About JeopardyLabs

JeopardyLabs was created by me, Matt Johnson, while working on my undergrad at Washington State University, Vancouver. JeopardyLabs makes it easy to create jeopardy templates without PowerPoint. Give it a try, you'll probably like it a lot.

JeopardyLabs is not affiliated with Jeopardy!® or Sony Pictures Digital Inc.

Frequently Asked Questions

Playing

How do I play?

Any way you want! Create your game, and present it on a screen to your players (using a projector, for example). You (the game host) can click on a square to show the question and the answer. Players can "buzz in" by shouting their name, or raising their hand, for example. Then you can allocate points appropriately. JeopardyLabs is "just" a Q/A board with a scoreboard attached.

I created a 100% free general purpose buzzer app if you'd like to try it with JeopardyLabs: Buzzonk.

How do I play this during a coronavirus lock down?

Use a video conferencing system like Zoom, Skype or (my favorite) Jitsi. Get all your players to join the conference. Then open up your Jeopardy game in a web browser, and share your screen. Your players can "buzz in" by shouting their name, or using chat.

How do I adjust the score or team names?

The team name and points are editable fields. Just click and edit.

Can I save my template to a flashdrive so I can play it without an internet connection?

Yes. Click the download link on your template, and save the file to your flashdrive. Open the file using Chrome (or whatever web browser you use). No internet connection is required, but no external resources like videos or images will load.

This will not work on the iPad/iPhone because of its (flawed) security model.

What about Double Jeopardy, Final Jeopardy and Daily Doubles?

JeopardyLabs is a Jeopardy-like game, it's not Jeopardy™.

For a "double Jeopardy"-like experience, you can add extra rows to your game (and adjust the points appropriately), or create a new game with double the points. For a final question, I recommend handing your players cards to write their wagers on (since the wagers are supposed to be secret). Add an extra column to your game called "Final Question", with one question in it. For daily doubles you can put "Daily Double" in the question text, with the question in the answer spot (but you have to memorize the answer).

Where are the sound effects?

The TV gameshow uses sound effects sparingly, and JeopardyLabs has no sound effects of its own.

I found an error in a question/answer.

Many thousands of games are made on my website daily. I don't review any of them for accuracy. You should either edit the game and fix the mistake, or use a different one.

How do I hide the edit/download/print links?

You can't. Don't worry, no one can edit your game without authenticating first. The reason you can edit your game without entering a password is because JeopardyLabs knows you're the game owner. Anyone can clone your public game though.

Can I send the game URL to my students so they can play on their own?

Sure. But playing JeopardyLabs on your own isn't much fun. It's basically just flashcards.

How do I prevent audio/video/YouTube embeds from playing automatically?

JeopardyLabs automatically plays media if it can (this is limited to <audio>/<video> elements, and YouTube embeds). If you don't like this behavior press ALT a on your keyboard to toggle autoplay.

What are the keyboard shortcuts?

Use to move around the game board.

Use ENTER or SPACE to open the selected question.

Use SPACE to reveal the answer.

Use ESC to close the question.

Type numbers (1 to 9) to select a team (1 is the first team, 2 is the second team, etc). Use to increase or decrease points. Press ESC to deselect the team.

Use ALT a to toggle auto play of videos.

Building

How do I put sound in my game?

Assuming your sound clip is hosted elsewhere (SoundCloud or YouTube for example), you can use the third party embed code they give you.

In your Jeopardy question, click the </> icon, and then paste in the code. Then click the </> icon again.

JeopardyLabs does not have sound effects.

I'm trying to embed a YouTube video, and it isn't working!

The particular YouTube video you're trying to embed does not allow embedding, or it is a private video.

How do I embed a video from my computer or phone?

JeopardyLabs cannot afford to store, transcode and serve video files (remember, a membership is only $20/lifetime, and the site is ad-free for everyone). Unfortunately, you need to upload the video to a video hosting platform like YouTube. If you have Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox, they may provide embed code for your video. If so, you can click the </> icon in the JeopardyLabs editor to paste in the code.

I monitor the prices of storage, CPU, and bandwidth and plan to support video uploads when it becomes economically viable.

How do I customize the color scheme of the game?

Generally, you can't. But for individuals who know a little HTML and CSS, you can download your game, open the file in a text editor, and replace the colors in the code. No, I don't provide technical support for this. You are on your own.

How do I control the font size?

JeopardyLabs automatically figures out the biggest font that can be used for your question/answer (so it fills the screen). But if for some reason, you need precise control, you'll have to use HTML. Click the </> symbol in the question/answer editor, and enter the code:

<p><span style="font-size: 12px;">This is my text in size 12 font</span></p> I don't provide technical support for HTML/CSS coding.

I can't seem to change the points!

JeopardyLabs won't save the points you enter unless the row has a question/answer in it.

How do I delete a row/column?

Put your mouse over the row/column, and click the trash can icon. Keep in mind, JeopardyLabs always shows a 5x5 grid in edit mode. If you leave an entire row/column empty, it will be removed when you play (so don't worry about it).

How do I move a cell?

Hover over the cell with your mouse, and click-and-drag the move icon. You can only move a cell into an empty space on the board. The cell will revert back to where it was if there are no empty cells.

I built a game, and can't find it anymore!

After you save your game, you are told to bookmark the page so you can get back to it. If you didn't follow the instructions, you can try to find it using the browse page. Good luck.

If you close the edit page without saving (and ignored the warning about unsaved changes), your content was lost and you'll have to redo it.

Account

I can't login!!! What's wrong?

Did you pay $20 for a membership? If not, you don't have an account to login to. JeopardyLabs is free to use, and an account is optional.

Assuming you paid for an account...

  1. Did you try the password reset form?
  2. Did you verify you're using the right username/email? The correct username to use is in the password reset email.
  3. Is the login or password reset form not recognizing your email address? Try a different email address. Maybe you registered with a different email.
  4. Not getting the password reset email? Check your spam folder.
  5. Did you just pay for a membership, and JeopardyLabs isn't recognizing your email? This is because you have a typo in your email address. You'll have to email me so I can manually fix the typo.
    support@jeopardylabs.com
  6. Don't have access to your email anymore? I can update your email address if (and only if) you can provide sufficient evidence of account ownership. Obviously, I cannot change the email on an account just because some rando from the internet asks me to. Acceptable evidence includes: the receipt, card fingerprint (card type, last 4, and expiration date), or some public record of your old and new email addresses (on a school website, for example). Email your convincing evidence to
    support@jeopardylabs.com
I paid with Bancontact/BLIK/Eps/Giropay/iDEAL/Mercado Pago/MyBank/Przelewy24/SEPA-Lastschrift/Sofort and my account was not setup, but I still got charged!

When you checkout with one of PayPal's partners, the money is transferred to PayPal while the transaction is pending. If you exit the checkout process before it finishes, the charge will be refunded back to you automatically by PayPal. It can take 24 hours, or, in some cases, 180 days. I have no control over this.

If you were not logged into JeopardyLabs automatically, you did not finish the checkout process. You can safely start it again.

Other

You still haven't answered my question!

Email me. But for the love of all that is good in the world, don't ask me a question I already answered on this page.
support@jeopardylabs.com

My school/district/state/country won't allow me to use JeopardyLabs until you sign a 50 page legal agreement.

I do not feed the bureaucracy. You'll have to use a different (and likely, inferior) program. Or perhaps you can convince the bureaucrats to accept my standard legalese.

I need my template deleted from your website ASAP!

You can submit a template removal request. I will ignore requests via email.

I want a refund!

Many people are perfectly happy with how JeopardyLabs worked and conveniently request a refund after constructing and playing their game to their satisfaction.

However, I don't let that dishonest behavior ruin it for everyone else. Refunds should be easy, regardless of the potential for abuse. If you are genuinely unsatisfied with JeopardyLabs (or you're just one of those "clever" individuals taking advantage of my refund policy) simply email support@jeopardylabs.com with your invoice number and your money will be refunded in full.

Unfortunately, due to the widespread refund abuse, your payment fingerprint will be blocked, and you are prohibited from purchasing a membership in the future.