Years ago, my family purchased 20 Questions. Growing up, my family loved to play mystery, deduction, trivia, puzzle and logic games. Also, my siblings and I were raised not only by our parents, but additionally by our television; so we had a lot of popular culture knowledge that was doing us little good elsewhere. 20 Questions was a good fit for us.
20 Questions is played a little differently than the old road trip game of Twenty Questions. There are about 400 cards included with the game. Each of these cards has an unique Person, Place or Things listed on it. Underneath the Person, Place or Thing; there are twenty facts or clues regarding the subject of the card. Players alternate being the Reader. The Reader will read the clues that the players, in turn, ask to be read. There are twenty, small poker chips that come with the game. As the clues are read off, the Reader removes a poker chip from the board and places it in a pile in front of them. If a player thinks that they know who, where or what the subject of the card is, they wait until their turn and instead of having a clue read, they state what they think the card’s subject is. If that player is correct, then that player moves their pawn along the scoring track as many spaces as chips were remaining on the board. Then the Reader scores as many points as chips are in his or her pile. If that player is incorrect, the Reader takes a chip from the board per a normal clue reading. Play continues like this until one player reaches the end of the scoring track, with one exception. There are bonus spaces spaced out along the scoring track that allow a player to participate in a single-player only, mini bonus round. The bonus round will allow that player to move 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 spaces more, should they correctly answer a more difficult five-clue guess card. Other than that the game play is very simplistic and easy to grasp.
What I really like about this game:
- I love trying to solve puzzles and I love attempting to figure out something with limited clues of differing gradation.
- I love popular culture and being able to use some of this trivial knowledge that clutters my head.
- The ability to have everyone playing at the same time was great fun. Everyone was paying attention while it was someone else’s turn. The pace of the game was quick, fun and a little tense.
- Most of the clues were not softballs or complete gimmees. Sometimes you got a clue that was very revealing and other times the clues were dang near useless.
- The game played from 2 to 6 players and scaled really well.
Some issues that I have with 20 Questions:
- Pop culture is not everyone’s bag. Some people have been living under a rock their entire lives and this game is NO fun for them. These culture famine victims will quickly become frustrated with the game and desperately and even somewhat frantically start searching for dark, damp location to slink to.
-As stated in the pro’s section (above) the clues differed on how much they revealed. Sometimes you would get a clue that would say something so vague that you felt ripped off at having wasted a turn going for another clue.
- Sometimes the subject of the card was so obscure that no one would guess the correct answer and some lucky Reader would get to move twenty spaces. That reader would then become loathed and less likely to be invited back to play next time.
- With only 400 cards, frequent play will have you covering ground that you have already covered. So there is some limit to the amount of original play to be had in this game.
20 Questions is a quick game and a lot of fun. The limited replayability, due to the limited amount of clue cards is an issue, but with sporadic play the game will remain fresh. I believe the game is currently out of print, but there are enough copies out there to be found at thrift stores, online auction sites and flea markets. If it’s to be found cheap, pick it up. 20 Questions is a fun party game and worth the couple of bucks that you’ll spend on it.
