What it is: A variation of twenty questions. It’s a little more complicated than twenty questions and involves more thought for both the guesser and the one answering the questions. So if you like twenty questions but it’s getting a little old, this’ll probably be the perfect game for you to try.
Best for: Two players.
What you need: Nothing! Those games are the best.
How to play: Just like twenty questions, this game starts with one player (we’ll call him Josh) thinking of an item to guess. Unlike twenty questions, it’s best if this item is pretty specific. So some good examples might be things like this:
- Your iPhone
- A garbage sack
- The shirt I’m wearing
- A Garmin GPS
Some not-so-good examples:
- Clouds
- Rocks
- A house
Does that make sense?
So, let’s say Josh is playing and he’s thinking of an item, and he comes up with his iPhone. Then the person he’s playing with, Paige, gets to start guessing, with the goal, of course, of guessing that the item is Josh’s iPhone.
In twenty questions, Paige would ask yes or no questions and try to deduce what the item would be from the provided clues. In breakfast combo, Paige just goes ahead and starts guessing things. They can start out random. It’s also good if these guesses are more specific rather than broad. So…
Paige: Is it a fireplace?
Because this is the first guess, this is what Josh says:
Josh: It’s more like a fireplace than anything you’ve guessed so far.
Then Paige gets to guess something else.
Paige: Is it a turtle?
Now Josh needs to decide if the item, his iPhone, is more similar to a turtle or a fireplace. Say he decides it’s more like a fireplace.
Josh: It’s more like a fireplace than a turtle, but, like a turtle…
And then Josh would fill in a clue, something that his iPhone and a turtle have in common. It could be anything he comes up with, like:
Josh: It’s more like a fireplace than a turtle, but, like a turtle, I’ve seen it.
So then Paige gets to guess something else.
Paige: Is it a campfire?
Josh answers the same way he did before.
Josh: It’s more like a fireplace than a campfire, but, like a campfire, it needs to be started.
Paige guesses again:
Paige: Is it a Sega Genesis game system?
In this case, Josh would probably decide that his iPhone is more like a Sega Genesis than anything else that Paige has guessed. So he says:
Josh: It’s more like a Sega Genesis than anything you’ve guessed so far.
(Here you can add a slight variation. Josh can either say the above sentence and leave it at that, or he could provide a reason, e.g., “It’s more like a Sega Genesis than anything you’ve guessed so far because it’s manmade.” The second option makes it easier for the guesser.)
Play goes on like that, with Paige guessing specific objects and Josh responding. If the item Paige just guessed is closest to the item Josh has in mind, Josh says, “It’s more like [current guess] than anything you’ve said so far.” If the item Paige just guessed isn’t as close to the item as something else she’s previously said, Josh says, “It’s more like [previous guess] than [current guess], but, like [current guess], [something current guess and item have in common].
As you might guess, it’s often just as challenging for Josh to come up with answers as it is for Paige to guess. It’s fun because it does provide some new variety to the classic game of twenty questions. It’s a great game to play in the car (which is where Paige and Josh play it most).
Variations: As stated, breakfast combo is a variation of twenty questions. It’s also very similar to no, because. For another, more creative/silly variation of 20 questions, try poodle!