Christmas Twenty Questions

What it is

Christmas Twenty Questions is a simple guessing game in which one player secretly chooses a Christmas-themed person, place, object or tradition and everyone else tries to identify it using no more than twenty questions. The questions must normally be answered with yes or no, so players have to narrow the possibilities carefully instead of guessing at random.

Because the game needs no materials and almost no explanation, it works well around a dinner table, during a family gathering or as an easy office Christmas game. Familiar answers make it accessible for children, while more specific Christmas traditions, films or songs can make the game much harder.

Setting up

No materials are required. Choose one player to think of a Christmas-themed answer without telling anyone else. Decide whether the group will ask questions in a fixed turn order or simply take turns as ideas occur, and appoint someone to keep count so the group does not exceed twenty questions.

How to play

1. Choose one player to think of a Christmas-themed person, place, object or tradition.
2. The other players begin asking questions that can be answered with yes or no.
3. Count each question as it is asked, up to a maximum of twenty.
4. Use the answers to narrow down the possibilities before making direct guesses.
5. A player may use their turn to make a direct guess instead of asking another question.
6. If someone identifies the answer within twenty questions, the guessing group succeeds.
7. If the group reaches twenty questions without identifying it, the clue-giver reveals the answer.
8. Choose a new clue-giver and begin another round.

Rules

• The clue-giver must choose an answer that the group could reasonably be expected to know.
• Questions should be answerable with yes or no whenever possible.
• The clue-giver must answer honestly and should not give extra hints unless the group has agreed to allow them.
• Every question counts toward the twenty-question limit, including questions that turn out not to be useful.
• A direct guess also counts as a question unless the group agrees otherwise before starting.
• For mixed-age groups, choose Christmas subjects familiar to both children and adults.

Winning

In a competitive version, the player who correctly identifies the secret answer earns one point. If nobody succeeds within twenty questions, the clue-giver earns the point. After everyone has been the clue-giver the same number of times, the player with the most points wins.

Variations

• Team Version: Divide the group into two teams and alternate which team tries to identify the secret answer.
• Ten Questions: Reduce the limit to ten questions for a faster and more difficult game.
• Christmas Characters Only: Limit secret answers to Christmas characters from traditions, stories, movies and television.
• Kids Version: Use familiar answers and allow the clue-giver to provide one extra hint if the group gets stuck.