Create a Jeopardy Game in PowerPoint

Thinking about new ways to review concepts for your students? Do you simply want to have fun with your friends? Or are you a medical student in need of assistance with the names of the different parts of the inner ear? We can help you!

Gamification is always a great idea when trying to learn new things, don’t you think? In this tutorial, we’ll teach you how to create a fun Jeopardy game from scratch using interactive slides. You can select different subjects and questions by clicking on various buttons! It might sound complicated, but it’s easy!

How to Create the Game Board

To start, we need to create a game board that consists of two types of information: categories or subjects and scores. Let’s see how to do it.

• You have two options for designing a table: you can either add a PowerPoint table or use a series of square shapes. We will walk you through both methods, starting with creating a table.
• For our tutorial, we will create a table with 5 rows and 4 columns. Click on Insert in the toolbar, select Table, and choose the dimensions.

• Now that you know how to create a game board with a table, let’s explore how to create one using shapes.
• Go to Insert, click on Shapes, and choose Rectangle: Rounded Corners. The shapes in the first row should be larger since they represent the subjects or themes.
• To create additional rectangles, click on the shape, hold down Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac), and drag to create duplicates.
• Customize the rectangles as desired. Use Shape Fill, Shape Outline, and Shape Effects to enhance their appearance, adding shadows for depth. Remember to use colors that match your theme.

• Now it’s time to fill the rectangles with text! Double-click each rectangle to type in your content. You can modify the text style using the Font tools available in the toolbar.

Designing the Subject Slide

Next, let’s design the subject slide.

• Begin by adding a title and a subtitle. Click on Insert, then select Text Box. Create a new text box by clicking and dragging, and type your title. If you need to style the text, change the Font, Font Size, and apply any other effects.

• Since we will create 4 questions per subject, insert 4 buttons. Click on Insert → Shapes → Rectangle: Rounded Corner. To duplicate rectangles, select the shape and drag while holding down Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) to create duplicates.
• Number the buttons by clicking on them and typing as needed. Adjust the Font and Font Size, and make use of other formatting features to ensure the text is visually appealing.

Designing the Clue Slide

Now, let’s create a “clue” slide, for example, about literary genres, as we are focusing on English.

• Insert a title by going to Insert → Text Box. Click and drag to create the box, and edit the text as necessary.
• Add a description of the literary genre using another text box.

• Now, let’s create three buttons for possible answers. Click on Insert → Shapes → Rectangle: Rounded Corners, then customize the shapes’ Fill and Border Color. Duplicate shapes by clicking on them and dragging while pressing Ctrl or Cmd on Mac.
• Label each button with A, B, and C. Edit the text as required using Font, Font Size, and other effects.
• Add a text box near the buttons to indicate the name of the genre, following the same steps as before.

• To make the slide more visually appealing, add illustrations. Copy them from the Alternative Resources slide and paste them into the clue slide.

• Remember, our example template is interactive, so we will include icons that work as buttons. We can use a house icon, a right arrow, and an open book icon to navigate to the game board slide, the next slide, and the subject slide, respectively.
• Copy these images from our set of editable icons. If you need help, check out our tutorial!

Designing the Question Slide

Next, let’s add the “question” slide.

• Insert a new slide and select a layout that suits your design.
• Go to Insert → Text Box to create a new text box and type in the question. Edit it as necessary. For our example, we need to clarify that players can earn 10, 20, 30, or 40 points for correct answers.

• Decorate the slide with an illustration from the Alternative Resources. For instance, we could use an image of a boy with a speech bubble containing the answer. Copy the image and paste it onto the slide.

• To create a speech bubble for the answer, insert a Callout shape. Adjust the Fill Color and Border Color to match your theme. Double-click the speech bubble to type in the answer, and style the text as desired.

• Similar to the previous slides, copy and paste icons from the Set of editable icons to this slide as well.

Connecting with Hyperlinks

You are nearly finished! Now we need to make the presentation interactive by adding hyperlinks.

• Start with the game board slide. Click on the subject button (for example, the “English” button). Go to Insert → Link → Place in This Document, select the corresponding slide for the subject, and click OK.
• Next, link each score button to the appropriate clue slide using the same insert link process.

• Repeat this process for all subjects and score buttons.
• On the “English” section slide, link each of the four buttons to their respective clue slides.

• Don’t forget to connect the icons on the clue slide as well. Start with the home icon, linking it back to the game board slide. For the right arrow, link it to the next slide, and connect the book icon to the subject slide.

• Lastly, repeat this linking process for the “question” slide.

Congratulations! You have successfully created an interactive Jeopardy game in PowerPoint. Your students will love this engaging way to review material!