20 Questions TM …For Kids…
1. Remove the playing pieces from the bag.
2. Place the playing pieces at START on the game
board.
3. Place the red and blue chips along the edge of
the game board.
4. Open the 20 Questions card deck and place a
stack of cards in the center of the game board.
To correctly identify
well-known people, places, things, and years through a series of clues. The first player to reach FINISH wins the
game.
PEOPLE:
Entries in this category may be living or dead, male or female, real or
fictional. Animals with personalities,
such as Arthur and cartoon characters, like Bugs Bunny, are in the PEOPLE
Category. This category includes groups
of people, such as The Beatles and The St. Louis Cardinals. Occupations, such as fireman and plumber
also appear in PEOPLE.
PLACES:
Geographic locations such as oceans, countries, rivers and planets are
in the PLACE category. Man-made and
natural places are also in this category.
THINGS:
Objects that are not alive, items that do not belong in the other
categories, and concepts (gravity and The Equator) are THINGS. This category also includes animals,
holidays and literature.
YEARS: The
years in this category are those in which well-known events took place, like
1776; or recent years since 1990.
1. The youngest player goes first, by selecting a
card and saying, “I am a ______(Person, Place, Thing or Year)” as shown at the
top of the card. This player becomes
that Person, Place, Thing or Year for this round, and is known as the
Reader. Readers should not show their
cards to any other player.
2. Each card has clues numbered 1 through
20—there is one Person, Place, Thing or Year on each card.
3. The player on the Reader’s left announces a
number between 1 and 20, then covers that number on the board with a red chip.
4. The Reader reads the clue with the same number
that the player on the Reader’s left chose.
5. After listening to the clue, the player has 10
seconds to guess the Reader’s identity.
Players may only guess on their turn, and must choose a clue before
guessing.
If the player guesses correctly, the player and the Reader determine
their score (see Scoring, below), and move their playing pieces. The player on the Reader’s right becomes the
new Reader.
If the player guesses incorrectly, play continues in a clockwise
direction – the next player on the left chooses a number, covers it on the
board with a red chip, listens to a clue, and guesses. Continue until a player correctly guesses
the Reader’s identity. There is no
penalty for incorrect guesses.
6. At any time, players may request that the
Reader read all the clues already chosen.
Each 20 Questions
card has a value of 20 points. All 20
points are divided between the Reader and the player who correctly guesses the
Reader’s identity. The Reader receives 1
point (moves forward one space) for every number that is covered with a
chip. The Guesser receives 1 point for
each unused chip.
EXAMPLE: If
the Guesser correctly guesses the Reader’s identity on the third clue, the
Guesser moves ahead 17 spaces, and the Reader moves ahead 3 spaces.
EXAMPLE: If
the Guesser correctly guesses the Reader’s identity after 16 clues, the Guesser
moves ahead 4 spaces, and the Reader moves ahead 16 spaces.
1. When the Reader reads “One free guess
anytime,” the player guesses immediately, and then takes a Free Guess
Chip. Players with Free Guess Chips
play them before the start of another player’s turn, and then guess. After playing a Free Guess Chip, players
return it to the edge of board.
2. “Lose your turn” means that play passes immediately to the
next player – the current player may not guess.
3. Players move their pieces after hearing “Go
ahead” and “Go back” clues, then guess. No player may be moved back from Start.
4. Players who receive a “Choose a player to
move” clue may move any player’s piece except their own.
5. “Guess now and pick another number” allows the player a free guess, before
choosing a clue. After the free guess,
the same player chooses another number, listens to the clue, and guesses again.
Any time that players
end their move on a Bonus Space they may play a Bonus Round. To play a Bonus Round, the Reader chooses a
card from the deck and identifies it as a Person, Place, Thing or Year. The Bonus Player announces 5 numbers, one at
a time, which the Reader reads as they are chosen. The Bonus Player may guess after hearing any of the 5 clues, but
may only guess once during the Bonus Round.
If the Bonus Player
correctly guesses the Reader’s identity after just one clue, the Bonus Player
moves ahead 10 spaces. If the Bonus
Player needs more clues, scoring is as follows:
2 clues…8 spaces 4
clues…4 spaces
3 clues…6 spaces 5
clues…2 spaces
When players land on
a Bonus Space during the middle of a turn, the Reader continues with the card
in play until a player guesses correctly, then starts the Bonus Round. The Bonus Round ends if the Bonus Player
chooses the “Lose your turn” clue. The
Bonus Player moves on “Go Ahead” and “Go Back” clues, then the Bonus Round
continues. The Reader does not move
during a Bonus Round.
The first player to
reach Finish wins the game. Players
need not land exactly on Finish to win.
Copyright ©2003 University Games