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Author Topic: Recommended Jeopardy study materials?  (Read 11158 times)

SuperMatch93

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Recommended Jeopardy study materials?
« Reply #30 on: June 19, 2011, 09:38:43 PM »
A good choice is the New York Times Guide To Essential Knowledge. It's basically a 1300 page desk encyclopedia that covers a wide array of subjects and includes a 350 page "reference library" which are various appendices, including about 35 pages about food, a guide to languages, rulers of the world, and a 125-page biographical dictionary.
-William https://cookcounty.biz
https://www.donorschoose.org/classroom/cpsbermudez
"30 years from now, people won’t care what we’re doing right now." - Bob Barker on The Price is Right, 1983

MyronMMeyer

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Recommended Jeopardy study materials?
« Reply #31 on: July 04, 2011, 07:38:10 AM »
Curious how your tryout went, and which materials you chose.

-M

DoorNumberFour

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  • ChristianCarrion.com
Recommended Jeopardy study materials?
« Reply #32 on: July 04, 2011, 12:53:50 PM »
Curious how your tryout went, and which materials you chose.

You know, I meant to update this when I got back from my tryout. Thanks for reminding me.

I ended up mainly using the link Matt posted earlier in the thread, in conjunction with this wonderful program for OS X called Cerebral Imprint--it's a free, open-source flash card program similar to what Travis mentioned a while back. I read a page at a time, copied down the major points on paper, then used the program to make flash cards out of the facts and quizzed myself.  

To be honest, though, I didn't do a LOT of studying for the test. I took someone else's advice and just concerned myself with having a good audition, and having fun. If I get on the show, that's when I'll REALLY study.

I was very happy with the way my audition went. Without getting into too many details, I'll just say that nothing that I read appeared on the written test. C'est la vie. I think I did about as well--if not a teeny bit better--on the in-person test than I did on the online test.

The mock game was a lot of fun! I surprised myself with how well I handled the signaling device...other than Quizzard and NES, I've never really gauged myself as to how fast I could hit a button when I know something. Good times.

The personal interview went well, too. I had to write five "interesting" facts about myself. Mine were:

- My lifelong dream is to be a television game show host.

- I am an avid thrift shopper and board game collector; I have about 200.

- I can rap very, very fast.

- I am a cashier at Babies R Us by day, and a college radio DJ by night.

- I once had an embarrassing moment involving the pastor of my church and my family's outgoing voice mail message.

Of all of these, Maggie (the contestant coordinator) focused on my dream of hosting a game show. She asked me what my dream show would be as a host, and I immediately responded with The Price Is Right--to which Maggie responded "Well, I think they NEED a new host..."

She then tested me by telling me to put an item up for bids for her and the other two coordinators. I grabbed Maggie's can of Diet Coke and immediately took bids for it. When Maggie and Karina (the other female coordinator) argued over who won, I threw to commercial.

Overall, I'm very happy. And hopeful.
« Last Edit: July 04, 2011, 01:04:30 PM by DoorNumberFour »
Digital Media Producer, National Archives of Game Show History
"Tell Us About Yourself: Conversations with Game Show Contestants" available on all streaming services
christian@christiancarrion.com

MyronMMeyer

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Recommended Jeopardy study materials?
« Reply #33 on: July 04, 2011, 02:42:27 PM »
Oh that sounds very good!

If you are going to start studying in earnest, the book to go with is mentioned a couple of posts above, The Cultural Literacy Trivia Guide. You can order the newest edition here:

http://culturalliteracytrivia.com/

. I am one hundred percent convinced that it was originally compiled by the author by just writing down clues that came up on Jeopardy. There is no wasted info in this book. Everything in it could be a potential clue on the show. You can get earlier editions for cheap at places like Amazon, but be warned, they're notorious for being riddled with typos and flat out errors. I have the 4th edition on order, and I'm interest to see what additions/corrections have been made. There's still at least one weird clue on the samples pages at the web site.

Again, good luck.

-Myron