Party Games: Personalized Jeopardy

Today, I'm sharing a party game that is well loved in my house - Jeopardy. But not just any old game of jeopardy; we like to personalize it! This game requires a little more effort to prep, but it is so easy to animate! It's great to have on hand and really gets the whole room engaged!

Many of the party games I've shared so far are best suited to a smaller group of people. This game is the total opposite, the more people the better! We have played this game with varying numbers of people, but it is especially entertaining for a large group (think 30 or more!). I will explain when and where I have used this game along with how I prepare for it.

I think this jeopardy game works best with big crowds, because I section off the party guests in groups. It is definitely easiest if you let your guests put themselves in teams. I recommend deciding beforehand how many groups of how many people you want and then just letting people know. So, for example, I might say "I need 5 groups of 6." If you are in an informal setting (ie. no tables) ask people to gather in their groups and keep track of who is on their team. If your guests are seated at tables, this is all so much easier - whoever they are sitting with composes their team.

We played this game at our Christmas party one year and it was a little tougher to have uniform groups. Especially because we invite family friends and kid friends. In this case, I recommend reading your crowd. If no one seems to mind that the teams are a little lopsided, just go with the flow. In this case, it totally worked out! If your teams aren't exactly uniform, the game can still work - it is all about fun after all! You don't even have to keep track of points!

This is at one of my friend's birthday parties. I was so excited to find this picture, especially because it shows how low tech this game can be! We have played jeopardy with a Powerpoint and a projector, but we have also played jeopardy with a bristol board and some cue cards! Whether you are going low or high tech, make the jeopardy game by choosing categories and creating leveled questions within those categories. I like to choose categories that are specific to the person who we are celebrating or the holiday we are celebrating.

So, at a Christmas party I might choose categories like Christmas songs, Santa's Reindeer, The 12 Days of Christmas... I even threw in a category called Christmas song or Christmas wrong - that one was funny!

At a birthday party, I make a category about whoever's birthday it is then other categories about things they like. In these pictures, I was animating a jeopardy game for Hannah's sweet sixteen. I made one category about Hannah, one about her home state, one about track & field (because Hannah runs track), one about the year she was born, and one about dance (because Hannah dances). Once I have my categories, I come up with 5 questions within each category.

When I'm using cue cards, I write numbered points on the blank side and the questions on the lined side. I use a post it note to stick the answer to the lined side of the cue card (so the back or not visible side) then I use sticky tack to stick the questions to the bristol board.

When the group is divided into teams, I explain the game. Then I let the first team pick their category. At this point the game plays like regular jeopardy, the only difference is I don't really care if the party guests give their answers in the form of question. So, if a team asks for Dance for 400, I take off the corresponding cue card, read the question and wait for the answer. If we are keeping points (some groups are surprisingly competitive!), I give the groups the cue card to keep as a means of tracking their points.

I try to make the questions increasing in difficulty as the numbers increase, but in some cases it just doesn't work and that's okay! I promise, your guests will appreciate the effort you've put it either way!

See you tomorrow with some birthday fun!