I’m not a very religious viewer of this show, so pardon my ignorance.
Is there a point to letting the contestants pick which category and value to do next? Regardless, all of them are going to be answered, and anybody can answer at any time, so what strategy is involved, if any?
When did they stop trying? The final answer tonight was “one in Europe, the other in North America, these are the only two countries with an X in their name” … which took me about 3 seconds to think of, and all 3 contestants naturally had it too. This sounds more like a Wheel of Fortune type question…
Regarding question 1…They don’t always clear the entire board so if you have control it’s in your best interest to pick a topic you know the most about (and if you’re lucky, the other contestants don’t know as much about). Not only to win more money, but the more you have the more you can risk if you get a Daily Double (and the same goes for Final Jeopardy). Also, regarding the Daily Double, you only get to answer it if you’re the one that picks it.
Sometimes people freeze up on the most obvious questions.
As for picking, control of the board can be very strategic. Say there is a minute left in the game, and it’s a close one. I have control. The only remaining categories are “18th Century Estonian Poets” and “Potent Potables.” There is still a Daily Double out there. By picking the category I know I can run, I can both build up a lead, and either catch the DD myself, or burn off enough time that nobody else gets it. Either way it’s good for me.
I thought one clue on tonight’s show was just plain wrong. The correct response was, “What is ‘jump the shark’”? The clue said something about it being a ratings grabbing technique that shows did purposely, which is not at all what ‘jump the shark’ means.
Wow, that shows what I know. I had no idea there was a time limit on that show. I’ve never seen them end the game before clearing the board - how often do they run out of time? And I do see the strategy behind going after your strong subjects first, to build up money for later.
Even if they did clear the board every time, there’s still the Daily Double. You want to hit your categories and build up your bank early in the game so you have a stake if you get the Daily Double.
I haven’t seen the show in a while, but they used to have a category called “Potpourri” that was a jumble of clues that were leftover (never picked) from other games. It tends to happen if the questions are hard enough that the contestants can’t answer them.
If you do it that way (and you’re lucky enough to hit the Daily Double near the end of the round), by the time you hit the DD it’s in one of your weaker categories. You’ll have enough stake to place a big wager, but you probably wouldn’t want to.
I think there’s a case to be made to go for your weaker categories first, at least until the Daily Double(s) have been revealed. That way, if you’re lucky enough to hit one you’ll have a lot of money to wager and a better chance of getting it right.
I’m pretty sure the difficulty of Final Jeopardy is intended to vary quite a lot. The point is to make the wagering at least a little interesting. Now, it’s usually the case that you want to bet for the win, but the occasional tough answer may make some players second guess themselves. Those get balanced by the cupcake Finals. In fact, earlier this week it was noted that they’d gone two or three days without any player answering Final Jeopardy correctly (although at least one of those was something you’d have expected someone to know).
On the difficulty question, whether you’d think they were difficult or not, it’s definitely not a given that all the contestants will get the final question correct. Actually, it’s not unusual for no one to get it right, or for only one or two people to do so. If you want to see what I mean, look through the invaluable www.j-archive.com.
I was the other way around. I got Luxembourg fairly quickly, but I had a brain fart with Mexico and was going through the more obscure Latin and South American countries in my head…and then thinking it was some country who’s name was derivative of some Aztec work, since they had a lot of X’s when translated.
With about two seconds left I went :smack:, but had I been on the show, I doubt I would have then had enough time to write it down.
I would absolutely do this. Pick my bad categories first; if the other people know them, so what? They build up $1000. Then when my good categories come up, I can power through them and make some money, and if I catch the Daily Double, I can make a big bet. If I catch the DD on one of my weak categories, I’ll try to make it early in the game so I have less to lose.
I can’t count the number of times I thought the clue was a no-brainer, and none of them got it right. I think it has to do with the fact that I’m sitting in my living room with no pressure to get the right answer.
The counter argument is that if the round ends with some clues still on the board, they’re gonna be ones you wish you’d had a chance at.
I don’t know if Final Jeopardy is getting easier, but I got one the other day before they even showed the clue. The category was “Alliterative Athletes”.
Easy is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. I got Mexico easily enough, but missed Luxembourg. I figured it was probably some really exotic place in Europe so I started with the Balkans and worked my way north and west from there. Didn’t get to the low countries before time ran out.
Meanwhile, I often get triple-stumper finals (clues that all three contestants miss), including the three most recent ones about a prison, aquatic mammals, and an actress who played a male role.
