How to play Twenty Questions
Twenty Questions is a talking game. One player thinks of something, and everyone else asks yes-or-no questions to figure it out. Guess it within twenty questions to win; if not, the thinker wins.
- Ages 5+
- 2 to 10 players
- About 10 minutes
- You need: nothing but your voices, fingers or paper to count the questions
Easy rules, to read aloud
- One person thinks of a secret thing.
- Everyone else asks questions that can be answered yes or no.
- Count each question out loud.
- Guess the thing to win!
- If no one guesses in twenty questions, the thinker wins.
- The winner thinks of the next thing.
The full rules
- Choose one player to be the thinker. They secretly pick something everyone knows: an animal, an object, a place or a food.
- The thinker may give a hint to start, such as whether it is an animal, a vegetable or a mineral.
- The other players take turns asking questions that can only be answered yes or no. The thinker must answer truthfully.
- Keep count. Every question, including a guess, uses up one of the twenty.
- Anyone may guess the answer when it is their turn to ask.
- If someone guesses right, they win the round and become the next thinker. If twenty questions go by with no right guess, the thinker wins and picks again.
How to win: The guesser who names the secret wins and becomes the thinker. If twenty questions pass first, the thinker wins the round.
Tips
- Start with big questions that split things in half, like "Is it alive?"
- Listen to every answer, not just the ones to your questions.
- Pick a secret everyone at the table knows, like an animal or a place.
What it practises
asking good questions, sorting into groups, listening, logical thinking.
Other ways to play
- Animal, vegetable or mineral. The thinker first says which group it belongs to. A wooden table counts as vegetable, because wood comes from a tree.
- Person, place or thing. The thinker starts by saying whether the secret is a famous person or character, a place or a thing.
- Theme rounds. Pick a theme, like jobs or foods, and keep every secret inside it.
About the game
In a letter dated 7 February 1786, the writer Hannah More told her sister she had been teaching the game at a London dinner party.
You may also hear it called Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, or know a boxed game like it. This page is about the traditional game, which anyone may play.
The age is our own suggestion: Peabody's suggestion (asking yes-or-no questions and narrowing down). Sources we read: Wikipedia: Twenty questions. Every word here is Peabody's own. Checked .