Jeopardy! in merchandising
Encyclopedia
Since the revival of Jeopardy!
in 1984, the Jeopardy! brand has been used on products in various other formats.
co-authored The Jeopardy! Book along with Peter Barsocchini, which included boards from some of their past tournament games as well as boards specializing in some of the show's various categories. (Trebek also voiced the audiobook, which featured the "behind the scenes" material on tape one, and audio versions of select games from the book on tape two.) Its sequel The Jeopardy! Challenge, also co-authored by Trebek, along with creator Merv Griffin
, included boards from their past tournament games, and was published in 1992.
In 2000, the show's writers released 4 volumes of quiz books titled Jeopardy!: What is Quiz Book 1-4?, each featuring more than 300 pages worth of Jeopardy! boards from Seasons 14-17.
In 2004, Barnes and Noble published This is Jeopardy!: Celebrating America's Favorite Quiz Show. Written by Ray Richmond, it featured selected Final Jeopardy! answers and questions from each of the show's first twenty seasons, plus trivia and other notable facts about the show.
A number of unauthorized books have been published about Jeopardy!, written by people with ties to the show: Inside Jeopardy!: What Really Goes on at TV's Top Quiz Show (1993), written by former Jeopardy! writer and producer Harry Eisenberg, was reissued in 1995 as Jeopardy!: A Revealing Look Inside TV's Top Quiz Show with several allegations of scandal removed; Secrets of the Jeopardy! Champions (1992), written by Tournament of Champions
winners Chuck Forrest
and Mark Lowenthal, and How to Get on Jeopardy! and Win! (1998), written by Tournament of Champions winner Michael Dupée, serve as preparation aids for the Jeopardy! contestant hopeful; and Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs (2006), by 74-game winner Ken Jennings
and Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy! (2006), written by comedian and former contestant Bob Harris
, provide the insights of the extensive Jeopardy! experiences of two other notable champions who subsequently became authors of several books each.
has been adapted into several different versions of video games. Most versions released prior to 1998 were published by GameTek
, which folded later that year.
Milton Bradley
made an eight-track cartridge version of the game for its Omni Entertainment System in the early 80s.
A version for the Nintendo Entertainment System
first appeared in 1987, which supports up to three players (but not the NES Four Score
accessory). Three modes of difficulty are available – easy, normal, and hard – with the amount of time allotted to give the correct question decreasing as the difficulty level increases. Because of the time period in which the game was released, the clues deal mostly with events of the 1980s based on issues in the United States
.
The game was developed by Rare. A "Junior Edition", with more pop-culture questions and children as selectable characters, was released in 1988. A "25th-Anniversary Edition" appeared in 1990 with newer questions and was the last version made by Rare.
A version based on the 13-week ABC
series Super Jeopardy! was released in 1991. The game was labeled a "talking" cartridge, which included speech samples that were heard periodically. This game utilizes a similar tournament format as the show, with the "Quarter-Final" game having four contestants instead of three (allowing for use of the NES Four Score
accessory and/or a fourth NES controller). Subsequent "Semi-Final" and "Final" modes of play are locked until a prior mode is beaten and a special three-character code is entered.
Versions for the Super NES
and Sega Genesis appeared in 1992. Although visually similar, they were developed by two different companies – Imagineering Productions for the SNES version, and Park Place Productions for the Genesis version. A "Sports Edition" was released in 1993, followed by a "Deluxe Edition" in 1994.
A version was released for the CD-i
in 1995 and featured Charlie O'Donnell
as announcer instead of Johnny Gilbert
, and Sony Imagesoft
released a version for the Sega CD with full-motion video and new questions in 1995.
A version was released for the Nintendo 64
in 1998, and was the last version made by GameTek
as they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
that year. The Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune licenses were later acquired by Atari
, then known as Hasbro Interactive
.
Hasbro Interactive released two editions for the PlayStation
in June 1998 and May 1999. In both editions, announcer Johnny Gilbert
reads the clues instead of Alex Trebek
. The second edition also featured a behind-the-scenes look at the show plus a sample contestant exam.
The PlayStation 2
edition was released in October 2003, however carried a 2004 copyright. It is the same game as Jeopardy! 2003 for the PC (see below), which was released in September 2002. An updated version was released for PlayStation 3
through the PlayStation Network on June 6, 2008. New features include online multiplayer games over the network and the capability for new games to be downloaded.
THQ
acquired licenses from Sony Pictures Consumer Products to publish Jeopardy! and the sister program Wheel of Fortune for the Nintendo Wii
and DS
systems. Both Wii games are be compatible with the Wii Speak accessory. Both versions were released on November 2, 2010.
– the original (1990), "Platinum Edition" (1993), "Sports Edition" (1993), and "Teen Tournament" (1996). None feature the likeness of Alex Trebek and can only support two players.
The original version and "Sports Edition" were ported to the Game Gear
, featuring vibrant graphics and a somewhat-closer likeness of Alex Trebek, but still retained only being able to play with two players.
A version also appeared on Tiger Electronics
' Game.com
, and Tiger also manufactured two handheld versions in 1995 and 1999 (the latter being "Deluxe Edition"), with additional game cartridges sold separately.
In 2009, Sony Pictures Television
released a version for the iPhone OS
.
and Commodore 64
. Sharedata was later acquired by GameTek, who expanded their console game production into PC games.
Sony Imagesoft released their PC version along with the Sega CD version in 1995. Sports and TV question packs were also released by Sony Imagesoft's "Graphix Zone" division. When GameTek folded in 1998, Atari began making PC editions of Jeopardy! Three editions were made and are similar to the PS1/PS2 editions. The latest PC version was released in 2007.
version of Jeopardy! was released in 2007 by Jakks Pacific
as part of their "Plug And Play" series of dedicated game consoles. The single unit features buzzer buttons for up to 3 live players, but allows for single- or two-player games as well. Much like the recent PC versions of the game, all responses are given from a multiple-choice list of four possible answers, thus eliminating the necessity of "typing in" answers a letter at a time like the older game console versions. this does affect gameplay, however, in making it easier to get the right answer as a random choice of four rather than actually knowing the right answer. Clues on these games have actually been used on the show.
The TYCO versions went totally different from anything seen on TV, using six separate category stands that were distributed among the players, so that each player "hosted" one or more categories for each of their opponents and thus, played their opponents' category or categories. In addition, the cards used (which each had one Jeopardy! and one Double Jeopardy! category) had pre-selected Daily Doubles, so it was possible for more or less than the normal number of such clues in the appropriate rounds. In addition, Final Jeopardy! was played with a seventh separate card's $1,000 Double Jeopardy! clue.
Their Travel Edition used a single stand with the same-styled cards (allowing for interchanging of the game cards between the home and Travel versions) and similar gameplay.
The Parker Brothers edition is the only one to date whose play format accurately duplicated that of the TV show, with six categories in each round, pre-selected Daily Doubles (in the correct amounts; one for the Jeopardy! round and two for Double Jeopardy!) and a separate Final Jeopardy! category and clue.
In 2002, in response to educators praising the longevity of the show's popularity and their students creating their own versions of the game to encourage student participation in class, educational toy company Educational Insights (which markets the Geosafari system) released a self-contained, programmable Jeopardy! game system that can be hooked up to a normal classroom TV for school use, titled Classroom Jeopardy!. Following successful sales of Classroom Jeopardy!, a home version called Host Your Own Jeopardy! was released in 2004. Except for the names and included question content, both systems are identical, using a cartridge-based system for the categories and wireless remotes for the players and the host. The unit itself acts as the scoreboard. Earlier editions of the system included a small laptop-style keyboard that connected to the game unit and allowed for programming the cartridges. Later versions replaced this keyboard with a USB-connected device known as the "Classroom Jeopardy! Link", which allowed programming of the cartridges (and storage of unused games) via a PC or Macintosh (with included software). The Classroom edition featured one cartridge with 5 pre-programmed school-subject-based games; while the Host Your Own edition included four cartridges featuring 20 games used on the show, ranging from Kids Week level to Tournament Of Champions level. Educational Insights released an updated version of Classroom Jeopardy! in 2011.
In 2007, MGA Games
released the Jeopardy! DVD Game system that includes 3 wireless buzzers and plug-in unit for your DVD player that keeps the score. Alex Trebek appears in the game and reads the clues. Video clues featuring the Jeopardy! Clue Crew also are included. (NOTE: This system is often used as a special giveaway at JEOPARDY! Clue Crew events.)
as of today.
A DVD titled Jeopardy!: An Inside Look at America's Favorite Quiz Show was released on November 8, 2005 and features five full episodes of the show: #1 (Trebek era premiere), #4657 (Ken Jennings' losing episode), #4781, #4782, and #4783 (the three finals games of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions
, the latter of which can be viewed through multiple camera angles), and three featurettes: 21 Years of Answers & Questions, Jeopardy!: Behind the Answers, and What Does it Take to Get a Clue? It also has some funny moments from the show, including Trebek doing the beginning of the first show of the Ultimate Tournament Of Champions Finals without trousers, and Johnny Gilbert mistaking Alex for a man who rehearses as Alex Trebek.
Every year, Day-to-Day Calendars' Andrews McMeel Publishing subsidiary releases a daily desktop Jeopardy! calendar, featuring 6 full games-worth of clues presented 1 clue per day (with the correct response on the back of each day's sheet).
The brand has also been licensed for slot machine games at casinos and online.
by Sony Pictures between December 8, 2002 and December 15, 2002, with auction proceeds donated to charities World Vision
and the Motion Picture & Television Fund
. Some past contestants participated in the auction, including Bob Fleenor, who used some of his Jeopardy! winnings to buy a piece of the set. College Champion
Pam Mueller bought the rightmost podium. Million Dollar Masters winner Brad Rutter
was outbid for the leftmost (champion's) podium.
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
in 1984, the Jeopardy! brand has been used on products in various other formats.
Books
In 1990, host Alex TrebekAlex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
co-authored The Jeopardy! Book along with Peter Barsocchini, which included boards from some of their past tournament games as well as boards specializing in some of the show's various categories. (Trebek also voiced the audiobook, which featured the "behind the scenes" material on tape one, and audio versions of select games from the book on tape two.) Its sequel The Jeopardy! Challenge, also co-authored by Trebek, along with creator Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
, included boards from their past tournament games, and was published in 1992.
In 2000, the show's writers released 4 volumes of quiz books titled Jeopardy!: What is Quiz Book 1-4?, each featuring more than 300 pages worth of Jeopardy! boards from Seasons 14-17.
In 2004, Barnes and Noble published This is Jeopardy!: Celebrating America's Favorite Quiz Show. Written by Ray Richmond, it featured selected Final Jeopardy! answers and questions from each of the show's first twenty seasons, plus trivia and other notable facts about the show.
A number of unauthorized books have been published about Jeopardy!, written by people with ties to the show: Inside Jeopardy!: What Really Goes on at TV's Top Quiz Show (1993), written by former Jeopardy! writer and producer Harry Eisenberg, was reissued in 1995 as Jeopardy!: A Revealing Look Inside TV's Top Quiz Show with several allegations of scandal removed; Secrets of the Jeopardy! Champions (1992), written by Tournament of Champions
Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions
The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is an annual tournament featuring the longest-running champions from the past season or seasons of the TV quiz show Jeopardy! The tournament began in the show's first season in 1964 during Art Fleming's tenure as host, and continued into the Alex Trebek era of...
winners Chuck Forrest
Chuck Forrest
Chuck Forrest is an American game show contestant who at one time held the record for the largest non-tournament cash winnings total on the syndicated game show Jeopardy! The Los Angeles Times called him "the Alexander the Great of Jeopardy! players." The producers of the show regarded him as one...
and Mark Lowenthal, and How to Get on Jeopardy! and Win! (1998), written by Tournament of Champions winner Michael Dupée, serve as preparation aids for the Jeopardy! contestant hopeful; and Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs (2006), by 74-game winner Ken Jennings
Ken Jennings
Kenneth Wayne "Ken" Jennings III is an American game show contestant and author. Jennings is noted for holding the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and as being the all-time leading money winner on American game shows...
and Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy! (2006), written by comedian and former contestant Bob Harris
Bob Harris (writer)
Bob Harris is an American radio commentator, writer, stand-up comedian, and thirteen-time Jeopardy! contestant.From 1998–2002, his daily political commentaries aired on an average of 75 radio stations across the U.S., winning awards from the and the Associated Press...
, provide the insights of the extensive Jeopardy! experiences of two other notable champions who subsequently became authors of several books each.
Video games
Jeopardy!Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
has been adapted into several different versions of video games. Most versions released prior to 1998 were published by GameTek
GameTek
GameTek was a video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida well known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing rights to Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune...
, which folded later that year.
Consoles
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley , an American game pioneer, was credited by many with launching the board game industry in North America with Milton Bradley Company....
made an eight-track cartridge version of the game for its Omni Entertainment System in the early 80s.
A version for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
first appeared in 1987, which supports up to three players (but not the NES Four Score
NES Four Score
The NES Four Score is an accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System created by Nintendo. It allows four-player gameplay on games that supported it. The Four Score was released in 1990....
accessory). Three modes of difficulty are available – easy, normal, and hard – with the amount of time allotted to give the correct question decreasing as the difficulty level increases. Because of the time period in which the game was released, the clues deal mostly with events of the 1980s based on issues in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The game was developed by Rare. A "Junior Edition", with more pop-culture questions and children as selectable characters, was released in 1988. A "25th-Anniversary Edition" appeared in 1990 with newer questions and was the last version made by Rare.
A version based on the 13-week ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
series Super Jeopardy! was released in 1991. The game was labeled a "talking" cartridge, which included speech samples that were heard periodically. This game utilizes a similar tournament format as the show, with the "Quarter-Final" game having four contestants instead of three (allowing for use of the NES Four Score
NES Four Score
The NES Four Score is an accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System created by Nintendo. It allows four-player gameplay on games that supported it. The Four Score was released in 1990....
accessory and/or a fourth NES controller). Subsequent "Semi-Final" and "Final" modes of play are locked until a prior mode is beaten and a special three-character code is entered.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
and Sega Genesis appeared in 1992. Although visually similar, they were developed by two different companies – Imagineering Productions for the SNES version, and Park Place Productions for the Genesis version. A "Sports Edition" was released in 1993, followed by a "Deluxe Edition" in 1994.
A version was released for the CD-i
CD-i
CD-i, or Compact Disc Interactive, is the name of an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by Royal Philips Electronics N.V. CD-i also refers to the multimedia Compact Disc standard used by the CD-i console, also known as Green Book, which was developed by Philips and Sony...
in 1995 and featured Charlie O'Donnell
Charlie O'Donnell
Charles John "Charlie" O'Donnell was an American radio and television announcer, primarily known for his work on game shows...
as announcer instead of Johnny Gilbert
Johnny Gilbert
John L. "Johnny" Gilbert III is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from various eras, dating as far back as the 1950s...
, and Sony Imagesoft
Sony Imagesoft
Sony Imagesoft was a video game publisher that operated from 1989 to 1995 and was located in California. It was established in January 1989 in Los Angeles, California, as a subsidiary of the Japan-based CBS/Sony Group and initially named CSG Imagesoft Inc. Focus at the beginning was on marketing...
released a version for the Sega CD with full-motion video and new questions in 1995.
A version was released for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
in 1998, and was the last version made by GameTek
GameTek
GameTek was a video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida well known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing rights to Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune...
as they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...
that year. The Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune licenses were later acquired by Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
, then known as Hasbro Interactive
Hasbro Interactive
Hasbro Interactive was an American video game production and publishing subsidiary of Hasbro, the large game and toy company.Hasbro Interactive was formed late in 1995 in order to compete in the computer and video game arena. Several Hasbro properties, such as Monopoly and Scrabble, had already...
.
Hasbro Interactive released two editions for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
in June 1998 and May 1999. In both editions, announcer Johnny Gilbert
Johnny Gilbert
John L. "Johnny" Gilbert III is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from various eras, dating as far back as the 1950s...
reads the clues instead of Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
. The second edition also featured a behind-the-scenes look at the show plus a sample contestant exam.
The PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
edition was released in October 2003, however carried a 2004 copyright. It is the same game as Jeopardy! 2003 for the PC (see below), which was released in September 2002. An updated version was released for PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
through the PlayStation Network on June 6, 2008. New features include online multiplayer games over the network and the capability for new games to be downloaded.
THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
acquired licenses from Sony Pictures Consumer Products to publish Jeopardy! and the sister program Wheel of Fortune for the Nintendo Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
and DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
systems. Both Wii games are be compatible with the Wii Speak accessory. Both versions were released on November 2, 2010.
Handhelds
Five different versions were released for the Game BoyGame Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
– the original (1990), "Platinum Edition" (1993), "Sports Edition" (1993), and "Teen Tournament" (1996). None feature the likeness of Alex Trebek and can only support two players.
The original version and "Sports Edition" were ported to the Game Gear
Sega Game Gear
The was Sega's first handheld game console. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....
, featuring vibrant graphics and a somewhat-closer likeness of Alex Trebek, but still retained only being able to play with two players.
A version also appeared on Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets. When Tiger was an independent company, Tiger Electronics Inc., its headquarters were in Vernon Hills, Illinois....
' Game.com
Game.com
The Game.com is a handheld game console released by Tiger Electronics in September 1997. It featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting PDA-style features and functions such as a touch screen and stylus...
, and Tiger also manufactured two handheld versions in 1995 and 1999 (the latter being "Deluxe Edition"), with additional game cartridges sold separately.
In 2009, Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
released a version for the iPhone OS
IPhone OS
iOS is Apple's mobile operating system. Originally developed for the iPhone, it has since been extended to support other Apple, Inc. devices such as the iPod Touch, iPad, and Apple TV. Apple, Inc. does not license iOS for installation on third-party hardware...
.
PC
Many different versions were made for the PC. The earliest came from Sharedata, with two versions plus "Sports Edition", "Junior Edition", and "25th-Anniversary Edition". Versions of these were also released for the Apple IIApple II series
The Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
. Sharedata was later acquired by GameTek, who expanded their console game production into PC games.
Sony Imagesoft released their PC version along with the Sega CD version in 1995. Sports and TV question packs were also released by Sony Imagesoft's "Graphix Zone" division. When GameTek folded in 1998, Atari began making PC editions of Jeopardy! Three editions were made and are similar to the PS1/PS2 editions. The latest PC version was released in 2007.
"Plug And Play"
A handheld TV gameHandheld TV game
A TV game is an interactive entertainment device designed for use on a television set that does not require the use of an actual video game console for operation...
version of Jeopardy! was released in 2007 by Jakks Pacific
Jakks Pacific
JAKKS Pacific, Inc. is a designer and marketer of toys and consumer products, with a range of products that feature numerous children's toy licenses...
as part of their "Plug And Play" series of dedicated game consoles. The single unit features buzzer buttons for up to 3 live players, but allows for single- or two-player games as well. Much like the recent PC versions of the game, all responses are given from a multiple-choice list of four possible answers, thus eliminating the necessity of "typing in" answers a letter at a time like the older game console versions. this does affect gameplay, however, in making it easier to get the right answer as a random choice of four rather than actually knowing the right answer. Clues on these games have actually been used on the show.
Board games
- The earliest board gameBoard gameA board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
versions of Jeopardy! were produced by Milton BradleyMilton BradleyMilton Bradley , an American game pioneer, was credited by many with launching the board game industry in North America with Milton Bradley Company....
from 1964 though 1976. Editions by Milton Bradley were numbered 1-12 and 14, skipping 13. - Upon the popularity of the Trebek version, Pressman Toys marketed versions in the mid-1980s, and has once again started making home versions in the early 2000s. These include a version with electric signal devices and scoring consoles in 1987, an all-Simpsons version, and most recently an ESPN all-sports version (in both standard and "travel folio" versions), also with electronic buzz-in console. A Disney edition was planned for release in late 2008, but never materialized.
- Tyco ToysTyco ToysTyco Toys is an American toy manufacturer. Since 1997 it has been a division of the Mattel toy company.-History:Mantua Metal Products was a Woodbury Heights, New Jersey, metalworks business founded in 1926 by John Tyler and family...
produced two Masters' Editions in the early to mid-1990s with Alex Trebek featured on the box. Both Pressman and Tyco also produced Travel Editions. - In 1999, Parker BrothersParker BrothersParker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...
marketed a version as well.
Gameplay formats
Each of these home versions had its own unique gameplay format. The Milton Bradley and Pressman versions (both older and current) only had five categories in each round, allowed for the "emcee" (who acted as "banker") to choose where the Daily Doubles were placed, and used one of the higher Double Jeopardy! dollar values as the Final Jeopardy! clue instead of having a separate category/clue as on the show. In addition in the Pressman versions, players were spotted with $500 to start the game ($1,000 since 2003) and unlike the show, the scores couldn't go below zero; in the event that a player responded incorrectly and the clue was worth more money than they had, the player had to give all of their money back to the bank. As the rules stated, players could not have "negative dollar amounts" nor could they borrow money from another player or the bank. Also, there was a die to roll to determine who would go first in the Jeopardy! round, and in Double Jeopardy!, if two or more players tie for the least amount of money, they roll the die and the player who rolls the lowest number chooses first. In addition, there were 4 clickers to use to "buzz in"; if two or more players "buzz in" at the same time, they roll the die and the player who rolls the highest number gets to respond. Pressman's Travel Editions kept this format as well. Pressman also created an electric version of the game featuring three "buzz-in" and scoring consoles, each controlled by a 9-volt battery; the scoring was kept in hundreds of dollars, just like the play money in the other versions. In fact, this edition replaced the clickers and play money in previous and current versions with the consoles. An ESPN version also created by Pressman uses play money like the older and current versions, but utilizes a buzz-in console featuring 4 buzz-in buttons for the first 2 rounds, and a center button to activate a 35-second timer for Final Jeopardy! When one player buzzes in, all other players are locked out. Unlike the older and current versions, there is no game die to determine the selections; the oldest player goes first in the Jeopardy! round and also goes first in Double Jeopardy! if two or more players tie for the least amount of money. In addition, for each game, one of the $2,000 answers is marked "Final Jeopardy!" and is the last answer remaining and used in said round.The TYCO versions went totally different from anything seen on TV, using six separate category stands that were distributed among the players, so that each player "hosted" one or more categories for each of their opponents and thus, played their opponents' category or categories. In addition, the cards used (which each had one Jeopardy! and one Double Jeopardy! category) had pre-selected Daily Doubles, so it was possible for more or less than the normal number of such clues in the appropriate rounds. In addition, Final Jeopardy! was played with a seventh separate card's $1,000 Double Jeopardy! clue.
Their Travel Edition used a single stand with the same-styled cards (allowing for interchanging of the game cards between the home and Travel versions) and similar gameplay.
The Parker Brothers edition is the only one to date whose play format accurately duplicated that of the TV show, with six categories in each round, pre-selected Daily Doubles (in the correct amounts; one for the Jeopardy! round and two for Double Jeopardy!) and a separate Final Jeopardy! category and clue.
Electronic games
Tiger Electronics released an electronic handheld game for Jeopardy! in 1995, and a Deluxe version came out in 1999, and both came with expansion cartridges and a booklet featuring answers and questions. If the booklet is used, the clue and responses will not scroll on screen and the players must turn to the page in the booklet for the clue and responses.In 2002, in response to educators praising the longevity of the show's popularity and their students creating their own versions of the game to encourage student participation in class, educational toy company Educational Insights (which markets the Geosafari system) released a self-contained, programmable Jeopardy! game system that can be hooked up to a normal classroom TV for school use, titled Classroom Jeopardy!. Following successful sales of Classroom Jeopardy!, a home version called Host Your Own Jeopardy! was released in 2004. Except for the names and included question content, both systems are identical, using a cartridge-based system for the categories and wireless remotes for the players and the host. The unit itself acts as the scoreboard. Earlier editions of the system included a small laptop-style keyboard that connected to the game unit and allowed for programming the cartridges. Later versions replaced this keyboard with a USB-connected device known as the "Classroom Jeopardy! Link", which allowed programming of the cartridges (and storage of unused games) via a PC or Macintosh (with included software). The Classroom edition featured one cartridge with 5 pre-programmed school-subject-based games; while the Host Your Own edition included four cartridges featuring 20 games used on the show, ranging from Kids Week level to Tournament Of Champions level. Educational Insights released an updated version of Classroom Jeopardy! in 2011.
In 2007, MGA Games
MGA Entertainment
MGA Entertainment is a manufacturer of children's toys and entertainment products founded in 1979. Its products include the Bratz fashion doll line, Lalaloopsy, Kachooz!, Moxie Girlz, Moxie Teenz, Hugwallas, BFC, Ink. and Rescue Pets. MGAE also owns The Little Tikes Company...
released the Jeopardy! DVD Game system that includes 3 wireless buzzers and plug-in unit for your DVD player that keeps the score. Alex Trebek appears in the game and reads the clues. Video clues featuring the Jeopardy! Clue Crew also are included. (NOTE: This system is often used as a special giveaway at JEOPARDY! Clue Crew events.)
Other merchandise
For the show's 15th anniversary season in 1998-1999, a collectible watch was released. The watch plays the famous theme song with a push of a button, and included 25 game cards with the answer-question format. Despite poor sales, several watches are currently being auctioned and sold on eBayEBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
as of today.
A DVD titled Jeopardy!: An Inside Look at America's Favorite Quiz Show was released on November 8, 2005 and features five full episodes of the show: #1 (Trebek era premiere), #4657 (Ken Jennings' losing episode), #4781, #4782, and #4783 (the three finals games of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions
Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions
The Ultimate Tournament of Champions was a special fifteen-week single-elimination tournament that aired during the twenty-first season of the syndicated game show Jeopardy! that began airing on February 9, 2005 and concluded on May 25, 2005, covering 76 shows in all...
, the latter of which can be viewed through multiple camera angles), and three featurettes: 21 Years of Answers & Questions, Jeopardy!: Behind the Answers, and What Does it Take to Get a Clue? It also has some funny moments from the show, including Trebek doing the beginning of the first show of the Ultimate Tournament Of Champions Finals without trousers, and Johnny Gilbert mistaking Alex for a man who rehearses as Alex Trebek.
Every year, Day-to-Day Calendars' Andrews McMeel Publishing subsidiary releases a daily desktop Jeopardy! calendar, featuring 6 full games-worth of clues presented 1 clue per day (with the correct response on the back of each day's sheet).
The brand has also been licensed for slot machine games at casinos and online.
eBay set auctions
Shortly after the start of Season 19 in 2002, portions of the previous season's set were placed on eBayEBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
by Sony Pictures between December 8, 2002 and December 15, 2002, with auction proceeds donated to charities World Vision
World Vision
World Vision, founded in the USA in 1950, is an evangelical relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of...
and the Motion Picture & Television Fund
Motion Picture & Television Fund
The Motion Picture & Television Fund is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries with limited or no resources...
. Some past contestants participated in the auction, including Bob Fleenor, who used some of his Jeopardy! winnings to buy a piece of the set. College Champion
Jeopardy! College Championship
The Jeopardy! College Championship is one of the traditional tournaments held each season on the TV quiz show Jeopardy! Contestants in this tournament are full-time undergraduate college students with no prior degrees...
Pam Mueller bought the rightmost podium. Million Dollar Masters winner Brad Rutter
Brad Rutter
Bradford Gates "Brad" Rutter is the biggest all-time money winner on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and the second biggest all-time money winner on a game show....
was outbid for the leftmost (champion's) podium.