Jeopardy! has been a fan favorite trivia television game show for decades. It can be compared to a televised sports tournament in terms of fandoms and interest generated by the public. An element that adds to that analogy is box scores. Jeopardy! has adopted box scores to summarize the results of the competition and show the audience some statistics. If you want to catch up with Jeopardy! in a matter of seconds, you can glance at the box scores. In essence, they offer a comprehensive summary of the past few games and the players’ achievements.
Keeping box scores accurate is a science and an art that Jeopardy! has been working on really hard. Find out all about the purpose of updating box scores and how they work in this article!
What Is a Jeopardy! Box Score?
Jeopardy! box scores are presented in the form of a table with names, categories, and numbers. Each contestant gets a score in each category, showing their overall performance throughout the game. There are scores in each category, such as Double Jeopardy and Final Jeopardy. You will find data about the number of times each contestant buzzed in, the ratio of correct versus incorrect answers, their score at the end of each round, and more.Â
The data is represented in the form of a table with categories and a key at the bottom. Each table only represents one game that was played on the date mentioned in the top left corner. The scores come equipped with the contestants’ names and pictures.
Why Use Box Scores?
As with box scores in any sport, box scores in Jeopardy! are used to measure performance. This way, the producers of the show are rebranding the game show as a sport and showing their contestants as athletes. Come to think of it, Jeopardy! is not so different from sports in the way the games are scored. If anything, it’s even more accurate, as the rules of the game are very clear and there can only be one right answer.
Fans of Jeopardy! have been posting statistics about the show’s episodes on social media. To add to their incredible work, the producers decided to post daily box scores after every game. This tool gives viewers the type of insight about the game that they’ve never had before. For instance, the box scores show how many times each contestant attempted to buzz in an answer and how many times they’ve succeeded. It adds a new layer of complexity to the game. Suddenly it’s no longer all about trivia. The stats make it more of a competition with strategy and tactics.
Box Scores Explained
EOR – Score at the End of the Round
Score at the end of the round shows us how much money each contestant has earned by the end of each round.
ATT – Attempts to Buzz in
ATT calculates the number of times each contestant attempted to buzz in. This includes both successful and unsuccessful attempts.
BUZ – Number of Times Contestant Buzzed in
BUZ only counts the number of times each contestant has buzzed in successfully. That only entails the times the buzzer actually went off.
BUZ % – Pct. Individual Contestant Buzzed in vs Attempts
This number reflects the amount of times the contestant was successful in buzzing in out of all of their attempts. It is a percentage that takes into account the ATT and BUZ scores.
COR/INC – How Many Correct/Incorrect Responses
This is a ratio of correct to incorrect answers each contestant has submitted.
CORRECT % – Pct. of Correct Responses
Similar to BUZ %, this number shows what percentage of all the answers submitted by a contestant was correct.
LS – Longest Streak
This value shows the longest streak each contestant has had in each round. In other words, the number signifies how many correct answers each contestant got in a row.
Others
Other abbreviations in Jeopardy! box scores include DD, which stands for Daily Double, FJ, which stands for Final Jeopardy, and Triple Stumper. The last one is not really an abbreviation and it is used to signify the clues for which none of the contestants provided the correct answer.
Examples
In the image below, you can see the daily box scores for the tournament that took place on the 29th of July, 2022. At the top of the table, we can clearly see our three contestants—Katrina Hill, Darin Ciccotelli, and Luigi de Guzman. The box comes equipped with information about the contestants’ places of residence, as well as their pictures. Luigi de Guzman’s name and picture are contained in a purple box, which signifies that he won the game.
The first section shows us the results of the first Jeopardy round. For example, we can clearly see that Katrina Hill finished the round with the most money ($7,000), and had the highest percentage of correct responses (CORRECT %), while her rival Luigi de Guzman had the most attempts to buzz in (ATT) and the most successful attempts to buzz in (BUZ %).
Moving on to the next section, we can see that it is dedicated to Double Jeopardy. All the values are the same, with the addition of one Daily Double #2 (DD #2). This time, Luigi de Guzman is in the lead with $20,800 in the bank, while Katrina Hill has $11,800 and Darin Ciccotelli is left with $11,000.
The next section is dedicated to Final Jeopardy. This time, the columns have different names: Starting FJ! Score, FJ! Wager, Final Score, and Game Notes. The Starting FJ! Score is the same as the EOR Score in the previous round. The FJ Wager is the money each contestant earned by betting on their answers. The final score, as well as the game notes, reveal that the winner is Luigi de Guzman, with $23,401!
Fun Fact: There were four Triple Stumpers in the game, meaning that four questions were left unanswered by all contestants.
The fourth section puts all the sections together to create a game total for each player. It is a summary of all the values we’ve seen throughout the box. You will find a new row titled DD (COR/INC). That is a ratio of correct to incorrect answers in Daily Doubles for each player.
The last section shows the totals for the winner of the previous game—Katrina Hill. Because she didn’t win the game on the 29th of July, she is walking away with her earnings from the previous game only. All the values in that section account for both games played by Katrina Hill; the one on the 29th of July and the one on the 28th.
As you can see, Jeopardy! box scores are quite easy to read, especially using the key at the bottom of the box! Using this tool to follow the game more closely can prove very effective once you get used to reading the abbreviations.
Where Can You Get Daily Box Scores?
You can find daily box scores on the official website of Jeopardy!. Back in January of 2022, an article on the website announced that all the scores will be available online right after each game.
J-Archive does not post daily box scores per se, but the website has all the information you could ever need about all the past games. It is always quick to upload all the clues used in the newest episodes, along with the contestants’ scores, and correct/incorrect answers. You should visit the website if you want to go back in time and look at old games.
Final Words
With the introduction of daily box scores, Jeopardy! is positioning itself as more of a competitive event and less of a game. That doesn’t take away from the fun. On the contrary, the audience can join in on the fun, and learn more about the stats and fan-favorite contestants. In addition to that, checking the box scores is a great way to catch up with any episode you’ve missed!
How do you feel about box scores in Jeopardy!? Do you think they make a valuable addition to the game? Why or why not? Share your opinion with us in the comments below!
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