How to Play 20 Questions

Co-authored by Hannah Madden

20 questions is a classic game that can be played almost anywhere. It’s great to use when passing the time, meeting new people, or learning more about grammar. To play the basic version of this game, you don’t need anything but yourself and a willing group of players. You can also alter this game to teach ESL students about grammatically correct yes or no questions for a fun afternoon of learning.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Playing a Basic Round

1
Gather a group of 2 to 5 people to play the game. This game works best with a small to medium-sized group of people so that everyone gets a chance to ask a question. If the group is too big, you may reach the end of the game without giving everyone a turn.^{[1]
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- This is a great game to play on a road trip or with a group of friends to pass the time.
2
Choose 1 person to be “it” first. You can pick anyone in your group to go first. Try assigning them based on who the youngest is, who had the most recent birthday, or something silly, like who can eat a piece of pizza the fastest.^{[2]
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- You can also pick which order everyone takes turns guessing the same way. For example, going from youngest to oldest or in order of birth month.
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3
Pick a person, place, or thing if you are “it.” Think about someone or something that you know enough about to answer some basic questions on. If you choose a person, they can be living, deceased, or even fictional. Make sure you choose a person, place, or thing that most people in your group know about.^{[3]
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- For example, your item could be “Marylin Monroe,” since she is famous enough that most people will be able to make guesses about her. You could also choose something like New York City, the Eiffel Tower, or even clouds or the sun.
- Try not to use items like “my mom” or “my dog” unless you are with your siblings or best friends, because the players might not know enough about them to guess.
4
Start by asking general yes or no questions if you are not “it.” If you are a guesser, you are trying to figure out what the “it” person is thinking of. Try using a fairly general opening question that can be answered with “yes” or “no” to narrow down your options. For example:^{[4]
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- “Is it a person?”
- “Is it a place?”
- “Is it an object?”
- “Is it real or fictional?”
5
Take turns asking yes or no questions. You can ask questions in any order that you’d like, but make sure each player gets to ask at least 1 question. If a player asks a question that can’t be answered with “yes” or “no,” ask them to rephrase it so that it can be.^{[5]
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- For example, a player couldn’t ask, “How old are they?” or “What do they look like?” They could ask, “Are they older than 50?” or, “Do they have blonde hair?”
6
Ask more specific questions as you go along. Think about the questions that have already been asked before you ask new questions. For example, if someone already asked about size, move on to color or smell. This will give you an answer faster and use up fewer questions so you can hopefully win the game!^{[6]
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- For instance, if you already asked “Is it bigger than a breadbox?” and the answer was yes, try asking something like, “Is it red?”
7
Play until you reach 20 questions or someone gives the right answer. You can either assign someone to count the questions that each player asks, or the group can count them together collectively. If the group reaches 20 questions and they haven’t guessed the person, place, or thing, you can tell them what it is. If someone guesses it before 20 questions have been asked, the game is over.^{[7]
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Make the correct guesser the next “it” person. If no one guessed the person, place, or thing at all, whoever wants to go next can have a turn. Keep the game going until everyone has had a chance to be “it.”^{[8]
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- If someone guesses correctly but they’ve already been “it,” let someone else have a turn instead.
- Giving everyone a turn makes the game more inclusive and lets everybody have some fun!

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Adding Variations for ESL Learners

1
Write out 10 to 15 topic cards with different subjects of interest. For example, you could pick popular foods, American states, famous landmarks, types of animals, or even famous celebrities. Choose a random bunch of these topics and write them down individually on a note card.^{[9]
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Tip: Pick topics that you have talked about in class before to make sure your students will know about them.
2
Choose 1 person to be “it” and have them read their topic out loud. Pick a volunteer from your class to be the first person to choose a topic. You could pick the student who has been on time to class the most, or choose someone who turned their homework in on time that day. Have them pull a topic card from the pile and let them read it out loud to the class.^{[10]
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- This narrows down the subject that the person, place, or thing could be to make it easier for your students to guess.
3
Write down the item or person that the “it” player thinks of. This ensures that you know what their item is in case the rest of your students get stuck. You can also double check that the person, place, or thing and the subject card are related, or offer suggestions if your student can’t think of anything.^{[11]
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- For example, if your student pulls the card “types of animals,” they could choose “rabbit” as their item.
4
Make each player ask a grammatically correct yes or no question. If the question isn’t grammatically correct, move onto a different player. You can coach your students slightly if they are having trouble coming up with a question.^{[12]
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- You can let students raise their hands when they have a question or go around the room in a circle or spiral.
- If anyone gets stuck, try giving suggestions like, “Do you want to ask about its size?” Or, “Can you think of a way to ask about their hair color?”
5
Keep track of your students’ questions and their points. As you play the game, have your students keep track of how many questions they have asked that were grammatically correct. Don’t give out any points to questions that weren’t phrased correctly. Tally up the running total of questions asked so that you know when your students have reached 20.^{[13]
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- Assigning points makes the game more competitive and may motivate your students to play.
6
Give 3 points to whoever guesses correctly and make them “it.” You can have the student who guessed correctly pick a new subject and come up with their own item. If the group reaches 20 questions and no one has guessed the item, have the current “it” player say what it is and give them 1 extra point.^{[14]
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- You can keep playing new rounds until everyone has gotten a turn, or stop when you feel like your students have gotten the most out of this game.
- If no one guesses correctly, you can ask for a volunteer to be “it” next.

Community Q&A

Question

Jyothi drew 12 line segments within a circle from the center to 12 points on the edge of the circle. What is the difference between the lengths of all the line segments?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Each line segment is a radius of the circle. Each radius has the same length.
Question

What is not available?

Sage Hallock

Community Answer

Anything is available except open ended questions. The former will kind of ruin the game.