Very few people are likely unfamiliar with the popular NBC game show Jeopardy!, which has been hosted by household name Alex Trebek for years. The Super Jeopardy! PC game was introduced in 1991 and follows the basic premise of Jeopardy.
Unlike “regular” Jeopardy!, Super Jeopardy! was a match between previous champions and big money winners from all factions of the Jeopardy! series. There was Teen Jeopardy!, a College Jeopardy! week, and the famous Tournament of Champions. All contributed players, thirty-seven in total, to Super Jeopardy!, which aired on television from June to September in 1990.
The premise is still basically the same, only Super Jeopardy! featured four contestants at one time instead of the usual three. In the initial round, point values for each question ranged from $200 to $1000 and featured one Daily Double, where the contestant could wager any amount, up to $1000, or his or her total bank. As most people know, the answers are given on the clue board, and players need to provide the appropriate question. Many players were caught by failing to formulate a question after ringing in, and would thus be penalized the dollar amount of the clue. The second round, termed Double Jeopardy! followed the same principles, but featured two Daily Doubles, and dollar amounts for the given clues between $500
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and $2500. Allegedly, the clues became more difficult in this round. At the close of the game, there was the Final Jeopardy! round, which made the ear worm Jeopardy! song so famous. In this round, players wager an amount based on their total banks after learning the clue category. A single clue is offered and players have thirty seconds to come up with and write down the question that was answered by the clue. Correct participants gain the amount of their wager, while those with incorrect responses lose the amount of their wager. Through careful play and strategy, it is perfectly possible to lose at Final Jeopardy! and still walk away with the largest dollar total. Whoever boasts the largest dollar total is the sole winner.
As with other question-based computer games, Super Jeopardy! is only replayable to a point. There will come a time when categories will begin to repeat themselves, as will questions. If the player has a memory good enough to succeed at the game initially, play will become a snap once the questions begin to repeat, making the game too easy and tedious. Still, it will keep a gamer busy for a while and will tax the brain during each episode and question.
