Who Am I? The yes-or-no guessing game

What you need and how to set up the game

All you need is one phone and at least two people: one guesses, the other answers. No paper, no pens. The game is at its best with three to eight players.

On the group screen you type in the players’ names: when everyone plays individually the app picks who goes first at random, and in every case it rotates the guesser’s role. Before you start you can adjust these settings:

• How to play: Individual, everyone for themselves, or In teams (2 to 4), with the option of moving players from one team to another.
• Turn duration: 60, 90, 120 or 180 seconds, or no time limit at all. The default is 120 seconds.
• End of game: after a set number of turns, from 1 to 6 each (2 by default), or at a target score between 3 and 30 (10 by default).
• Deck: the default Mixed deck combines characters, animals, food and drink, places, objects, jobs and sport.
• Category help: off by default. When it is on, the category (for example Animals) appears above the word instead of the line “WHO OR WHAT AM I?”.
• Your own word list: you can write a list of your own and use it instead of the game’s cards.

The rules of a turn, one card at a time

Each turn is an investigation into a single card, with no skipping to other words. A turn goes like this:

1. The app shows the guesser’s name (and, with teams, the team whose turn it is) and reminds you to hold the phone against the forehead or facing the others, without looking at it.
2. You tap Go!: the card appears with the word in large letters and, if you have chosen a duration, the countdown starts.
3. The guesser asks questions out loud. The others answer only yes, no or maybe; the reminder is written right under the word.
4. When the guesser says the right word, one of the helpers taps Correct! and the turn is worth 1 point.
5. If the guesser gives up, you tap “Gives up / time’s up”. If time runs out, the app ends the turn by itself and no point is scored.
6. The summary reveals the word with its category and updates the scoreboard; then it is the next guesser’s turn.

When you play a set number of turns, the game finishes once everyone has had their go. When you play to a target score and someone reaches it, the app still completes the current round, so that everyone has had the same number of attempts; the player with the most points wins, and a draw is possible.

With teams, the guesser rotates within each team and the point goes to the team. The app does not decide who should answer: a rule that works well is to let only the guesser’s teammates answer, while the opponents listen in silence.

Leo’s turn: an animal in eight questions

Leo, Isla, Ruby and Grandad Bill are playing with 120 seconds per turn and category help off. It is Leo’s turn: Isla presses Go! and holds the phone against his forehead. The card says Penguin.

1. “Am I a person?” — “No.”
2. “Am I an animal?” — “Yes.”
3. “Do I live in people’s houses?” — “No.”
4. “Am I bigger than a cat?” — Ruby and Isla look at each other: “Maybe.” It depends on the species, and that is the honest answer.
5. “Can I fly?” — “No.” Grandad Bill chuckles: it does have wings, after all.
6. “Do I live somewhere cold?” — “Yes.”
7. “Am I a polar bear?” — “No.” Then, after a moment: “Am I a penguin?” — Isla taps Correct! with about fifty seconds still on the clock.

Leo takes 1 point, the summary shows “Penguin (Animals)” and it is Ruby’s turn.

Phone on the forehead or online room: what changes

With one phone the screen is the card: everyone can see it except the guesser, and the helpers tap the outcome. The word appears as soon as Go! is tapped, so it is best if a helper presses it, with the guesser already turned away.

In a room the host creates it and the others join with a code or a QR code, each on their own phone. Here the secret is guaranteed: the word never reaches the guesser’s phone, which shows only the timer, the line “Who or what are you?” and, if the help is on, the category. The helpers have the word on their own screens, along with the Correct and Not guessed buttons: the first tap counts.

• The turn starts when the guesser taps “I’m ready” (or when the host starts it), and the timer is the same for everyone.
• The host moves the game on to the next guesser; if a turn gets stuck, the host can close it as not guessed.
• In a room you can only play individually: no teams. Turns per player range from 1 to 3, and the target score is chosen from 5, 10, 15 and 20.

The questions are still asked out loud, so the room also works at a distance over a video call: you will find a few more ideas in the guide to games over video call.

How to ask questions that really narrow it down

For the guesser

• Start with questions that split the possibilities in half: “Am I alive?” is worth more than “Am I a lion?”.
• Sum up out loud what you know (“animal, wild, lives in the cold…”): it helps you keep track.
• A “maybe” is a valuable clue: it means the question touches on an ambiguous feature. Rephrase it more precisely.
• Only guess the word when the answers clearly point in one direction.

For the people answering

• If the answer is not obvious, agree among yourselves before speaking: a chorus of “yes” and “no” at the same time is confusing.
• Use “maybe” when the answer genuinely depends, not to help: it is not a spare clue.
• No gestures, meaningful looks or “you’re getting warmer”: as soon as free clues creep in, it becomes a different game.

Mistakes that keep coming up

• The guesser sneaking a look at the screen reflected in a window or in the glasses of the person opposite.
• Forgetting to tap Correct! in all the excitement and letting the time run out: the turn then ends without a point.

Who to play it with: children, grandparents and groups of friends

Who Am I? works very well with children, because the guesser does not have to read anything: they only have to think and ask questions. With younger players, from about 6, set the turn to no time limit and switch on Category help; on a single phone the category appears on the card, so one of the helpers can read it out at the start. A word list of your own with farm animals or fairy-tale characters makes the first turns easier.

It is a calm game, ideal at the end of Sunday lunch or as a break between noisier games. Beyond eight players the answers tend to overlap: in that case try team mode, or alternate it with Charades, where the person acting holds the secret rather than the person guessing. More ideas for mixed groups in the guide to family games for all ages.