The original contestant tests were written by head writer Jules Minton, and were later written by the show's writers. Initially, 2 new contestant tests were compiled each year, and were given alternately; later, the tests were refreshed every six months to accommodate frequent repeat test takers. The makeup of the test was 15 academic questions, 10 lifestyle, 15 pop culture and 10 wordplay. Beginning in 1987, the number of pop culture questions was reduced to 5 and wordplay to 2. Those who passed the test at an audition were invited to play a mock game to evaluate their stage presence and colorfulness. Initially, all auditions took place in Southern California, and anyone could call to make an appointment to take the test; travelling contestant searches did not begin until after the second season of the show. Local affiliates airing the show sponsored regional contestant searches, paying for the travel expenses and accommodations of the contestant coordinators. Invitations to audition were awarded by postcard drawings and other types of contests. A 10-question pre-test was first devised when contestant coordinators conducted a two-week East Coast search at Merv Griffin's Resorts Atlantic City hotel and casino. In order to test as many people as possible, hopefuls were invited to take the screener pre-test as often as once per day, and those with a passing score of 7 were invited to return to take the 50-question full test. The 2-week Atlantic City auditions were held annually in February while the show was owned by Griffin, and the 10-question screener is still in use at traveling open auditions. Internet screenings Periodically a series of screenings for potential contestants are conducted on the Internet through the official Jeopardy! web site. During the online testing, a 50-question qualifying exam is administered to pre-registered applicants, who have 15 seconds to answer each question. and whatever has been typed into the answer bar at the end of 15 seconds is entered as the answer. Unlike on the show, test takers are instructed not to respond in the form of a question. Test takers do not receive their score. A random selection of passers (generally understood to be those who get 35 or more questions correct) of this exam are later invited to participate in regional in-person auditions. In-person audition process (regular play games) Tryouts for regular play games are administered to groups of people at scheduled dates and times.