They Just Seem to Thrive on Jeopardy

I’ve become such a regular at my favorite plant nursery that one of the salespeople recently took me into his confidence.

His life, it seems, was not consumed only by perennials, shrubs and bulbs, as I had suspected from his encyclopedic knowledge on these topics. No, his expertise was far broader.

My new friend was a “Jeopardy!” junkie.

He never missed the game show. He told me that he would stand in front of the TV when it was on, holding a homemade buzzer and playing along as if he were in the studio. He’d keep careful track of his progress to determine whether he would have beaten the actual contestants. I wondered if he closed the blinds before this nightly ritual.

Now there is a Web site for this guy and for all the rest of us who enjoy, even if just occasionally, the most intelligent of quiz shows now on the air.

At https://station.sony.com/jeopardy, you can play the game online in a reasonable simulation of the real thing. You can even win prizes, although they’re far more modest than even the consolation prizes the TV contestants take home.

Arriving at the site--sponsored by Sony Pictures, which owns the TV show--you first choose whether you want to play as a member or a guest. There is no fee to become a site member, and once you enroll, you’re eligible to win the prizes.

The disadvantage of membership is that you’ll be giving your Internet address to yet one more company that will likely send you occasional promotions or offers via e-mail.

The start of the game is familiar--you’re presented with a board that displays six topics across the top. These topics usually include a mixture of scholarly, pop-culture and everyday topics--the first board I got listed “American History,” “TV Spinoffs,” “Art,” “Famous Women,” “Recipes” and “Literary Biographies.”

Under each topic are five buttons with dollar amounts ranging from $100 to $500. Clicking on a button reveals an answer.

As all “Jeopardy!” watchers know, this game show is played in reverse--you’re given an answer to which you have to provide the appropriate question.

For example, under the topic “Recipes” for $500, the answer is: “Slice peeled potatoes as thin as possible, soak in cold water, deep fry in vegetable oil.”

The correct question is: “How do you make potato chips?”

On the game show, contestants say the question. Online, it’s multiple choice--you’re given four possible answers to click on. Get the question right and you win the amount on the button; get it wrong and the money is subtracted. In Round 1, you get a shot at 15 answers in all.

The game moves fast--you only have 20 seconds to come up with each question. And as in the TV version, the board holds one “Daily Double” on which you can bet any amount up to what you have.

Also, take note that to play “Jeopardy!” online, you’ll need to use a browser that is Java-equipped. Recent versions of Netscape or Internet Explorer should work just fine.

Some of the answer-question pairs are common-sense easy, but others required a bit of special knowledge. I knew that “The Trial” was written by Franz Kafka and that the Lindsay Wagner spinoff of “The Six Million Dollar Man” was “The Bionic Woman.” But I had no idea which national park was in the Cascades or where pyroclastic rocks came from.

It’s easy to get deceived that you are doing well. Get a few high-value questions or “Daily Doubles” wrong, and you can quickly find yourself in minus territory.

After completing the first round, you move on to the second board, on which all money amounts are doubled and there are two “Daily Doubles.” At the end of this round, you enter “Final Jeopardy!”--a question upon which you can bet as much of your holdings as you wish.

I played several games, and the best I ever did was a total of $8,000 after successfully getting an “Opera” question correct in “Final Jeopardy!” I thought that I was pretty good--then I pulled up that day’s high scores.

The best total for a game that day, so far, was $139,200. I was never so glad that I was not on television.

Anyway, the daily online prizes are not so wonderful--either a “Jeopardy!” T-shirt or hat (sponsor’s choice). Not that I was experiencing sour grapes, of course.

By the way, the salesman isn’t at the nursery, at least temporarily. It turns out he actually got on the real “Jeopardy!” and won tens of thousands of dollars. Last time I checked, he was on an extended vacation.

And all I didn’t get was that lousy T-shirt.

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Cyburbia’s e-mail address is david.colker@latimes.com.