‘Jeopardy!’ car game from Drivetime adds trivia to your commute

For $400: A heavily ornamented style of architecture is named for this, often used to make men and houses. Is it corn bread, sweet bread, or ginger bread?

If you said, “What is ginger bread?” you got the money and it’s onto the next clue in the “Sweet Stuff” category.

This is Jeopardy!, but made for the car by commuter trivia app Drivetime. The smartphone game is based off the nightly TV gameshow starting its 36th season Monday night with its beloved longtime host Alex Trebek on the mend after undergoing pancreatic cancer treatment. 

To play, you listen to Trebek and Clue Crew member Sarah read out clues with three possible answers. Shout out the correct one and collect money points (no, you don’t win real cash like contestants on the TV show) to wager on the final Jeopardy question. 

Starting Monday, a new 30-minute show will roll out every weekday morning with Trebek hosting your drive. Each show gives 31 clues with a multiple choice option. The second half is all Double Jeopardy. 

Drivetime CEO Niko Vuori is eager for trivia players to try out the new game, modified for a hands-free, car experience. “It’s not just a Jeopardy! logo, but Alex Trebek, he’s the host, he’s in the car,” he told me at a demo of the game.

Trebek reads out clues from the past 35 seasons — that’s actual archive footage from the show over the years, mixed in with more recently recorded prompts from Trebek. Don’t worry, any outdated “current event” clues aren’t included in the car game version. 

Vuori stressed this is not a light version of the game. “For Jeopardy! fans you are literally playing Jeopardy!,’ he said.

Amazon’s Alexa has a Jeopardy! skill, but that doesn’t have the feel of being on the quiz show, especially with digital assistant Alexa as the host instead of Trebek.

Anyone who downloads the Drivetime app can play the first episode for free with other categories like Guinness Records and retail therapy, but for more episodes and clues you’ll need to subscribe to Drivetime Premium for $9.99 per month or $99 per year. 

With the multiple choice format for the car version, Vuori admits it’s easier than the TV show, but it’s more engaging than listening to mattress ads on the radio. (Though hopefully not distracting!) 

We’ll take “hands-free commuter entertainment” for $99, Alex.