Jeopardy Score Calculator
Tracking a Score Where Wrong Answers Cost You
In Jeopardy-style trivia formats, every question has a dollar value, and answering incorrectly doesn't just fail to add points — it subtracts them. That signed scoring makes the running total less intuitive to track by hand than a simple tally of correct answers, especially across a full board of mixed results. This calculator adds and subtracts each question's value based on whether it was answered correctly.
The Formula
Worked Example
Five questions worth $200, $400, $600, $800, and $1,000, answered correct, correct, incorrect, correct, incorrect:
| Question | Value | Result | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200 | Correct (+200) | 200 |
| 2 | $400 | Correct (+400) | 600 |
| 3 | $600 | Incorrect (−600) | 0 |
| 4 | $800 | Correct (+800) | 800 |
| 5 | $1,000 | Incorrect (−1,000) | −200 |
A negative final score is a normal outcome in this format — missing high-value questions can outweigh several correct low-value answers, exactly as it does in the real game show.
Where This Calculation Matters
- Trivia night board games — tracking scores in home-run or classroom versions of Jeopardy-style formats without manual addition and subtraction errors.
- Strategy decisions — understanding how much a single high-value miss can cost relative to several low-value correct answers.
- Practice runs — contestants preparing for trivia competitions can self-score practice rounds against real question values.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Question Values as a comma-separated list (for example: 200,400,600).
- Enter Results as a matching comma-separated list of correct/incorrect (also accepts yes/no or 1/0), up to 5 questions.
- Select Calculate to see the total score, including a full breakdown of each question.
Related Calculations
For team-based scoring across trivia rounds instead of individual question values, see the Trivia Night Team Score Calculator.