Twenty Questions
Also called Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
One person thinks of something. Everyone else gets twenty yes-or-no questions to work out what it is.
the best bit: nailing it on question twenty with a total wild guess
- Players
- 2–10 (best with 3–6)
- Time
- 10–30 min
- Learn in
- Seconds
- Mood
- Chill
- Format
- One vs. everyone
The 30-second version
One player thinks of anything at all. Everyone else takes turns asking questions that can be answered yes or no. If the group names it within twenty questions, they win. If not, the person thinking of it wins.
honestly, just read this out and go.
Grab these
Nothing at all. just your people.
Set up
- Pick someone to be the Answerer. They think of something everyone has heard of, like a thing, an animal, a person or a place, and keep it to themselves.
How to play
-
Ask
Going around the circle, each player asks one yes-or-no question: "Is it alive?" "Could I hold it?"
-
Answer
The Answerer says yes or no. "Sometimes" is allowed when that's the honest answer.
-
Count out loud
Keep a running count. Every question uses one of the twenty, guesses included.
-
Guess
Think you know it? Use your turn to guess: "Is it a pineapple?"
How to win
Name it within twenty questions and whoever guessed it wins and becomes the next Answerer. Reach twenty without it and the Answerer wins and goes again.
Once you know it
- Famous people
- The Answerer can only pick a famous person, real or fictional.
From experience…
- Start broad. "Is it alive?" and "Is it bigger than a car?" rule out half the world.
- Answerers: obscure isn't clever, it's just long. Pick something the whole group knows.