Are you looking for today’s UK Jeopardy! recap? Find that here!
Warning: This page contains spoilers for the March 17, 2025, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Toys & Games) for Monday, March 17, 2025 (Season 41, Game 136):
Preparing for a course on descriptive geometry & researching the 5 Platonic solids led a professor to invent this
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Brett Aresco, a writer & content strategist from Fairhope, Alabama
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Clare Murray, an articling student from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Alex DeFrank, an inventory specialist from Brooklyn, New York (1-day total: $42,401)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Alex DeFrank enters today’s game as a 1-day champion, having won over $40,000 in Friday’s encounter. He defends his title for the first time against Alabama’s Brett Aresco and Toronto’s Clare Murray.
Across the pond, today also sees the return of the UK version; it airs at 3:00 PM GMT on ITV1 (11:00 AM EDT)
(Content continues below)
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have introduced a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.
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Correct response: What is the Rubik’s Cube?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
In the 1970s, Ernő Rubik was a professor of architecture at the Budapest College of Applied Arts, teaching a course known as “descriptive geometry,” essentially challenging students to solve three-dimensional problems with two-dimensional images. Rubik’s prototype cube wasn’t originally envisioned as a puzzle, it was simply a tinkering of eight wooden cubes connected by elastic bands. He didn’t realize it was a puzzle until he had twisted it so much that the colors were all jumbled. Once the puzzle was solved (it took him a month at first), Rubik had his “spatial logic toy” patented in Hungary; when a marketer in Germany spotted it at the 1980 Nuremberg Toy Fair, a craze was born.
It should also be noted that a 2024 New York Times article marking the 50th anniversary of the Cube’s invention stated, “Mr. Rubik dates the Cube to the spring of 1974. Preparing a course on descriptive geometry and tinkering with the five Platonic solids, he had become especially taken by the cube. But, as he wrote in his 2020 memoir, “Cubed, The Puzzle of Us All,” for quite a while it “never once occurred to me that I was creating a puzzle.”” With a reference to the “five Platonic solids” coming directly from an external source, I do believe that this Final Jeopardy clue is a fair one overall; just because a clue contains what some might see as negbait to someone with incomplete knowledge of a subject doesn’t make it inherently unfair.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, March 17, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Mergers & Acquisitions; “Bad” Entertainment; Also A New Wave Band; Common Bonds; It’s A Bird! It’s A Plane! It’s A Nebula!; I Said What I Said!)
Brett got off to the best start, doubling up through the Daily Double and leading after 15 clues. At the interviews, the scores were Brett $4,800 Alex $2,200 Clare $600.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Brett 5 correct 0 incorrect
Alex 6 correct 1 incorrect
Clare 2 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Brett just celebrated his third anniversary; he proposed in a hot air balloon.
Clare has Joanna Newsom as a favorite singer.
Alex saw “The Book of Mormon”, front row center.
Alex picked up 9 correct after the break to pull close to Brett, but the Alabaman still led after 30 clues.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Brett 9 correct 1 incorrect
Alex 15 correct 2 incorrect
Clare 2 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Brett $7,000
Alex $6,600
Clare $600
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Around The World; Instruments You Can Play; From A Teen’s Book Report; Dancing In Non-Musical Movies; It’s All Greek Alphabet To Me; Yves Dropping)
Alex and Clare found the Daily Doubles—but were both incorrect. This allowed Brett to hold the lead going into Final Jeopardy.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Brett 12 correct 2 incorrect
Alex 26 correct 7 incorrect
Clare 9 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 31 (1 today).
Scores going into Final:
Brett $9,800
Alex $8,800
Clare $2,800
Alex was the only player correct in Final Jeopardy, and that makes him a 2-day champion! He’ll be back tomorrow to go for win #3.
Tonight’s results:
Clare $2,800 – $2,800 = $0 (What is Quirkle? Love you Bill & Ron! <3)
Alex $8,800 + $5,200 = $14,000 (What is Rubik’s Cube?) (2-day total: $56,401)
Brett $9,800 – $8,000 = $1,800 (What is Tetris?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) “BAD” ENTERTAINMENT $800 (clue #8)
Brett 1400 +1400 (Alex 400 Clare -400)
2) FROM A TEEN’S BOOK REPORT $2000 (clue #4)
Alex 8600 -5000 (Clare 600 Brett 5800)
3) AROUND THE WORLD $1600 (clue #12, $17600 left on board)
Clare 3400 -3400 (Alex 6000 Brett 7400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -58
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Alex 1 1 1
Clare 3 4
Brett 3 3 4*
DJ! Round:
Alex 5 5* 5 4 4
Clare 3 3 4† 3 3 4*
Brett 3
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Alex 3.25
Brett 3.25
Clare 3.38
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 30 (0.22 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Alex $13,800 Coryat, 26 correct, 7 incorrect, 52.63% in first on buzzer (30/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Brett $9,200 Coryat, 12 correct, 2 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Clare $6,200 Coryat, 9 correct, 3 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $29,200
Lach Trash: $12,000 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $12,800
Lead Changes: 4
Times Tied: 1
Player Statistics:
Alex DeFrank, career statistics:
52 correct, 9 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
47.37% in first on buzzer (54/114)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,800)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,000
Clare Murray, career statistics:
9 correct, 4 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$3,400)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $6,200
Brett Aresco, career statistics:
12 correct, 3 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,400)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,200
Alex DeFrank, to win:
3 games: 52.303%
4: 27.356%
5: 14.308%
6: 7.484%
7: 3.914%
Avg. streak: 3.097 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Rules reminder: Although I believe that Alex’s phrasing existed on every clue and might have been accidentally swallowed or cut off in editing in one case, it is a moot point as it’s a warning offense—not a penalty—in the Jeopardy! Round.
- There was a strategic thought to Alex’s wager: it ties Clare’s score if Clare makes the maximum low suggested bet below, Clare is correct, and Alex isn’t. It’s not really a bet choice I would have made, though.
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Brett $9,800 Alex $8,800 Clare $2,800)
Alex: Limit your bet to $3,199 to keep Clare locked out. (Actual bet: $5,200)
Clare: If Brett covers and is incorrect, he falls to $1,999. Bet no more than $800. (Actual bet: $2,800)
Brett: Standard cover bet is $7,801. (Actual bet: $8,000)
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Perhaps my recent binging of various live plays distorted my perception here. I went for Dungeons and Dragons, thinking that the Platonic solids referred to the various values of the polyhedral dice used in that game.
I immediately went to “What is the Rubik’s Cube?” just because of the notion of descriptive geometry and not knowing what was meant by five Platonic solids, but feeling like they would be 3D rather than something like Tetris or Quirkle. [But I would not have been surprised if instead of Rubik’s Cube it was something else that I had never heard of.]
Good job Lisa! 🙂
Same, Jim.
I think I’d heard this one before – so, I went right away with Rubik’s cube. Back in high school I could solve in under two minutes (bought one of the ‘cheat’ books and memorized it) and after awhile, solving the cube from any point became muscle memory. I think I still have that book. I wonder if I could memorize it again. I doubt it.
Andy, I assume you throw in your little “typos” to catch people who plagiarize your work?
Sometimes. What did you find, though?
Alex was the only player correct in Final Jeopardy, and that makes him the new champion! He’ll be back tomorrow to go for win #3. ‘new champion’
Thank you!
Wow FJ is quite interesting to me. Did not know about the Platonic Solids and their relationship to the Platonic Elements!
Me neither Rick!
And that some of the Platonic Elements wind up in the name of a truly great band = “Earth Wind and Fire”!!
Re the sentence “Alex picked up 9 correct after the break to pull close to Brett, but the Alabaman still led after 30 clues.”: I am from and live in Alabama, and nobody in Alabama says “Alabaman”–it’s always “Alabamian”.
Merriam-Webster (hat tip to Ken) allows it.
I know it’s in the dictionary, but still no one in Alabama says it that way.
I imagine they probably do that because they are [kind of] surrounded by Floridians, Louisianians, and Mississippians, with Georgians and Tennesseans sounding pretty similar whereas Alabamans seems to put too much emphasis on the “man”, like human, freshman, chairman, etc.
Having lived through the craze, I was familiar with this story of the Rubik’s Cube so it was an easy final. My guess is that most people from my generation would get this fairly quickly.
That was an easy one for me as well.
This is the first time, though, when I had to look up an incorrect answer: I had no idea what Quircle (actually, Qwircle) refers to.
Hey, Leo. It’s not “Quircle” or “Qwircle.” It’s actually Qwirkle, if you’re referring to the game. Qwirkle is sort of like Dominos using shapes and colors instead of numbers of dots (pips). It’s of a bit more recent vintage than Rubik’s Cube in that it came out around 2006.
My guess was the Hoberman sphere, but Hoberman was not a professor 🙄
For FJ, I guessed Scattegories! WAY off! I had a Rubik’s Cube and never could solve it, but then I think my friends messed with my cube and detached the stickers and put them back in the wrong places! Mean friends! LOL
That was an interesting game tonight. Alex did just enough and then being the only to get FJ makes him a 2 game champion. Will he get #3 tomorrow night?
Time will tell!
I am thinking that those who get Jeopardy on CBS might see some pre-emptions soon due to March Madness. Thankfully I get it on ABC. 🙂
Despite what stories from some “clickbait” might suggest, NO Jeopardy “answers” are “unfair.” Some are simply more difficult than other. Jeopardy has the reputation for “bending over backwards” to make the competition fair for all.
As for today’s Final Jeopardy, the answer clue made no sense to me, but knew that when the correct response was revealed it would make at least some sense. Platonic elements and solids? My education didn’t include those concepts, though 5×5 in relation to the cube made sense.
There is a slight mistake on your recap, and that the unplayed clues are listed as one today, when there were none that game. And I also see there is no “NONE!” next to Double Jeopardy in the unplayed clues section.