners. Even the chances of passing the first stage of auditions are lower than 5%, so it is highly unlikely that you will get to be on the television game show. Not after the first try, anyway.
The good news is, you can recreate the game in your own living room, and not just by playing a video game! And you don’t even need to buy anything to make it work. Well, that’s not entirely true. You will need to obtain the questions, as well as some stationery materials, like a board and some markers. The bottom line is, you can buy a Jeopardy! board game or you can design your own. The choice is yours! If you chose the latter, then bear with us as we walk you through some of your options.
Steps for Making a Homemade Jeopardy Game
Get the Questions
There are many different ways you can source the questions for your personal game of Jeopardy!. Of course, you can write your own questions, but that would probably end up being too difficult and taking too much time. It is a lot easier to buy ready-made questions or find them online. Keep in mind that Jeopardy!has a very specific format. If you don’t stick to it, then your game is just a regular trivia game.
When you’re acquiring your questions, they have to be in the form of clues, just like on Jeopardy!. It’s also good to remember to answer in the form of a question. You can find a whole lot of questions on the website j-archive.com. In fact, you can find every single question ever asked and answered on the show. The players that have been watching the show religiously will have an advantage, and rightfully so!
You’re also welcome to consult any of our Jeopardy! question articles for inspiration, like this one which features 105 questions that have appeared on the show, or this one which includes 48 of the hardest questions in Jeopardy! history.
Make a Board
When you’re acquiring the questions, remember to think about the categories. The categories on Jeopardy! are often more fun than the questions themselves. The show truly has some of the most hilarious and unique category names. If you’re willing to go the extra mile and name your categories, you will get even closer to recreating the show in your living room.
To make the game complete, you have to make a board. The original Jeopardy! board features category names in the top row and different money values in each column. Those usually span from $200 to $1000. Of course, you don’t have to play for money. The values can be used to count up the points. The questions under the higher values should be more difficult than the lower value questions.
Stylistically, it makes sense to write the value of the question on one side and the actual question on the other. This way you can keep your players accountable while also sticking pretty closely to the actual rules of the game. To make the board, you will need several pieces of paper and one big background. That could be a whiteboard, a large piece of hard paper, or even a wall! Finally, you can choose to forego the background completely and simply stick the question papers to each other. Â
Determine the Players and Host
The official game has three contestants and one host. Thus, one of you has to host the game, ask the questions, count the score, and otherwise entertain the players. Ideally, you should have three contestants, but the game will work just as well with two. Once everything is ready, all you have to do is decide who is who.
Use Personal Questions
What can be more fun than answering questions about yourself and your closest friends or family members? If you want to surprise your closest circle of people with a unique and personalized game of Jeopardy!, why not make it about them? Follow the steps mentioned above to create the game and use your imagination for the questions. The questions will be the toughest part and it will take you a while to come up with a sufficient amount. You can recruit your friends to help you out.
To avoid answering the questions you wrote, you can split all the questions into categories based on the name of the person who wrote the question. This way each player gets to pick from any category except their own. This can also make the game interesting from the point of view of how well you know the person who wrote the question you’re about to answer. Either way, the game promises to be hilarious and very insightful for all friends involved.
Use an Online Jeopardy Template
Your definition of DIY does not necessarily have to entail doing arts and crafts. In fact, you can enjoy a DIY game of Jeopardy! with the help of the internet. There are a number of websites that offer to create virtual templates for your next game of Jeopardy!. JeopardyLabs.com is one of the most popular websites for that purpose. It’s very easy to use and you don’t even have to register to create your own game. When you open the website, you gain access to a virtual Jeopardy board. You have to fill it with categories and questions. When you’re done, you can enter the number of contestants that will participate in this round. The website encourages you to bookmark the page or email it to yourself. Then, when you’re ready to play, you’ll know where to find the game!
SuperTeacherTools.com has a similar template for Jeopardy games. The layout of the website is a bit different, but the end result is the same. If you didn’t particularly enjoy the user interface of JeopardyLabs, you can try this website instead.
The beauty of these templates is that they do all the work for you. Most importantly, they present the clues in an aesthetically pleasing way, so you don’t have to make a DIY Jeopardy board with the things you have at home. There is no need to print anything or write out your questions and answers. Simply gather around the computer, pull the template up on your tablet, or even use your smartphone. If you want to entertain your players, you can hook your computer up to the TV or projector for a better viewing experience.
The templates are interactive, so you can fully rely on them to make the game fun. Select the contestant that’s answering the question, let them pick the question, and reveal the correct answer. Everything is virtual and automated. You can kick back and have fun as the host!
Is There an App to Make Your Own Jeopardy Game?
There are a number of web platforms that can also be used on mobile devices that can help you create your own Jeopardy game. Unfortunately, I’ve not found a single mobile app dedicated to providing Jeopardy board templates. However, there is one web platform for Jeopardy! lovers that allows you to incorporate your phone in the game.
The platform is called Factile and it’s a handy tool for anyone who wants to create an online Jeopardy game board. It is frequently used by teachers who want to implement active learning and engage their students. The platform has other templates beside Jeopardy, such as multiple-choice questions, classic memory games, and more.
The fun begins when you discover all the features of Factile. One of the coolest features for Jeopardy! lovers is that you can use your phone as a buzzer. Set up your game, connect your phone, and be the first one to buzz in your answer. And, if you’re really interested in buzzers as a part of the experience, be sure to check out this article on the best buzzers for Jeopardy-style games.
The platform encourages users to sign up for a paid Home/School or Business account. With those come extra awesome features, like Double Jeopardy, as well as picture rounds and more. Of course, there is also a free option that has everything you need. If you’re looking to create a game for you and your friends, the free version will do just fine.
How Do You Create a Jeopardy Game for a Classroom?
Creating a DIY Jeopardy game for the classroom is a great way to quiz your students on a new topic while simultaneously engaging and entertaining them. You can disguise the quiz as a game, which takes a lot of the pressure off the students. It is an awesome solution for high school students, as well as the younger ones.
Assuming you have the questions, the hardest part is already behind you. For the rest, you can use one of the templates on TeachersPayTeachers.com. You can browse the website and explore on your own or follow this link for a cool template. You will find lots of different formats, like this one for a PowerPoint presentation. Some of the basic templates are free. The more advanced ones will cost you a few bucks. The marketplace gives teachers a platform to sell their original materials. If you choose to buy a template, you will be supporting a fellow teacher! You can also sell your own templates.
We’ve also got a list of the best buzzers for classroom use.
Can You Make a Jeopardy Game on Google Slides?
Yes! You can make your own Jeopardy game on Google Slides if you have some computer knowledge. I’m not going to lie, the process may get complicated when you start to add hyperlinks that should lead to other slides. However, it’s nothing you can’t Google!
To make your job easier, you can use a ready-made Google Slides template. The template has everything you need, including a Jeopardy board with all the questions and slides already hyperlinked. All you have to do is make your own personal copy of the presentation and input your questions. If Google Slides is your preferred platform for sharing presentations, then this is a great idea for your Jeopardy! game too!
Is There a Jeopardy Template in PowerPoint?
There are so many different Jeopardy PowerPoint templates. If you look around on the internet, you will find a multitude of presentations. They all do the same thing—provide a template that you can turn into a real Jeopardy game board with your questions. When you’re ready to play, you can hook your computer with the presentation up to a big screen or projector and quiz your friends, family, or students.
JeoPARODY is one of the most popular Jeopardy-style templates on the internet. It’s a PowerPoint template that has everything you could possibly need, short of the questions and players. The presentation features Jeopardy sound effects, graphics, animation, and even Final Jeopardy! The template invites you to create 30 clues for your game. It is fully customizable, interactive, and free. You can donate to the site if you want to support the people that created the template.
TeachersPayTeachers is another great resource for Jeopardy templates. You can find Google Slides templates, as well as some for PowerPoint. The linked presentation is just an example of a great and free option. You can find many paid options too. Scroll through the website and check out all the different presentations. If you’re in a pinch, don’t spend too long looking for the perfect presentation. They’re all quite similar and you’ll never know which one is actually the best. It’s safe to go with the one that has the most downloads.
Kevin Dufendach, MD, created his own Jeopardy PowerPoint template as part of his medical and educational tools website. This template works like any other; you get to input the questions and category names. The template also automatically keeps the score for you. All you have to do is select whether the question was answered correctly or not.
Dr. Kevin Culpepper took it upon himself to develop his own Jeopardy template. The presentation is as great as all the others. It has a clean look and is equipped with hyperlinks that make the template easy to use. If you like this one, you can check out all the other game templates developed by Dr. Kevin Culpepper.
Can You Make a Jeopardy Game on Canva?
Canva is a great platform for all sorts of templates. You can use it to create posters, marketing materials, Instagram posts, presentations, and more. Any type of visual you can think of? Canva has got it! The best part is, you can use ready made templates and just input your text to make it your own. Play with them if you like, or keep them exactly as they are. There is a wide selection of free templates. If you’re willing to pay a little extra, you can gain access to a premium selection of paid templates that are even more unique.
Unfortunately, there are no templates for Jeopardy games. But, who’s to say you can’t make one?! Be the one to introduce Canva users to the world of Jeopardy!.
Final Words
With these awesome ideas for a DIY Jeopardy game, you don’t have to sit in the audience anymore. You can become a part of the game! Host your own game or invite your friends over to compete. Get inspired by the real Jeopardy! TV game show and borrow questions from your favorite episodes. You can use the templates linked above to entertain your class if you’re a teacher, or create a fun game for your next family night in. There are so many ways to spin it!
Do you have any experience with creating your own Jeopardy game? If so, what’s your tip for a successful game of Jeopardy? Please share your experience with us in the comments!
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