The path to getting on “Jeopardy!” just got a lot easier.
What happened
- For the first time, the online “Jeopardy!” test — which previously has only been available for select days once or twice a year — can now be taken any time through late April.
- If you took the most recent test that was offered in January, you can still take this test. The show will give preference to the higher test score of the two, according to jeopardy.com.
- To register for the test, create an account at jeopardy.com.
- Set aside 15-20 minutes to take the test.
- Jeopardy.com recommends closing all other windows on your device and using either Chrome, Firefox or Safari as your web browser for the test.
- You don’t receive an official score after taking the test, but if you get 35 of the 50 questions right, your name is placed in a pool of potential contestants.
Tips from Ken Jennings
- In an interview with the Deseret News, “Jeopardy!” GOAT Ken Jennings shared some tips for the online test.
- There are some categories that are fairly easy to dominate.
- “If you’ve watched the show, you realize which things you really have to know,” Jennings told the Deseret News last year. “There’s only 45 presidents; there’s no reason not to spend some time studying the presidents. Know their years, know their vice presidents, know their home states and first ladies. And world capitals, that’s kind of the other big one. Be able to know the capital for every country in the world. That’s the most bang for your buck.”
- Other categories Jennings recommended studying: Shakespeare, opera, orchestra conductors, constitutional amendments and university towns.
- The online test goes by fast — you only have 15 seconds to answer each clue.
- “Pick out the most relevant parts of the clue — the proper names, the place names, the dates, the titles,” Jennings said.
- Don’t worry about spelling. “What they want to know is, ‘Could you answer the question right on the show?’” Jennings said. “Don’t get into a brain freeze about ‘i before e.’”
- Have fun.
“It’s really fun to play “Jeopardy!” — even on a computer test,” Jennings said. “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself; you’ll play better and there’s always the next test.”