Instructions for Playing Jeopardy

Game Play

• In Jeopardy, each round consists of six columns of subjects, each with five different monetary values, and three contestants competing to answer correctly first. The smallest amount of money is equated with the easiest questions. In the first round of Jeopardy, the monetary values on the questions range from $100 to $500. Host Alex Trebek reads the answers aloud. Questions take on the form of answers--for instance, "In this year the first Nobel prize was awarded"--and the contestant who presses his hand-held buzzer first gets a chance to answer beginning with the words "What is"--and then the actual answer "1901."
  Contestants, if correct, gain the monetary value. If they are incorrect, however, they lose that value out of their "vault."
  If the contestant answers correctly, she chooses the next category and value; if she answers incorrectly the answer is open to either of the other players. If no player answers correctly, the choice for the next subject and value falls to the original contestant.
  Players on the game show can go negative, and continue to play, although betting for Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy are different.
  In the second round of Jeopardy the monetary values are doubled and range from $200 to $1,000.

Daily Doubles

• Daily Doubles are hidden among the other answers on the playing board. There is one Daily Double in the first round, and there are two in the second round. The Daily Double is related to the subject column it is found in. There are also special Daily Doubles such as Audio, Celebrity or Video.
  Before the question is presented, the player must give his bet for answering the question correctly. The minimum bet is $5; the maximum bet is either all the money the player has, or, if the player has no money or is negative, the maximum clue amount--$500 in the first round, $1,000 during the second round.

Final Jeopardy

• After two rounds, all the players are asked to write down their monetary bet on one final question. Players are told the subject and take a few seconds to write down the dollar amount without showing any one else what they write. They can bet a minimum of $0 up to as much money they have won.
  Players who have no money or are in the negative are disqualified before Final Jeopardy begins.
  Contestants are given the answer to the question. They cannot change their bets at this point and have 30 seconds to come up with the appropriate response. If the answer is correct but not in the form of a question, the answer will be wrong in Final Jeopardy. If the answer is wrong, the amount bet will be subtracted from that contestant's total. If the answer is correct, the original bet is added to the contestant's total. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins.