Transcript
How to Make and Run Jeopardy! Fun Night
Basic Idea: The program at http://www.mindfun.com/jeopardyNight is designed to load and allow live play of a game with all the players in the same room being led by a live host. The game can come from one of three sources: The J‐Archive (you can pull a random one or input the game_id.) Note: the game is not actually drawn from the J‐Archive but from a copy RobertKS provided me a few years ago. So you will not be able to play the most recent games. The VJ game database (but, like VJ, only if you know the hostGameId of the game) A game you write in any word processor and cut and paste into the program (It has to be in the correct format, so you would use the template provided below). Also, if you have access to the VJ game database, I would recommend writing games there rather than cutting and pasting. The program then displays the game, as it’s played, on a “clean” game board via a projector or a big monitor that the audience and players can see. At the same time, someone will control the game from another screen not visible to the audience and players:
The left screen above represents what you would project onto a big screen, for the audience and players to see. The right screen is what the game controller and host would see but the audience and the players would not. No mouse movements or clicks are visible on the big screen, making the game look like the real thing. Players ring in using easy‐to‐make buzzers which simulate the pressing of the W, S or
D, F, G or H key, which the program interprets as buzzes. I show how to make them below, or you can use any technique which simulates those key presses.
How It Works: The game plays just like Jeopardy! and requires a person to volunteer as host. The game is played with all the contestants and the host in the same room. The game board and clues appear on the big screen. A host reads the clues, the lights come on when the host finishes. The players ring in with buzzers and the one who comes in first has her podium light up. (Just like on the show, the buzzers lock out the players for 250 milliseconds if they come in before the lights are activated). That person is then called upon by the host and says her response. The host then clicks whether the person was right or wrong. The system automatically keeps track of the scores and displays them on the big screen. There are the correct Daily Double sounds and Final Jeopardy sounds and music. NOTE: As you will learn below, the program makes controlling the clues, the buzzer lights, the J, DJ and FJ rounds and scores quite easy, and so a single person can act as host, activator and controller. But first, we need a way to display the game board and a way to make the all‐important buzzers. Both are explained below.
Supplies: Displaying the Board and Controlling the Game: This requires a computer capable of extending the display across dual monitors or extending it across the screen and a projector (most current Windows computers can). You attach a big screen monitor or projector to one video output and another monitor used by the host to the other video output. I connect my laptop and use the laptop’s screen as the controller’s monitor. Here’s how you extend the display http://www.cnet.com/how‐to/how‐to‐set‐up‐dual‐monitors‐in‐ windows‐7/ (choose the “extend display” option) If your computer does not have the “extend displays” option, then this won’t work. The Buzzers: Before we begin talking about how to make your own, keep in mind that you can play immediately if you want all the players to huddle around a keyboard: You can activate the lights by pressing A (or clicking the “Activate” button on the control screen) and the players can ring in by pressing the following buttons after the lights are activated: Player 0 …. W Player 1 …. S Player 2 …. D Player 3 …. F Player 4 …. G Player5 …. H (or the left arrow key, since some Makey Makeys do not have an H input) Note also that any system that can simulate the pressing of these letters will work, so you don’t have to use my suggested construction.
On my system, I used a remarkable device called a Makey Makey to allow each player to have his or her own buzzer. (As you’ll see, I also used some cheap parts from RadioShack and Home Depot).
1 The Makey Makey board is plug‐and‐play USB
http://www.makeymakey.com/howto.php The Makey Makey is one of the coolest products out there. Basically it connects to your computer via USB without any software, drivers or programming. Then it lets you turn anything into a keyboard or input device. Check out the website to see people make a piano out of bananas, for example.
It connects easily via USB. This shows the back.
For our purposes, all we have to do is attach one side of a buzzer switch to ground on the Makey Makey and the other side to one of the “W”, “S”, “D”, “F”, “G” and “H” slots on the Makey Makey. (If your Makey Makey has the H input. If not, connect the last buzzer to the left arrow spot on the Makey Makey. ) But first, we need to make the part of the buzzer that you hold in your hand. It takes about two hours, total, to make six buzzers. You will need: 4 RadioShack SPST Momentary Pushbutton Switches with ½” mounting hole ‐ part#275‐0646 RadioShack 20 Gauge, Stranded 2‐Conductor Speaker wire (at least 75 feet) Home Depot ½” PVC 1120 Sch 40 pipe, cut into four 4 ½” segments (they will do it for you in the store if you ask nicely.) Some black vinyl electrical tape And probably at least 10 two‐ended alligator clips, like those shown below.
Building the Buzzers: Cut eight‐inch pieces of the speaker wire. Split the ends (about an inch) of each wire into its two conductors, being sure to preserve the rubber around each conductor. (I used regular old scissors). Then, strip the rubber off the end of each conductor as shown below. Thread one of the conductor’s exposed copper ends through the hole in one of the prongs at the bottom the switch and twist it to make sure it is reasonably secure. Some people will want to solder this, but I am too lazy. Cut a ¼” piece of electrical tape and wrap it around the junction of the copper and prong, to insulate it from any stray strands from the other conductor. Repeat for the other conductor and prong. It should look like the right picture when done. Now thread the other end of the wire through the ½” PVC. The switch will almost, but not quite, fit at first. But if you turn the PVC and switch upside down, get the switch pretty parallel to the top of the PVC and push down firmly on a hard surface, you eventually get a rather satisfying CLICK as the switch is forced into the opening on the top of the PVC. You will see that the switch now fits pretty securely. (BTW: I have done this many times and have yet to wreck a switch by applying this force, but no guarantees. Anyway, the switch only costs about two bucks to replace.)
Here is what the end result should look like:
Now, cut lengths of speaker wire for each player, long enough to stretch from the controlling computer to where you want the players to stand. I used about 20 feet per buzzer, which worked very accurately with the MakeyMakey (there was no “antenna effect” and false signals at all). Split the end of the stereo wire coming out of each buzzer into two conductors. Do the same with each end of the long wire. Connect one conductor from the buzzer wire to one conductor from the long wire, as shown on left. It does not matter which connects to which. Make sure to wrap each conductor junction you make in electrical tape to prevent a short between the two junctions (I have not yet done so in the picture). You should make it more secure than I do in these instructions, but you don’t need to go crazy.
Then, I just use an alligator clip to connect one conductor end of the long wire to the white wire that comes with the MakeyMakey. I then stick the other end of the white wire in one of the letter slots (W, A, S, D, F, G or H) or to the left arrow input spot, if the Makey Makey does not have an H, like the one pictured here. I use another alligator clip to connect the other conductor end of the long wire to ground on the MakeyMakey, by clipping it into the “Earth” holes at the bottom of the MakeyMakey. If your MakeyMakey does not have an H input, simply connect an alligator clip to the left arrow holes on the Makey Makey . On the next page is a simple example of a complete circuit for the “W” buzzer for Player 0.
Here is the complete circuit for one buzzer, in a simple form:
I would recommend a sturdier construction than this, but it shows the basic schematic: 1. The Buzzer which a player holds during the game. When the button is pressed, the computer will think a “W” has been pressed. 2. The short wire from the buzzer is connected to the long wire stretching from the podia to the controlling computer. I use a short wire connected to the buzzer because it is much easier to work with than a 20 foot wire. I wrapped each connection in electrical tape to prevent a short after this picture was taken. 3. The 20‐foot long wire. I have tested the Makey Makey with 40 foot wires and it did not suffer any noise/false signal problems. 4. (and 7) One conductor on the end of the long wire connects to ground on the MakeyMakey via a black alligator clip. 5. The other conductor on the end of the long wire connects to the “W” slot on the MakeyMakey via a red alligator clip and one of the white wires that come with the MakeyMakey. The white wires fit perfectly in the MakeyMakey slots, by the way. 6. The W slot is at the far left of the letter slots, followed by ASDFG to the right (some will also have an H). 7. Just clip the end of the alligator clip directly to these holes, labeled “EARTH” on the MakeyMakey.
8. The MakeyMakey connects to the computer via USB. You just plug it in and the computer knows how to treat it like just another keyboard. If the buzzers and wires are properly attached, when the person depresses the red button on a buzzer, the computer will think that the corresponding letter was pressed. You can test this by opening Notepad and “typing” with the buzzers. When the program at http://www.mindfun.com/jeopardyNight is waiting for buzz‐ins, it recognizes the W, S, D, F, G or H key presses as a buzz. The Makey Makey seems to be accurate within milliseconds and sends buzzer presses to the computer even if someone is holding theirs down.
Running the show Give out buzzers, paper and pencils Once you’ve built the buzzers and tested them, give one to each player; this is why you need long wires for them. You can have up to six players. Also, give each player two pieces of paper and a writing utensil. Have them write their names on both pieces right at the start. This will be surprisingly helpful later. Then open http://www.mindfun.com/jeopardyNight/ which is the Controller Screen that only the host sees. Setting up the Game Board The program will ask you to open the game board. When it opens put it in the window that will be shown to the audience and maximize it with F11. This is the only part that the audience sees. The podiums and dollar values will not have shown up yet. A window will open asking you to select the “settings” for the game. You will be asked to enter the number of players, where you want the podiums to be displayed (usually depends upon your monitor or projector’s screen shape), and whether the clues should appear in the small square that the dollar value was in (as it happens in the studio) or in a big popup square (as it appears at home). Once you click Save Settings, you will see the podiums appear on the Game Board. Loading the game and picking Daily Doubles if necessary You can pick games from three locations.
From the J‐Archive
First, if you want to load one of the 4,142 J‐Archive games that I can access, simply put the game_id of the J‐Archive page corresponding to that game. For example, the fifth game of Kids Week from the 2012 season is found at http://www.j‐archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=3967. Note that Jeopardy! gives that episode show number 6435. Don't get confused by the show number. You would put the game_id (3967) in the Load Game from J‐Archive Box rather than the Show # (6435). Also, if you just leave the "random" there, the program will load a random game from the archive. If you enter “kids”, the program will pick a random kids week game. You can also pick a random “teens” game or “college” game by entering those terms. Note: When I converted the J‐Archive games, I failed to record which clues were daily doubles. Sorry about that. Thus, you must select the daily doubles for those games by hitting the “Toggle DD” button for any clue that you want to make a daily double. FYI, you can have as many daily doubles as you want in either round.
From the VJ database
If you know the hostGameId of a game in the VJ database, you can put it in the box and load it. The program will automatically find what were designated as daily doubles and indicate that on the Controller Screen, so you don’ t have to select them yourself. (You can add more DD’s if you want, though). Note that using the VJ editing features is the best way to write games to be played in this program.
From a text file
You can also write a round of clues in any word processor and then cut and paste it into the text area labeled “Game Data:” (at the bottom of the controller page). It will need to be in the following format. First, you put the category names one on each line from the left most column of Single Jeopardy to the rightmost category of Double Jeopardy. Then you put the Final Jeopardy Category on the next line. After that, put each clue and correct response in increasing dollar value order in each category, covering the categories in the same order as you listed them at the beginning. You end with the final jeopardy clue and correct response. For each clue, you put three parts: an identifier for that clue, then the clue itself, and then the correct response. Separate the three by using tildes (the ~ character). You must not use the tilde inside clues, identifiers or responses, therefore. Here is an abridged example: J! CATEGORY J! CATEGORY J! CATEGORY J! CATEGORY J! CATEGORY J! CATEGORY DJ! CATEGORY DJ! CATEGORY DJ! CATEGORY DJ! CATEGORY DJ! CATEGORY DJ! CATEGORY FJ! CATEGORY 200_clue_for_first_category~clue~correct response 400_clue_for_first_category~clue~correct response 600_clue_for_first_category~clue~correct response 800_clue_for_first_category~clue~correct response 1000_clue_for_first_category~clue~correct response 200_clue_for_second_category~clue~correct response 400_clue_for_second _category~clue~correct response 600_clue_for_second _category~clue~correct response 800_clue_for_second _category~clue~correct response 1000_clue_for_second _category~clue~correct response . . . 400_clue_for_rightmost_DJ_category~clue~correct response 800_clue_for_rightmost_DJ _category~clue~correct response 1200_clue_for_rightmost_DJ _category~clue~correct response 1600_clue_for_rightmost_DJ _category~clue~correct response 2000_clue_for_rightmost_DJ _category~clue~correct response
Final_jeopardy_clue~clue~correct response Note also that you could simply load a game from the archive to get the template for how a game must be structured. Naming the players and giving control Before you start the game, you should change each player’s name from something like “Player 0” to the player’s actual name. You do that by entering the name in the text area containing that player’s name on the controller screen. Then click Forced Update to send the name to the Game Board. Once you see all the players’ names on the podiums on the Game Board, you should select one of those players to have control of the board. You do this by clicking the “Give Control” button . Note that the player’s box on the Controller Screen is now yellow, and a little yellow square lights up on the player’s podium on the game board, indicating who gets to pick next. Starting the show Once you have set up the game board, named the players, given control to one of them, loaded a game to play, and selected the daily double if needed, you are ready to start the show. First, you click the “Fill J Board” button at the top of the controller screen. This produces the fill‐in graphics and sound effects seen in the old days right before Alex reveals the categories. Second, you click the “Reveal” Button in each category box on the Controller Screen. The category appears on both the Controller Screen and on the Game Board. The host should read the category name out loud and explain any that need explaining, just as Alex does. Playing the game The host then looks to see who has control of the board. The player’s box on the Controller Screen will be yellow and a small yellow box will be lit at the front of the player’s podium. The host tells that person to pick a clue to be revealed. Showing a clue Once the person picks a category and dollar amount, the host then clicks the “Reveal Clue” button in the square on the Controller Screen that corresponds to the dollar value and category chosen by the contestant. Three things happen simultaneously when the host clicks the button. (1) the clue appears on the game board; (2) a Clue Control Box (which I explain below) appears on the Controller Screen which I will explain below; and (3) the buzzer system starts listening for contestants buzzing in. We start listening as soon as the clue is revealed to catch people who buzz early. The system locks them out for 250 milliseconds after the lights come on if they come in early. Players are supposed to wait until the buzzers and lights are activated before ringing in. The Clue Control Box When the host shows a clue, a box like the following appears:
This allows the host to read the clue directly from the Controller Screen. The correct response is written in red below the clue. The host reads the clue aloud and then activates the buzzers when he or she is done reading. Activate buzzers in either of two ways You can activate the buzzers in two ways: clicking the Activate button on the Clue Control Box or pressing the A key. Experience has shown that the A key is easier to use for this purpose. Whenever I begin reading a clue as host, I place my finger on the A key to prepare to press it. When I am done reading the clue, I then press the A key to activate the buzzers. This turns the lights on around the game board and allows players to legally ring in. The system then records when everyone who buzzed did so, and lights up the podium of the player who got in first. The system appears to be accurate to within a millisecond. Checking the answer of the first to buzz in The host then calls on the contestant whose podium is lit up and waits for the contestant to give a response. If the contestant is right, the host clicks the “Got it Right” button; if wrong, the “Got it Wrong” button. The system then recalculates the player’s score, updates it on the podium and, if the person got it right, restores the podiums and the game board to a ready position for the next clue to be selected. The system also indicates who has control of the board with the yellow light on the podium and the yellow background to the player’s box on the Controller Screen. If the host clicks the “Got it Wrong” button, the wrong‐guessing player’s score is reduced and the lights and buzzers are instantly reactivated and anyone can ring in again. The player who already guessed can technically ring in but is not allowed to by the rules. What if no one rings in? The host simply clicks the “Next” button on the Clue Control Box and the system restores the podiums and the game board to a ready position for the next clue to be selected. The host can check who has control by looking for the yellow and ask that contestant to pick again.
Daily Doubles When the host selects the “Reveal Clue” button on a clue set as a Daily Double, the system will automatically do four things. (1) It plays the familiar Daily Double sound effect; (2) it shows a Daily Double graphic on the Game Board; (3) it lights up the podium of the player who just picked the Daily Double; and (4) it opens a prompt on the Controller Screen asking how much the player wants to wager. The host asks the contestant for the wager and enters the wager in the prompt. Note that the system does not check the validity of the wager; that is up to the host. When the host clicks the OK button to submit the wager, the daily double clue appears on the Game Board and a Clue Control Box appears on the Controller Screen. The host then proceeds with the clue like any other type of clue. Moving on to Double Jeopardy! Once the host decides that it’s time for Double Jeopardy!, the host simply clicks the Switch to DJ Round button at the top of the Controller Screen. This sets up the Game Board and Controller Screen for Double Jeopardy! Note that if you used a J‐Archive game, you will need to pick two clues to be the daily doubles for that round. Double Jeopardy does not have the fill‐in graphic and sound effect like Single Jeopardy, so after you select the Daily Doubles, you can go right to revealing the categories for Double Jeopardy. Final Jeopardy! After the host decides that it is time for Double Jeopardy to end, the host clicks the “Show FJ Category” button at the top of the Controller Screen. Wagers Three things happen. (1) a big window appears on the Game Board with the Final Jeopardy category in it; (2) the Final Jeopardy Category sound effect is played; and (3) a Final Jeopardy Wager Box appears on the Controller Screen. The host then asks the players to write their wagers on their pieces of paper. The host or a helper gathers the papers and the host puts the wagers into the appropriate slots in the Final Jeopardy Wager Box. The host should not yet click the “Show FJ Clue” button, however. Tell contestants how to start the FJ response Instead, just like on the show, before the host reveals the final jeopardy clue, the host tells the contestants to write “Who is “ or “What is” or some other appropriate beginning to the final jeopardy response. The host can see what the FJ clue will be by hovering with the mouse over the “Show FJ Clue” button. A pop up window will give a preview of the FJ clue. Showing the FJ clue and starting the FJ music Once the host has entered the wagers and the contestants have written down the appropriate beginning to the FJ response, the host can click the “Show FJ Clue” button. The FJ clue will appear on the big screen and a FJ Clue Control Box will appear on the Controller Screen. The host should read the FJ clue, say “Good luck, you have 30 seconds” and then press the “Start FJ Music button” The players will have until the song ends to write down their FJ responses.
Revealing the responses, wagers and totals Once the music ends, the host instructs the players to put down their pencils and the host or a helper collects them all. The host types the answers into the slots on the FJ Clue Control Box. Once all the responses are typed in, the host then reveals, in turn from lowest score going into final jeopardy to highest score, the players’ responses, whether they are correct, how much they wagered and what that leaves them. The host does this by clicking the buttons at the bottom of the FJ Clue Control Box. Note that the players are identified by name and are listed from lowest to highest score. You click the show guess button then say out loud whether that is right or wrong. Then you click the show wager button, and finally for that player, you click the declare player right or declare player wrong button. That’s the game! The host should announce who won, although the players will be able to see it on the gameboard. To play again, you must both close the game board and refresh the controller page. Shortcuts Since players often pick from top to bottom in order in categories, and most clues are answered correctly, the program has two shortcuts. First, after a person rings in, the program puts the “focus” of the page on the “Got right” button on the Clue Control Screen. That means you just have to hit the spacebar or enter key to select that the player got it right. After the Clue Control Box closes, the program puts the focus on the “reveal clue” button of the next clue down the category. Again, all you have to do to select it is to hit the spacebar or enter key; you don’t have to grab the mouse and move it to the next reveal clue button. Thus, the host gets into a rhythm: read the clue, press A when done, call on who got in first, hit spacebar if they got it right (or enter), hit spacebar again if they pick the next one down, and then repeat the whole process. The game can go fast, just like in the studio. Once you get to the bottom clue in a category, or the contestant doesn’t pick the next one down, you have to use the mouse and click the appropriate reveal clue button. Correcting mistakes If you accidentally hit “Got it Right” instead of Got it Wrong or vice versa, just input the proper score into the Player’s “score” field and hit “Forced Update” to correct it. If you hit got it right when the person got it wrong, and you want to let others re‐buzz, just reselect the Reveal Clue button for that clue and immediately hit A.
Some Super Cool features: The Buzz Log During the game, at any time before the next Reveal Clue button is clicked, the host can click the See Log button at the top to graphically display when each player rang in on the previous clue. The screen looks like this:
Game summary: At any time during the game, the host can click the See Game Summary Page and the program will display a graph of the progress similar to the charts at the bottom of the J‐Archive pages. It includes the progress of the scores after each clue and also the number right and wrong and the players’ Coryat scores. The following summarizes the game after 6 clues:
Buzzer Check Mode: If you want to check if all the buzzers are working, use buzzer check mode to allow the players to ring in without the program thinking it is part of the game. Once you want to get back to play, just click the same button again.
Have Fun!
