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I got recognized for the first time at the coffee shop yesterday, Victoria Groce says, laughing.
The barista brought over my drink and said, I know it already happened, but good luck tonight.
Like Kacey Musgraves onNashville Star,Groce simply became more famous after she left her debut stage.
Groce is now $100,000 richer and has a spot guaranteed in the upcomingJeopardy!
Masterstournament, where shell compete against her friend andChasecolleague James Holzhauer.
Well take Fun Rivalries for $1,000.
Youre nicknamed the Queen onThe Chase.
What should be yourJeopardy!nickname?Jeez, Im not prepared for this line of questioning.
You cant nickname yourself, can you?
I feel like its against the rules.
My sister did start calling me Vickipedia after the episodes taped.
Maybe that could work.
How so?I won one game.
They were inviting 27 people out of 40 years of the show.
When I got the call, they said, Youre a giant-killer and that was a big deal.
Realistically, Im sure it was because ofThe Chase.
Youre a completely different person when you play as an adult.
I dont feel a lot of continuity between myself then and now.
The buzzer is so critical.
If you cant get in, thats it for you.
Sorry, youre done.
Weve all seen people playJeopardy!who have deep sets of knowledge but they just cant get in.
I had no way of knowing if that would or wouldnt be me.
Theres a book calledSecrets of the Buzzerthat I read.
But the amount of rhythm games Ive played in my life is somewhat disturbing.
Theyre catnip for me.
Ive played a ton ofRock BandandDance Dance Revolution.
Is there a correlation betweenRock Bandusers andJeopardy!champions?Genuinely I think there is.
The skill is similar in so many ways.
Its not the same physical motion, but its exactly the same combination of anticipation and very precise timing.
If you’re free to master Pretend Were Dead, by L7, youll master the buzzer.
A friend of mine also got me intoCytus.
Its a combination of wacky Japanese postapocalyptic soap opera and a rhythm game.
Thats what I was playing in the lead-up to the tournament.
But I wasnt unfamiliar with how it was being played now.
Ive had some good friends become contestants over the years.
For example, at the time I played, it was unusual to go from bottom to top.
It wasnt unheard of or revolutionary, but it was uncommon, especially when people grabbed the Daily Doubles.
Players are more likely to do that now, for good reason.
People who are statistically minded will at least consider the big bet if theyre ahead.
The Chasehas become an incubator of sorts for the bestJeopardy!players after their runs.
You, Ken, James, and Buzzy Cohen have all been involved.
My husband likes to compare it to chess-boxing.
Youve got your multiple-choice questions and they can get very obscure.
And then you have the rapid-fire speed quiz at the end, which gets a bit closer toJeopardy!.
Whats most helpful with the final chase stuff is the speed of it.
It depends on what the players want out of the experience.
Having three really skillful and evenly matched contestants is what makes for exciting games.
Its more important than having one person whos otherworldly in talent.
I like seeing people slug it out with good strategy and not have a ton of mistakes.
Thats more enjoyable as a viewer.
Youre going to be competing against your fellow chaser James in theJeopardy!
You may have figured out thats not my style.
Im very much a mom.
Imagine your mom trying to come for James Holzhauer.
It just doesnt work.
You cant become a whole different player in that amount of time.
Youre looking at a couple of years.
Ive been trying to work on wordplay stuff mostly.
Thats not unrealistic for the amount of time I have.
Im a really avid cook, so I buy and check many out from the library.
Id say I read five for every one I own.
