Emily was shocked at how fast the game — which is filmed in real time — sped by. But she was even more surprised to see that the board of clues was much farther away than it appeared on television.

Emily was surprised by how far away the board actually was on the "Jeopardy" set. Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

"On television, of course, when the clue comes up they cut to a full-screen version, so it is really easy to read," she said. "On the set, the board is pretty far away, especially if, like me, you're the furthest from the podium. While there is a monitor across from contestants that shows the clue, it is still kind of small in comparison."

Knowing exactly when to buzz in with the answer also proved more challenging than it looked on TV.

"You have to wait until Alex finishes reading the clue, and a column of lights along the side of the board turns on to tell you it's OK to buzz in," Emily said. "But if you buzz in before those lights come on, you get locked out for a fraction of a second — just long enough for someone else to ring in.

"All of the contestants got there because they know a lot of trivia, so it really does come down to strategy and luck on the buzzer and on the categories that come up."