Basic Game Rules
While it is likely that all visitors to this site will have seen the program before, for the sake of completeness, here are the rules to a typical game of Jeopardy!:
The game is played by three contestants in three rounds. In all rounds, money is earned by answering questions -- or in Jeopardy! parlance, by providing the questions to the answers. The wording is altered so that the "questions" are in answer format, and the contestants' "answers" must be in the form of a question. For simplicity, the terms "clues" and "responses" are usually used instead of "questions" and "answers".
While merely a gimmick, it is part of the game, and failure to respond in the form of a question can cost you money. (More on that later).
In the first round, there are six categories of five clues each, worth $100 to $500. The round is timed; play continues until all 30 clues are revealed, or time runs out. On each turn, the player in control first chooses a clue by announcing a category and dollar amount. (At game start, the player at the leftmost podium has control.) The clue is revealed on the TV monitor, read by the host, then (and only then) the contestants are allowed to ring in to answer. A correct response earns the value of the clue; an incorrect response subtracts the value of the clue from the player's total and gives the remaining contestants a chance to ring in. On a correct response, that player gains control and gets to select the next clue.
Also in the first round, there is one Daily Double hidden on the board behind one of the 30 clues. When a player hits the Daily Double, he/she is the only one with a chance to respond. The player announces a wager, then the clue is revealed as before. The player earns the amount of the wager on a correct response; otherwise (on a miss or no-answer), the value is deducted. The minimum wager is $5, regardless of the player's score. The maximum wager is either all of the player's current score, or the maximum clue value in the round (in the first round, $500), if the player has less than that value.
Most of the Daily Doubles are like regular clues, but some are "Audio Daily Doubles" or "Video Daily Doubles", which involve audio or video as part of the clue.
The second round (called Double Jeopardy!) plays much the same. Six new categories of five clues each are presented, this time worth $200 to $1000, and two Daily Doubles are hidden on the board. Play again continues until all clues are revealed, or time runs out.
The third round is called Final Jeopardy!. If a player has $0 or a negative score at the end of Double Jeopardy!, that person is eliminated from the game and only the remaining players get to play Final Jeopardy! A single category is presented, and each player makes a wager in secret. Then the clue is revealed, and each player has 30 seconds to write down a response. Correct responses earn money, incorrect responses lose money. At the end of the game, the person with the most money wins the game.
During the first round, if the player forgets to use a question in his/her response, Alex will remind the player. During Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy!, there are no reminders, and forgetting to do this is the same as a wrong response.
In regular season matches, only the champion gets to keep his/her money. The second and third place participants receive prizes, which are usually not too shabby. In the event of a tie for first place, all the players become co-champions, win the full amount of money, and get to come back for another game.
In no case does a player with a negative score have to pay the show.