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Want to Know Every ‘Jeopardy!’ Question Ever Asked? There’s a Fan Archive For It

May 22, 2025

After being on air for over 41 years, Jeopardy! has definitely found itself a dedicated fan base. As one of the longest-running quiz game shows in TV history, Jeopardy! has a format that has stood the test of time. The show features an entertaining mix of trivia across various categories. However, the catch is that the contestants have to make their guesses in the form of questions. If they answer correctly, they earn money, and if not, the next contestant can buzz in to try and steal the clue.

The game is fast-paced while giving enough time to the contestants to make strategic decisions instead of relying only on their luck. The unpredictable nature of Jeopardy! is exactly what makes it stand out from the countless other game shows on air. Fans of the show may be watching from the comfort of their couches, but the show has made them feel like they are part of the action. So, it’s no surprise that Jeopardy! has a loyal fan community that spends time analyzing every answer, clue, and twist in the game. Jeopardy! enthusiasts aren’t just silent spectators, they have become an integral part of the show behind the scenes.

The History Behind the J-Archive

The J-Archive is a passion project created and maintained by Robert Knecht Schmidt, a longtime fan of Jeopardy! With his website, Schmidt wanted to give the show’s audience access to its comprehensive history. The website has transcripts of nearly every Jeopardy! episode that has ever aired, complete with a list of all the clues per episode and the contestants’ responses to them. The J-Archive features over 412,883 clues, and the number only increases as the show continues.

Now, Schmidt’s journey with the J-Archive began solely due to his love for the show and to fill in a gap he thought shouldn’t exist. In an interview with Slate, Schmidt revealed that he has been watching Jeopardy! since he was 4 years old. However, it turns out that the idea of maintaining a database of every clue to has been featured on the show wasn’t exactly an original idea. In the show’s early days, a woman named Ronnie O’Rouke used to keep a record of each show on an AOL-hosted website called Jeoparchive.

While speaking with Slate, O’Rourke revealed that the idea behind her archive site was to provide the show’s upcoming contestants with a helpful resource. However, O’Rourke took her site down during Ken Jennings’s 74-game winning streak. “I don’t want to see anybody up there for weeks and months at a time,” confessed O’Rourke while talking about her decision to stop updating Jeoparchive after Jeopardy! Season 20. That’s when Schmidt came into the picture and attempted to take O’Rourke’s vision forward.

The Website Is More Than Just a Transcript Collection

Image from NBC

Aside from a few episodes from the show’s earliest seasons, Schmidt has managed to catalog and organize Jeopardy!’s wealth of trivia and contestant data. Schmidt wanted The J-Archive to become a central platform for casual viewers as well as serious competitors looking to participate in the game. For the show’s fans, the website is a way to look into the past and really see the evolution of Jeopardy! over the years. By going through the transcripts and all the clues that have made it to the show, the fans essentially have access to an oral history of the game show in its rawest form.

That’s not all, though! Since the platform is also meant to train future contestants, it comes with sample contestant exams written or transcribed by forum members, along with helpful tools like a wagering calculator and Coryat scoring. These tools help players practice making smart bets and track their performance without the influence of the wagering to give them a clear idea of how their strategy would pan out in the game. Considering all this, the J-Archive is way more than just a documentation of past episodes.

Does the Archive Take Away From the Essence of ‘Jeopardy!’?

The Jeopardy set with the video board reading "Jeopardy" — Image via ABC

The fact that the J-archive is maintained entirely by some of the show’s most passionate fans highlights the dedication that goes into preserving Jeopardy’s legacy. However, it is a double-edged sword at the end of the day. While the website and its tools definitely help potential Jeopardy! contestants head into the game with full preparation, it also alters the unpredictability that makes the show so engaging. Thanks to its huge collection of past clues, the archive lets contestants notice patterns and plan their game around common categories and questions.

Unfortunately, this turns Jeopardy! into a guessing game at best and strips away all the strategic decision-making that the show’s format calls for. This obviously raises many important considerations about the future direction of the show, which includes how to maintain a fair playing field. Ultimately, the producers can’t, and probably shouldn’t, stop contestants from using the J-Archive to prepare. However, they do need to strike a careful balance between allowing thorough preparation and retaining the spontaneity that keeps the game exciting.