JeopardyLabs, a buzzer site and paper, or one page
JeopardyLabs is free, fast and familiar, and a lot of bar trivia runs on it. It also stops at the board: the buzzers, the all-play sheets and the scoring are yours to bring. This is an honest look at the night it gives you and the night Trinko gives you, from a host who ran the first kind for years.
What JeopardyLabs does well
It makes a Jeopardy-style board in minutes, it costs nothing, the library of boards other people have made is enormous, and a laptop mirrored to a TV shows it well enough. For a classroom, or a living room where the host keeps score on a napkin, it is the right amount of tool.
What it leaves to you
JeopardyLabs has no buzzer, so a bar night adds one: Buzzin.live or something like it, with its own code read aloud and written on coasters. It has no way for every team to answer at once, so the all-play rounds and the Final go on paper sheets handed out table by table and hand-graded at the end. It keeps no score, so the host does, and it does not know who has joined, so the roll call is a walk around the room. That is three tools and a stack of paper. The host we built Trinko for ran exactly that night every week with more than twenty tables.
The same night on one page
| JeopardyLabs + a buzzer site + paper | Trinko | |
|---|---|---|
| The board on the TV | A laptop mirrored to the screen | A web page on the TV: trinkotrivia.com/tv/CODE |
| Teams joining | Roll call, a buzzer code read aloud | Scan the QR on the TV, type a team name |
| The buzzer | A second site with its own code | On every phone, ordered on the server with clock correction |
| All-play rounds | Paper sheets, graded at the end | Typed on phones against a clock, locked in, marked on one card |
| The Final | A wager on paper | A wager locked on the phone before the question appears |
| The score | The host's notebook | A ledger the room can see, with undo |
| Bonus points | Remembered, argued about | Awarded on the TV with the reason |
| Wheel squares | A physical wheel, if you own one | On the TV, or your own wheel with the result tapped in |
| A night with no host | Not possible | Party mode runs it |
| Price | Free | Free to run; boards free or $14.99 |
Bringing your boards with you
A JeopardyLabs board exports as an HTML file. Drop that file on the Import button in Trinko's builder and the categories, values, questions and answers land on the board in order, with the first picture in a square kept as its reveal. A spreadsheet imports the same way. Nothing has to be retyped.
When to stay with JeopardyLabs
If nobody in the room has a phone out, if it is a classroom with hands in the air, or if you like the napkin, stay. Trinko earns its place when there are tables, a bar that wants numbers, and a host who would rather work the room than grade sheets.
Questions people ask
Can I import my JeopardyLabs games into Trinko?
Yes. Export the board from JeopardyLabs as HTML and drop the file on Import in the builder. Categories, values, questions, answers and the first picture in each square come across.
Is Trinko free like JeopardyLabs?
Running a night is free. Ready-made boards are free for a kitchen table or $14.99 for a full bar night. Personal branding on the TV is a $5 a month membership.
Does Trinko have a buzzer?
Yes, on every phone. First, second and third are decided on the server with each phone's clock corrected, so the venue's wifi does not pick the winner.
What about Factile?
Factile is a Jeopardy-style board maker built for classrooms with a virtual buzzer on its paid tier. It has no all-play typed rounds, no wagers on phones, no wheel, and no night that runs itself.
Do my players need an account?
No. A team name and the code from the TV. A captain who wants to keep their nights can make an account, and nothing needs it to play.