The Two Player Game of Guess Who?

First published in 1979, the mystery face game of Guess Who? by Milton Bradley (now owned by Hasbro) challenges players to be the first to guess his opponent’s character. It is a great board game for younger kids to develop their deduction skills.  Plus, it is fun for two players to play!

The game consists of two flip top racks that hold 24 different pictures of people’s faces. Also included are 24 cards that match to the mystery faces in each player’s rack.  To begin, a player chooses a card from the 24 card pile.  The image on the card is that player’s ‘secret’ character.  An opponent must be the first to guess who this is, in order to win the game.

Taking turns, each player asks his opponent a Yes or No question in attempt to eliminate as many faces as he can based on characteristics the mystery person may have.  Some of the mystery people wear hats or glasses.  Some have brown hair or blonde hair.  Some are women, some are men.

For example, a player may ask, “Does the mystery person have a mustache?”  If he does, the player can flip down all characters that don’t have a mustache.  Another question may be, “Does the mystery person wear a hat?”  If he doesn’t, the player would then be able to flip down all those pictured with a hat.  The last mystery person left flipped up must be his opponent’s.

Although older children will quickly be able to deduce who the mystery person is, the game still offers excitement.  Players compete who can determine the fastest.  They challenge each other to try and guess in the least amount of questions, so both players must consider what question could eliminate the most faces.

For younger players, Guess Who strengthens logic and deduction skills.  They have fun learning how to best eliminate the mystery person’s on their flip top rack.  They need to think, ‘should I ask if he has a beard or should I ask if he has blue eyes?’  When they are finally able to say, “I know who it is!”, they are proud they were able to figure it out.  No matter how many questions it took, the excitement in knowing ‘who the mystery person is’ is a great achievement.

Guess Who? comes in a travel sized version that makes it perfect to take on road trips, as well. Enjoyable and fun for all who play, Guess Who? is one of the favorites for at home or on the road!