Good Jeopardy categories divide your unit into distinct sub-topics with clear point values. Pick from subject lists or fun wordplay themes to build a review board.
In the guides we publish here at Chalkbox, we look at practical ways to run review games without spending hours building slides from scratch. Whether you need a test prep game for biology or a light Friday warm-up, clear categories keep students focused on the material rather than guessing what a clue means.
Paste five or six of these categories into a board, each with five clues.
If you want to turn written study guides into active team sessions, see our guide on how to turn a worksheet into a game.
Warm-up games and end-of-week competitions work best with light wordplay and school-specific trivia. These categories let students compete on quick thinking and team coordination even when you are not reviewing academic content.
For additional short team games, you can pull prompts from our list of this or that questions or add a round of riddles for kids to your clue deck.
Every category column contains five clues of increasing difficulty, valued at 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 points. Sort clues by difficulty so teams cannot win high-value tiles with simple recall.
Reserve 100-point tiles for basic vocabulary identification, true-or-false prompts, and single-step facts. These questions establish momentum early in the game and build student confidence across all skill levels.
Mid-tier values at 200 and 300 points should ask students to explain a process, provide a definition from memory, or complete a standard two-step problem. These questions reward students who reviewed their chapter summaries and class notes.
Top-tier values at 400 and 500 points should require application, error correction, or multi-step analysis. Ask students to spot an error in a worked equation, compare two opposing historical perspectives, or predict an outcome based on scientific principles. You can also explore our collection of bell ringer questions for prompt ideas that target specific skill levels.
The standard television game uses six categories per round, but classroom review games usually run with five or six categories. Five categories keep the grid large enough to read easily from the back row of a standard classroom.
| Feature | Television Jeopardy! | Classroom Review Games |
|---|---|---|
| Category Count | 6 categories per round | 5 or 6 categories |
| Clue Count | 5 clues per category (30 total) | 5 clues per category (25 to 30 total) |
| Phrasing Rule | Must phrase as a question ("What is...?") | Phrasing as a question is optional |
| Final Round | Final Jeopardy: players wager points on one last clue | Single tiebreaker or bonus wager clue |
At Chalkbox, we build practical classroom software, including a free browser-based Jeopardy game maker. The Jeopardy Game Maker uses five categories with 100 through 500 point values. In edit mode, you type your category names along with the clue and answer for each point value. In play mode, you click a value to show the clue, press Reveal answer to show the answer, and the tile grays out when you close it.
The Jeopardy Game Maker runs in your browser with no account or download, so you can project it straight away. It does not store your boards on Chalkbox's servers. When you close the browser tab, the session resets. If you plan to reuse your game next semester, save your categories and questions in a text document so you can paste them back in. It does not export to PowerPoint or Google Slides, and it has no buzzers and no scorekeeping. Assign a student to keep team points on your whiteboard, or project the free classroom scoreboard. If you prefer working entirely inside presentation slides, the Jeopardy template guide shows how to build a board in Google Slides or PowerPoint.
Category titles set the tone for the game while telling students what content to expect. Good category names balance clarity with a touch of wordplay.
Jeopardy boards serve whole-class review before unit exams, midterms, and chapter quizzes. The competitive format motivates students to revisit study guides and identify weak spots before taking an individual test.
This format is not recommended for introducing brand new content. When students see unfamiliar material on a timed game board, teams become frustrated and stronger students dominate the answers. Use direct instruction and guided practice for initial concepts, and save Jeopardy games for days when students have already engaged with the terms.
Our recommendation would change if your classroom lacks a projector or large screen display. Without a central screen, you read every clue aloud from your desk, and the game slows down. In rooms without a projector, paper-based quiz stations or printed task cards provide a smoother review session.
Open the Chalkbox Jeopardy Game Maker, paste your chosen review categories into the five columns, and launch your classroom review game today.
Join the Chalkbox list for free printable packs and new tools — no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Good Jeopardy categories for students divide a subject into five distinct sub-topics, such as Vocabulary, Key People, Dates and Events, Maps and Charts, and Big Ideas. Keeping the topic names short helps learners scan the board quickly.
Both work: the TV show uses 6 categories per round, and classroom boards commonly use 5 or 6. The Chalkbox Jeopardy Game Maker uses 5. Five categories fit standard projector screens cleanly without crowding the point values.
Fun Jeopardy categories for kids rely on wordplay formats like Rhyme Time, Before and After, Fill in the Blank, and Who Am I. Riddle-style clues and school trivia also work well for Friday review sessions.
You come up with categories by sorting your unit study guide into five distinct buckets, such as vocabulary terms, processes, and word problems. Arrange the clues so 100-point questions check basic recall while 500-point questions require application.