CSC 216 F09/JeopardyReview

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Jeopardy Review for CSC216

The problem

The final exam will be cumulative so I will be taking questions from exam 1 and exam 2 and presenting them in an enjoyable game format. The game will have two different "game boards" for each exam so this can be used as a potentially useful exam study tool for future classes.

Participants and props

The typical jeopardy game will be modified to allow groups to work together. The idea of the game is that the class would be split up into two teams and allowed a certain time limit on each question to decide an answer. One student will be the "speaker" for the team and announce the question after the time limit is up. The game also needs a moderator to collect answers, input them, and determine results (an incorrect answer subtracts points for your total while no answer simply passes the same question to the other team, all this is controlled by the moderator with visual keys from the game's GUI).

The Script

Overview: The game will begin with a simple Java GUI with three choices between learning the rules (as it is a modified version of jeopardy used for a group setting) and also a choice between Exam 1 or Exam 2 questions on the game board (mainly to help cover more material and to make it a more viable study tool for future classes).

The game consists of two teams (Red vs. Blue), and some form of deciding which team is red and blue should be decided by the groups. Red team has the first choice of questions. Just like jeopardy the board is the same, with a leading topic and multiple choices for the values of points wagered. Instead of a free answer form to the game I decided with a multiple choice variant (four choices) to help speed things along.

After a question is chosen the timer begins to count down (I haven't decided on the overall time limit yet). When the timer reaches 0 the moderator will ask for an answer. The team can attempt to answer the question (and either gain points or lose them in the case of an incorrect answer) or they can pass the question to the other group. If a pass is declared the team that was initially in control does not gain or lose any points, but the other team may attempt an answer. Now the second team may answer the question or simply discard it, an incorrect answer still subtracts points in this stage. If a correct answer is given by either team they will gain the number of points listed. If an incorrect answer is declared, the team that answered will lose a number of points equal to that listed. The questions should scale in difficulty relative to the point value listed. If a pass is declared by both teams then the correct answer is simply displayed. Regardless of the outcome the correct answer will always be displayed as this is a learning tool after all.

In the interest of time I decided to discard the free range question that jeopardy is mainly known for. I feel that in the group setting such as our class that it simply isn't viable in a small time frame to discuss free range questions. With multiple choice questions the groups could poll each other much faster than asking the opinion of all their members. So by that accord, the team with the most points when all the questions have been asked will be declared the winner.

Moderator

The game's GUI will guide the moderator via a text box located near the bottom between the current points for each team. It will declare states such as which team has control, when it is time to find a new question, how much time is left on a question, and any other relevant information. By simply following these instructions the moderator will know exactly what to do in the situation.

Game play

A typical turn will occur in this order. The team that is in control will choose a topic and a point value listed on the board (instructions will read "Red Team choose a question"). The moderator will click on this spot on the board and the GUI will change to now display the question and four answers where the game board once was (The instructions area will now display a timer). The timer will begin to count down and when it reaches zero, the controlling team will make a decision to either answer the question or pass it to the other team (instructions will read "Time is up, choose an answer or pass to the other team"). If the team decides on an answer, the moderator will simply click that answer. If the team decides to pass the moderator will click the Pass button (the instructions will now read "Red Team passed, Blue Team answer or discard the question"). The pass button will now change to a discard button (since Blue Team cannot pass back to Red Team). If a correct answer was given during this time, the points are added to the controlling team and the correct answer is displayed alone underneath the question. If an incorrect answer is given, the points are subtracted from the controlling team and the correct answer is displayed. The only outcome of a question and be: Controlling team earns points, Controlling team loses points, Controlling team passes and the other team earns points, Controlling team passes and the other team loses points, Both teams pass and the question is discarded. After the question is completed and an outcome is chosen, the initial controlling team (the one who chose the question) now passes control to the other team so that they may choose a question. Note: It is possible for a team to score multiple times in a row if the other team passes;

For instance: Red passes to Blue and Blue answered correctly. Now Blue has the choice of which question is to be chosen. They may answer that correctly and now Red gets to choose the next question.

The game will continue in this fashion until all questions have been attempted. Once a question is answered its icon will change so that the question and answer can be viewed again but cannot be attempted to gain points.

Link for Source Code

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~gjhall/www/JeopardyCSC216.zip

Author

Garrett Hall