An Easy Guide to Jeopardy! Rules and Gameplay

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Learn the right way to play the classic trivia game

Co-authored by Bailey Bujnosek, BA

Last Updated: December 8, 2024 Fact Checked

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Objective & Setup

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Round 1: Jeopardy!

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Round 2: Double Jeopardy!

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Round 3: Final Jeopardy!

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Tips

Playing Jeopardy! is a fun way to test your trivia knowledge, but you have to know the rules to play correctly. The gameplay hasn’t changed much over the years. Still, if you want to host your own Jeopardy! game at home, in the classroom, or at work, you’ll need to understand how the iconic quiz show works. Read on for a round-by-round breakdown of the rules and gameplay behind Jeopardy!—with enough practice, you might even make it on the show!

Jeopardy! Rules: Overview

In Jeopardy!, players compete across three rounds: Jeopardy!, Double Jeopardy!, and Final Jeopardy! The player with the most points at the end wins.
In the first two rounds, players select clues from five categories on the game board. The clues increase in point value and difficulty as you move down the board.
After a clue is read completely by the host, players can buzz in to answer. The player who buzzes in the fastest gets to answer first and has five seconds.
Players must answer in the form of a question during Daily Double clues and the Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy! rounds for their answers to count.

Section 1 of 4:

Objective & Setup

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You earn points by correctly answering trivia questions during three rounds—Jeopardy!, Double Jeopardy!, and Final Jeopardy!—and wagering advantageously during Final Jeopardy! or Daily Double questions.^{[1]
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Play individually or as teams, with a non-player host. Traditional Jeopardy! games have three players, but you can make the game work with two. If you’re splitting people into teams in a classroom or organizational setting, create two to four even teams of three to twelve people. Assign someone to be the host—they’ll run the game and read the correct answers.^{[2]
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Decide point values before playing. Whether you are creating a Jeopardy! game to use in the classroom, at work, or at home, you’ll have to assign point values when you’re creating the game boards for each round. To make adding points up simple, consider having the values of the five clues per category range from 100 to 500 points in the first round and 200 to 1000 points in the second round.^{[3]
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Section 2 of 4:

Round 1: Jeopardy!

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Randomly choose a player to go first. Have players roll a dice or draw straws to decide which person or team will select the first clue. The highest dice roll or longest straw will be the person or team who goes first. You can also do a coin flip if there are only two players or teams.^{[4]
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- In the television quiz show, the returning champion goes first. However, in a home, classroom, or organizational setting, there’s no returning champion.
- When playing in teams, pick one player from each team that will be responsible for buzzing in to respond.
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Have the first player pick a category and point value. In the first round of traditional Jeopardy!, there are six categories with five clues each. The clues increase by point value (dollar value, on the show) and difficulty. Players can pick any clue on the board by saying, “[Category name] for [point value]” or some variation of that phrase.^{[5]
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Have the host read the clue before players respond. Players cannot buzz in or otherwise indicate they’re ready to answer until the entire clue has been read aloud by the host.^{[6]
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Research source} Once the clue is given, players have a 30-second window to respond. The first player to buzz in is allowed five seconds to provide the correct answer in the form of a question. For example, if the clue is “The place where Santa Claus has his workshop,” an acceptable answer would be, “What is the North Pole?”^{[7]
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- Correct answers: If the player or team says the correct answer in the form of a question before their five seconds is up, they are awarded the point value for that clue. They must select the next clue by stating its category and point value on the board.^{[8]
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  - In traditional Jeopardy!, the host reminds players of the rules if they don’t phrase their answer in the form of a question, but their answer is still accepted in the first round—as long as it’s not a Daily Double clue.^{[9]
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  - One Jeopardy! show contestant said “What's...?” as the beginning of all his answers. As long as the answer is coherent, this is allowed—the question phrasing does not have to be grammatically correct.^{[10]
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- Incorrect answers: If the player or team says the incorrect answer, the host will inform them verbally or play a sound that indicates they’re wrong. The point value of the clue will be deducted from their score.
  - After an incorrect answer, if the 30 seconds are not up, other teams have the opportunity to buzz in and ‘steal’ or guess the correct answer (as a question). Once they buzz in, they have five seconds to answer. If they give an incorrect answer, the point value of the clue is deducted from their score also.^{[11]
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- No answers: If the first player or team to buzz in doesn’t say an answer before their five seconds expire, others can buzz in and guess. If no one attempts to guess the answer after 30 seconds, the host can read the correct answer. No points will be deducted or earned.^{[12]
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- Daily Double: In traditional Jeopardy!, one Daily Double clue is hidden in the first round. If the selected clue is a Daily Double, only the player or team that chose it can answer. Before seeing the clue, they must wager an amount between five and their total current score. The host decides how much time they have to respond—10 to 15 seconds is a good average.^{[13]
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  - If they give the correct answer in the form of a question before time is up, the amount they wagered is added to their score. They pick the next clue from the board.
  - If they give an incorrect answer or let time run out, the amount they wagered is deducted from their score. They will select the next clue from the board.
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Continue this cycle until all clues are answered or time is up. When playing in a school or organizational setting, you’re likely operating under a time constraint. Your first Jeopardy! round may last between five and fifteen minutes, erring on the longer side if you’re playing with teams.
- When playing with teams, consider letting players have more than five seconds to respond to a clue so everyone on the team has a chance to guess. If you’re practicing to become a contestant, try to follow the show’s timing as closely as you can.
- The show doesn’t have an exact time limit for rounds, but if you don’t get through all the clues before you need to move on, that’s okay.

Section 3 of 4:

Round 2: Double Jeopardy!

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In Double Jeopardy!, point values are doubled. Otherwise, gameplay continues as it did in the first round. Six new categories are displayed on the board, once again with five clues each. However, whatever the point value was in the first round, it is now twice that amount for every clue. There are also two Daily Doubles hidden in the board instead of one.^{[14]
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- The player or team with the lowest score at the start of the Double Jeopardy! Round selects the first clue. If two players are tied, the player with the last correct answer between the tied players gets to select the first clue.^{[15]
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Section 4 of 4:

Round 3: Final Jeopardy!

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Players with a negative or zero score can’t play in Final Jeopardy! In Final Jeopardy!, you have to make a wager—which means you need a score greater than zero. Otherwise, you or your team are automatically eliminated from the game and receive last place.^{[16]
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- If multiple players have a negative score or a score of zero, whoever has the lower score is in last place. If multiple players have the same negative score or zero scores, last place goes to the player who had the lower score at the start of the Double Jeopardy! Round.
- If all players are in the negative going into Final Jeopardy!, no Final Jeopardy! round is played. Use the scores going into Double Jeopardy! to determine the winner.^{[17]
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The host presents the Final Jeopardy! category and players write a wager. There is only one category in the Final Jeopardy! round. Once the host reads it, players or teams can decide what amount they want to wager between zero and their total current score. They have five minutes to write down a wager which they must hide from other players or teams.^{[18]
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- The host can pass out whiteboards and markers, or index cards and pens, for players to write their wagers on. Make sure the paper they have is big enough for them to write their guess, too.
- In traditional Jeopardy!, players use the wager period to write the question phrasing of their answer, either “Who” or “What.”
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After wagers, the host reveals the clue and players write their guesses. Once the clue is revealed, players have 30 seconds to write down their guess in the form of a question. Their answers do not have to be spelled correctly. However, they must be phonetically correct—not adding syllables to the answer or dropping them.^{[19]
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The host reveals players’ answers one by one. Traditionally, the host will start with the player or team who had the lowest score going into Final Jeopardy!, then the second-lowest, then the highest. If you’re the host, read the player’s answer aloud, then their wager, declaring whether it’s correct or incorrect. A correct answer allows their wager to be added to their total score; an incorrect answer will deduct their wager from their score.
- Only reveal the correct answer when confirming a correct answer. If all answers are incorrect, read the correct answer after all players’ answers have been revealed.
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Declare the player with the highest score the winner. There can only be one winning player or team: the one with the most points at the end of the Final Jeopardy! Round. In the event of a tie for first place, the host will present a new category and read a clue. The first player to buzz in and respond correctly wins the game.^{[20]
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- If neither tied player is correct when responding to a tie-breaker clue, the host will present a new category and clue until one of the tied players responds correctly and wins the game.
- If every player is reduced to zero after Final Jeopardy!, use the scores going into the Final Jeopardy! round to determine the winner.

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Tips

Place a digital timer on a clock or a TV or computer screen so all players can see the time they have to answer questions during rounds. Have the host or an assistant reset the timer between clues.

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