Overview

Want to play with friends or family? Clone the repo from GitHub, add your own Google Gemini API key (it's free), and you're good to go.

BuzzyJeopardy is the next evolution of the Jeopardy game format — rebuilt from the ground up as a true couch multiplayer experience. Instead of one screen and one player, every participant joins on their own device, buzzes in live, and competes in real-time. Whether it's a party, a classroom, or a team building night, BuzzyJeopardy turns any room into a game show.

Features

Real-Time Multiplayer: Powered by Firebase — all players see updates instantly with no page refreshes
Buzz-In System: Players tap a giant BUZZ button to compete for the right to answer first
AI-Generated Games: Enter any topic and Google Gemini generates a full 5-category game in one API call
AI Answer Judging: Smart validation that accepts typos and paraphrasing — no more arguing over technicalities
Daily Doubles: Players wager their own points on special clues for high-stakes moments
QR Code Join: Guests scan a QR code to instantly join on their phones — no account needed
30-Second Timer: Countdown pressure keeps the game moving and the energy high
Host Controls: Dedicated host view to reveal clues, judge answers, and manage the game flow
Live Scoreboard: Real-time score tracking visible to everyone throughout the game

Tech Stack

Built with Next.js 15 and React for a fast, modern web experience
Firebase Firestore handles real-time game state synced across all devices
Google Gemini AI powers both question generation and intelligent answer validation
Styled with Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui for a polished dark-themed UI
Framer Motion drives smooth animations throughout the game
Written in TypeScript for type-safe, maintainable code

How It Works

Create: Host enters a topic (or builds manually) — AI generates the full game board instantly
Invite: Players join via a 6-digit code or QR code scan on their own phones
Play: Host reveals clues, players race to buzz in and submit their answer
Judge: Host marks correct/incorrect, or delegates to the AI judge for tricky answers
Win: The player with the most points when the board is cleared takes the crown

Upgrade from V1

This project is a full rethink of my earlier solo Jeopardy clone. The core shift was from a single-device game with localStorage state to a distributed, device-per-player architecture using Firebase. I also swapped Hugging Face for Google Gemini and reduced game generation to a single optimized API call — making it faster and more reliable within free-tier limits.

Learning Outcome

Building BuzzyJeopardy pushed me into real-time architecture design — handling race conditions in buzz-in logic, syncing game state across multiple clients, and separating host vs. player views cleanly. I also deepened my experience with Firebase Firestore, AI prompt engineering for structured JSON output, and designing a UI that works equally well on a phone in someone's hand and a laptop on a table.