# 20 Questions Game > The classic yes-or-no guessing game for a group. The phone picks a secret thing from 720 in 12 categories and shows it only to the answerer (on this phone or theirs), counts the questions, keeps the answers and has more than 240 question ideas when you get stuck. Or think of your own. No sign-up, no app. - Page: https://linguaholic.com/games/20-questions-game/ - Type: free browser game, no sign-up, runs in the browser - Publisher: Linguaholic (https://linguaholic.com/), made by Marcel Iseli - Last updated: October 20, 2026 - Open it pre-filled: https://linguaholic.com/games/20-questions-game/?categories=animals,food&level=easy&questions=20 - `categories`: categories of secret things, comma-separated: animals, food, objects, places, nature, jobs, sports_games, vehicles, body, school, kitchen, fantasy (for example `animals,food`) - `level`: easy, medium or hard, or several comma-separated (for example `easy`) - `questions`: questions allowed: 10, 20 or 30 (for example `20`) - `mode`: own: the answerer thinks of their own thing (the page only counts) (for example `own`) ## What is 20 Questions? **20 Questions** is a guessing game for two or more players. One player, the **answerer**, has a secret thing in mind. Everyone else asks questions that can only be answered with yes or no. Guess the thing within 20 questions and the askers win; run out of questions and the answerer wins. It works in the car, at the dinner table, in a classroom or on a video call. This page does the parts that are easy to get wrong. It picks a secret thing from 720 everyday things, shows it only to the answerer (on this phone, or on the answerer’s own phone through a link or a square code), counts the questions, keeps a list of the answers and offers 244 question ideas. **No sign-up and no app:** open it and play. ## How to play 20 Questions 1. **Choose the answerer.** Pick the categories and level, then show the secret thing on this phone or send it to the answerer’s phone. Or choose *Think of your own*. 2. **Ask.** The askers take turns asking yes-or-no questions. After each answer, tap Yes, No or Sort of; the phone counts and keeps the list. 3. **Guess.** A guess (“Is it a penguin?”) counts as a question too. When someone gets it, tap *Guessed it*. 4. **Swap.** After question 20 the askers get one last guess. Then the next player becomes the answerer. ## Frequently asked questions **How do you play 20 Questions?** One player, the answerer, has a secret thing in mind. The others take turns asking questions that can be answered with yes or no. If they guess the thing within 20 questions, the askers win; if not, the answerer wins. Then someone else becomes the answerer. **What are good first questions in 20 Questions?** Questions that split everything in half: Is it alive? Is it an animal? Is it bigger than a breadbox? Can you eat it? Is it found indoors? Is it made by people? After three or four of these you know roughly what kind of thing it is. **How does the answerer get the secret on their own phone?** Tap 'Send it to the answerer's phone'. The answerer scans the square code with their camera or opens the link, and their phone shows the secret thing. The link does not spell the word, so the askers cannot read it. The askers keep the first phone, which counts the questions. **What kind of things can come up?** 720 everyday things in 12 categories: animals, food, things at home, places, nature, jobs, sports and games, vehicles, body parts, school, kitchen and fantasy creatures, each marked easy, medium or hard. Pick the categories and levels you want. **Is 20 Questions good for kids?** Yes. It teaches children to sort things into groups and ask smart questions. Choose the Kids categories and the easy level, and allow 30 questions for younger players. **What is the difference between 20 Questions and 21 Questions?** 20 Questions is a guessing game: one person has a secret thing and the others ask yes-or-no questions to find it. 21 Questions is a getting-to-know-you game where two people take turns asking each other personal questions. **Can the answerer think of their own thing?** Yes. Choose 'Think of your own'. The phone then only counts the questions, keeps the answers and gives question ideas, so the answerer can pick anything at all. **Do I need to sign up or download an app?** No. There is no account and nothing to install. Open the page in any browser and play. It is free. ## Related tools - [Imposter Game](https://linguaholic.com/games/imposter-game/): Play the Imposter party word game right in your browser — pass one phone around or join on everyone's phone with a game code. Everyone gets the secret word except the imposter; more than 3,000 words in 24 categories, optional hints, and a discussion timer. - [Werewolf Game](https://linguaholic.com/games/werewolf-game/): The classic party game of villagers and hidden werewolves, also called Mafia. The phone deals the roles in secret, reads the night script aloud, remembers who the werewolves chose and who was saved, and calls the winner. Play with a narrator, with no narrator at all, or on everyone's phone with a code. No sign-up, no app, no cards. - [Charades Generator](https://linguaholic.com/games/charades-generator/): Tap for a random word or phrase to act out from over 2,000 original charades ideas in 16 categories and three levels, with a kids mode, a team game with timer and score on one phone, and printable cards. - [Fishbowl Game](https://linguaholic.com/games/fishbowl-game/): The party game also called salad bowl or celebrity: everyone adds words to the bowl, then the teams guess the same words three times, with fewer clues each round. One phone is the bowl, the timer and the scoreboard. No sign-up, no app, no paper. - [Rebus Puzzles](https://linguaholic.com/games/rebus-puzzles/): Word picture puzzles to solve: MIND over MATTER, CYCLE CYCLE CYCLE. 253 original rebus puzzles from easy to hard, with hints and answers, a team quiz for the classroom or a party, and printable sheets. No sign-up, no app. - [Would You Rather](https://linguaholic.com/games/would-you-rather/): Play Would You Rather online: more than 1,100 original, family-friendly questions in 26 categories — funny, hard, weird, for couples, teens, kids, the classroom, gaming, work, holidays and more — with group voting on one phone, or browse the full list.