JEOPARDY! host Ken Jennings has introduced new changes that fans can see in action for the first time during Monday night’s game.
Despite excitement for the updates, some fans fear that the high-tech changes could cause the board to “glitch” often like they claim happens on sister show Wheel of Fortune.
On tonight’s Jeopardy! episode, Ken announced the inclusion of the new game board with much higher technology.
The new board is a massive singular screen wall that replaces the 36 separate monitors that has been previously used by the show for years.
Rather than a separate monitor naming each category, the title will now be highlighted at the top of each clue selection.
Additionally, the show brought back the return of the host standing at the contestant podiums during each interview segment in the middle of the game.
Previously, Ken, 50, had been standing in the middle of the stage without moving while doing a Q&A with all three contestants.
Fans had mixed reactions to the changes, with one saying: “Would still at the very least like a new version of the Think music to match the theme that Bleeding Fingers did.
“Interested to see how the new board works… Hopefully it’s less glitchy than Wheels!”
The comment is referencing Wheel of Fortune’s board that it debuted back in 2022 which features similar technology.
In recent months, fans have spotted several bugs on screen that have wreaked havoc on the game – and even briefly interrupted Vanna White’s hosting duties.
Another fan said of Ken’s new placement: “I was hoping the increased host movement would mean Ken would be standing by the game board for the FJ clue reveal. But nope.”
Showing appreciation for the change, a viewer wrote: “I LOVE that they listened to the fans and inserted a category highlight marker after a contestant verbally says what it is they’re interested in.
“Because those of us at home can’t always believe what we just heard and have to double-check to make sure their selection matches up with what we think we just heard.”
The reason the changes were finally seen in tonight’s game is this was the first Jeopardy! episode to air that was filmed this month.
In tonight’s episode, returning champ Eamonn Campbell, a lawyer originally from Vermont, came back to extend the $13,700 he won in the previous game.
THE REIGN CONTINUES
He played against Caryn Radick, an archivist from New Jersey and Jack Swansey, a writer from, North Carolina.
Daily Doubles impacted the lead early on as Jack found the first one which added $1,000 to his total.
Jack struck again as he came across the second one and added another $3,000 to his prize pot.
Eamonn swooped up the third one, which he incorrectly guessed and dropped his score $1,400.
Jeopardy! Contestant Rules
Passing Jeopardy!'s online Anytime Test is hard enough, but there are also many rules players must follow once they make it to the stage:
- The returning champion is always at the leftmost podium and keeps playing until they lose.
- Contestants don’t have to say “who is” or “what is” in the first round but must do so in Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy.
- Contestants can change their responses as long as Ken Jennings or the judges haven’t made a ruling.
- The minimum wager for a Daily Double is $5. The minimum wager for Final Jeopardy! is $0.
- Written responses in Final Jeopardy! do not have to be spelled correctly, but they must be phonetically correct (the judges decide this).
- If there’s a tie after Final Jeopardy, the tied players enter a bonus clue shootout, and whoever buzzes in first correctly wins.
- If all three contestants wager everything in Final Jeopardy! and are incorrect, leaving them with $0, there will be no returning champion (it’s happened before—six times).
Despite the miss, he gained back a slight lead and had $14,800 heading into Final Jeopardy!
Jack was closely behind with $14,600 while Caryn remained in third after accumulating $4,600.
Under the category, Corporate Mascots, Ken read off the final clue: “A 2014 tweet said that this mascot was the ‘embodiment of a milkshake or taste bud.’”
Eamonn and Caryn both correctly wrote down “What is Grimace?”
Final scores for the episode left Eamonn with $29,500, leading to his second win.
Caryn was second with $7,600 while Jack was left with just $1 after missing the final round.
