How to Play Black Magic

Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: September 6, 2023 Fact Checked

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The object of this game is for an audience to figure out how two people are communicating "telepathically." The name is both a joke about fake "black magic" psychic powers and a hint for the audience to help them guess how the game works. Even once the audience has guessed correctly, there are plenty of ways for two players to trade secret information, keeping this game fun and different each time.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Playing Black Magic

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1
Ask an assistant to follow you to another room. You'll need to teach an assistant the secret to your black magic. Pick someone and take them to a separate room, or contact them before you get together with your friends.^{[1]
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Research source} The rest of the group will be the audience, and stay behind.
- If you want to be dramatic, tell the group that you need a quiet room for "forming a psychic connection."
2
Tell the assistant how the game works. In private, tell your assistant the secret to the game. Tell them that you will be pointing to different objects in the room, and asking whether each one is the object you're thinking of. They should keep answering "No" but pay attention to the color of the object you are pointing to. When you point to a black object, they will answer "No" again, but the next object you point to will be the right answer.^{[2]
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Research source} They should answer "Yes" to that one.
- If you don't understand this step, read the rest of the instructions to see how the game is played in more detail.
- There are many variations to this game, that use a different secret signal. Some are described below in another section.
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Leave your assistant behind. Make sure there is no way the assistant can hear you, or the audience may suspect, incorrectly, that the "psychic" assistant is just eavesdropping.
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Ask an audience member to pick any object in the room. Ask a volunteer to select any one object in the room. Ask them to tell you what the object is, explaining that you will be sending a psychic message to your assistant so they will know which object they chose.^{[3]
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- If the audience thinks the assistant is listening in, have the volunteer point to the object instead. Ask them to walk over to the object and point to it from close by, to make sure you have the right one.
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Call the assistant back into the room. Check that everyone in the audience knows what the object is, and tell them to keep it a secret from your assistant. Call the assistant back into the room. If they can't hear you, send out a group of several people to bring them back.^{[4]
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- If you only send one person, the rest of the group might think they are telling the assistant the object, making the trick less mysterious.
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Point in turn to a window, a chair, a person's clothing — just about anything in the room that wasn't chosen – and ask this question. Fill in the blank with the name of the object. As long as you remember to avoid black objects, your assistant should answer "No."
- Try pointing in different ways, using two fingers for one object, then vaguely waving at the next. People will suspect that you and your partner have set up a specific code with your gestures, which will lead them down the wrong trail and make it harder for them to guess the real method.
- Optionally, you can make a show of "transmitting the psychic message" before pointing, holding your fingers to the sides of your head, and staring at the assistant.
Point to a black object, picking something that the volunteer did not choose. Ask "Am I thinking of ___?" naming the black object.^{[5]
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Research source} Your assistant should once again answer "No." If the correct object is also black, you should still point to a black object.
As arranged in advance with your assistant, the object you point to right after the black object is the object the volunteer guessed. Your assistant will answer "Yes" to your question this time, and the audience will be amazed at how you managed to pass along the secret.
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Let the audience try to guess how it's done. At this point, your audience will usually try to guess how you did the trick. Smile and answer "no" when someone guesses wrong, or repeat the trick in a different way to show that they're wrong. For example, if someone guesses that you always point at the right object on the fifth question, repeat the trick with a different object and point to it on the third try, or the eighth.
- To keep your audience guessing longest, use the variations in the section below. If you set it up in advance, you can even come up with an elaborate plan with your assistant. For instance, you can use the "black" method the first time, the number method the second time, and the black method again the third time.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Variations on Black Magic

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Instead of using the "black object" method, tell your assistant that the seventh object you point to will always be the right answer. Of course, you can do this for any number, but choosing something higher than five to make it less obvious to your audience.
2
Come up with a coded gesture, and let someone else ask the questions. To really impress your audience, let a volunteer point at objects instead. Arrange a signal in advance with your assistant to let them know when the right object was selected. For instance, tap your foot lightly, blink rapidly, or scratch your arm when the volunteer points at the right object.
- Suspicious audience members might look at you during the game, so this is a difficult method to pull off. Stand behind the audience members if possible, and make other small motions that aren't part of the code to mislead your audience.
- An assistant who can distract the audience's attention is even better for pulling off this version of the game. Have them crack jokes, stretch, or pretend to think hard about each question, all while looking for your signal out of the corner of their eye.^{[6]
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3
Name words instead of pointing to objects. Come up with a "rule" for which words are "good," but don't let anyone else know the rule. The rule can be "words that end with T are good," "words with two vowels in a row are good," and "words with a SH sound are good" – anything you can think of. All other words are "bad." Have your audience say words aloud, then tell them whether each word is good or bad. Your audience members should try to guess just by naming words; ask them not to guess at the rule aloud, so that other people who haven't figured it out yet can keep guessing.
- Try to guess without any code at all! Even if you don't believe in actual "psychic" abilities, you might be able to guess when someone is lying or telling the truth through their tone of voice or body language. Pick a close family member or friend, since you are more familiar with talking to them, and watch them closely. Have them say "I'm thinking of __." while looking at you, and try to figure out when they are lying based on their facial expressions, movements, and tone of voice.
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Use the assistant for the code! The audience will likely be watching your movements, so use this to your advantage! A fun twist is to have the assistant reply "no" to every question, but when they reply with "nope" or some other subtle variation, make the next item you point to the item the audience picked. This puts the assistant in greater control than the audience suspects them of having.
- Most psychologists and other researchers do not believe in the existence of "Extra-Sensory Perception" or other mysterious abilities that transmit thoughts, but there are plenty of studies on that topic if you're interested in learning more.^{[7]
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Community Q&A

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Question

Can you explain this a little more?

Community Answer

Most of the time this game is played casually with a few friends. List multiple objects around you, and ask them to guess which one you are thinking of. One of these objects, however, must be black, and you cannot list it last. The one you are "thinking of" is the object you listed directly after the black one. Your friends have to figure out the pattern.

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Do I have to choose a black object before the correct object?

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Yes, that is a necessary step since it indicates the next object will be the correct one.

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Do I have to choose a black object to point to before I point to the correct object?

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Yes, that is a necessary step.

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Tips

You can wear black shoes or clothes so you're sure there's something to point to, but it's usually not hard to find several black objects in a given room.

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If you want to help your audience guess, make it easier on them next round by saying the color of each object as you point to it.

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If the volunteer chooses a black object, just find a different black object in the room and point to that first.

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Warnings

While the games described above are probably the most common versions of "Black Magic," many schools, camps, and groups of friends have invented their own versions, or even come up with completely different games called "Black Magic."

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