Easy Instructions for the Guess Who Board Game

Download Article

Try to guess your opponent’s character in this fun family game

Co-authored by Hunter Rising Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: March 16, 2024 Fact Checked

Download Article

• Setup
|
• Gameplay
|
• Winning the Game
|
• Video
|
• Q&A

|Show more |Show less

If you want a really simple board game to play that’s fun for kids and adults, Guess Who is the perfect choice. Each player has a secret character that the other person needs to guess from a lineup of 24 choices, but they can only ask yes or no questions to narrow down their options. This game is so simple to learn and only takes a few minutes to play, and we’ll walk you through it all. Keep reading for how to set up the game, take a turn, and win!

Things You Should Know

• Player count: 2, ages 6 and up
• Required materials: A Guess Who board and cards
• Objective: Ask yes or no questions to guess the character your opponent selected before they can guess yours.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Setup

Download Article

1. 1
   Flip all the character doors on the game boards open. A player board has 24 doors that each have a picture of a character inside. Give both players a board and open all of the doors so the characters are visible.

   • If it’s your first time playing the game, punch out the small face cards for each color. Slide each card into one of the doors on the matching player board. It doesn’t matter what order the face cards are in, and they don’t have to be in the same order on both boards.
   • There are multiple versions of the Guess Who game, and the characters may vary between each edition. The game is still played the same way no matter which version you have.
2. 2
   Shuffle the character cards and give one to each player. Take the deck of 24 mystery character cards and shuffle them together thoroughly. Each player takes 1 card from the deck and places it in the slot at the front of their player board.

   • Keep character cards hidden from the other player. If either player accidentally sees the card the other person drew, put it back in the deck and draw a new one.
Advertisement

Section 2 of 3:

Gameplay

Download Article

1. 1
   Ask a yes or no question about the other player’s character. The youngest player takes the first turn of the game. The player looks at the characters on their own player board, and asks a single yes or no question about a physical trait they have. The other player must answer the question truthfully about their character. Some good questions to ask include:

   • Is your character a boy/girl?
   • Does your character have blue eyes?
   • Is your character wearing a hat?
   • Does your character have rosy cheeks?
   • Try to ask a question that applies to multiple characters at the same time. That way, you may be able to rule out a lot of characters at the same time.
   • Avoid asking open-ended or subjective questions. For example, the answer to a question like “Does your character look like a good person?” may vary between players, but “Is your character smiling?” can be answered with a simple yes or no.
2. 2
   Flip down any characters that are ruled out by the player’s answer. Once an opponent gives an answer about their character, the player checks all of the open doors on their own player board. If they said “yes” to the question, then flip down any characters that do not have the trait. If the player said “no,” then flip down characters that do have the trait that was asked about.

   • Example: If you asked, “Does your character wear glasses?” and your opponent says yes, then flip down any character that isn’t wearing glasses. If they say no, then flip down any character that is wearing glasses.
3. 3
   Take turns asking questions and ruling out characters. After one player asks a question, the other player takes their turn. Check which characters are still flipped up on the board and ask new questions each turn to narrow down the options.
Advertisement

Section 3 of 3:

Winning the Game

Download Article

1. Guess the other player’s character correctly on your turn to win. When it’s their turn, a player can take a guess at which character their opponent has instead of asking a question. If the player gets the character right, then they immediately win! However, if the player gets it wrong, they immediately lose the game.

   • You don’t have to flip down all the characters on your player board to make a guess. Ruling out more characters just makes it easier to guess correctly.
   • If you want to play a Championship Series of Guess Who, deal out new character cards to each player. Once a player wins a total of 5 games, they’re the Guess Who champion!

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

• Question

  What do we do with the pegs?

  

  Community Answer

  The pegs are for recording how many points you and your opponent have. The one with the most points/pegs wins.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 9 Helpful 29
• Question

  Is Jess a man or a woman?

  

  Community Answer

  Jess is a woman.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 27 Helpful 26
• Question

  I know my opponents person but it's not my turn and I've put down all but theirs. Can I just guess it or do I have to wait until it's my turn?

  

  Stephz16

  Community Answer

  You have to wait until your turn, but maybe let them know you're going to guess in case they want to take a quick guess before you.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 25 Helpful 19

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Video

Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!