Party Games
How to play 20 Questions
One player thinks of an answer; the others ask up to 20 yes-or-no questions to identify it.
What you need
No equipment; a shared category and a way to count questions help
Set up the game
- Choose a category, such as animal, vegetable or object, and one answerer. The answerer secretly chooses a specific item everyone can reasonably know.
- Agree that only yes-or-no questions count toward the limit. A guess phrased as 'Is it a tiger?' counts as one question.
Narrow down the mystery answer
- Questioners take turns asking questions that can be answered yes or no. The answerer responds truthfully with yes, no or an agreed 'not sure' for ambiguous cases.
- Keep a count from 1 to 20. Questioners may use each answer to narrow the possibilities before deciding on a final guess.
- If the questioners identify the item within 20 questions, they win that round. Otherwise the answerer reveals it and wins; rotate the answerer for another round.
From animal to a narrower guess
The answer is secretly a penguin. The group asks: 'Is it living?' yes; 'Is it an animal?' yes; 'Can it fly?' no; 'Does it live in water?' yes. A later 'Is it a penguin?' wins if the count has not passed 20. The answerer cannot silently switch the answer to a seal when guesses get close.
Ask a dividing question
Suppose the category is 'object.' Asking 'Is it a bicycle?' tests one answer. Asking 'Can someone carry it in one hand?' rules out many large objects on a no. Effective questions remove broad classes before the last few turns are spent on exact identities.
Beginner decisions
- Early questions should divide many possibilities, such as 'Is it alive?' or 'Is it made by people?', rather than naming a single unlikely item.
- Remember prior no answers to avoid asking a narrower question that is already ruled out.
Common rule mix-ups
- Changing the secret answer partway through because someone has guessed close.
- Disputing whether 'Is it red or blue?' counts as a yes-or-no question; split compound questions before starting.
Questions about this game
Do incorrect guesses use a question?
Yes in this format. Any question proposing an answer consumes one of the 20.
What if the answerer does not know a property?
Use 'not sure' and do not count that question, or choose a new answer if the object is too obscure; agree before play.
Sources and edition notes
Traditional 20 Questions with a 20-question cap and individual guesses counted as questions. There is no universal rule publisher; category, group turn order and ambiguous-answer handling are chosen house conventions.