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Genie 20 Questions is a free online guessing game where the computer does the guessing. Think of something ordinary — an animal, a household object, a vehicle, a food or a job — and the genie starts asking. Every question is yes, no or not sure, and the genie picks the one that splits what it still believes closest to the middle, which is why it usually finds a sixty-odd-item world in about eight questions rather than twenty. It works on belief rather than elimination: an answer makes a candidate much less likely, never impossible, so one question you got wrong because "does a snake make a sound" is a judgement call does not lose your answer for good. When it is confident enough it stops asking and names something; say no and it takes that one off the table and keeps going with the questions it has left. If it truly cannot find you it says so and shows the last few things it was thinking of, rather than insisting. Nothing in its world is a real person or a character anybody owns, so there is never a wrong answer you are supposed to have known.
How to play Genie 20 Questions
- Press Play. The genie tells you what sort of thing it knows about: animals, everyday objects, vehicles, food and jobs. Pick one and hold it in your head.
- Press "I'm thinking of one" when you have it. From then on you only ever answer questions.
- Each question takes Yes, No or Not sure. On a keyboard, Y and N answer, and ? answers Not sure.
- "Not sure" costs you a question but moves nothing. Use it when the honest answer is "it depends" rather than picking a side and confusing the genie.
- The counter at the top right shows which of the twenty questions you are on, and the bar under the genie fills as they go.
- Every question you answer is written into the list below, with what you said, so you can check yourself if the genie starts heading somewhere strange.
- When the genie is confident enough it stops asking and names something, along with how sure it is. Say yes and it wins the round.
- Say no and it crosses that one off permanently and goes back to asking with whatever questions it has left. It can offer several things in one round.
- If it runs out of ideas it says so and shows the last few things it was considering — that is a win for you, and the tally at the top keeps score.
- The score line reads Genie versus You, and it is kept on your own device between visits.
Tips
- Answer for the typical example, not the exception. "Do people keep it as a pet?" means the usual case — plenty of things have been kept as pets once.
- Use Not sure rather than guessing. A wrong yes or no costs the genie far more than a skipped question does, and the point of the round is watching it work.
- If you want to beat it, pick something that sits between categories. A sheep is farm, food and clothing at once, and that ambiguity is worth more than obscurity.
- Watch the question it chooses after a surprising answer — it is always the one that splits what is left in half, so it tells you how big its shortlist still is.
- The genie never asks a question where everything left would answer the same way, so every question you see is one it genuinely needed.
- A wrong guess is not a mistake to forgive — say no straight away. It removes that item for good and the next question is chosen with it gone.
- Mis-answered one? Keep going honestly. One wrong answer knocks a candidate down but does not delete it, and the genie often recovers within three questions.
- Read the log at the end of a round you won. It shows exactly which answer sent the genie the wrong way, and that is the one worth thinking about.
FAQ
Is Genie 20 Questions free to play?
Yes. It runs free in your browser with no download, no install and no account. The Genie-versus-You tally is stored on your own device.
How does the genie guess?
It keeps a belief score for everything it knows and asks whichever question splits that belief closest to half. Your answer multiplies the scores rather than deleting anything, so it narrows fast without painting itself into a corner.
Can I think of a person or a film character?
No. The genie only knows ordinary things — animals, household objects, vehicles, food and jobs — and it says so before you start. There are no real people and no characters in its world.
What happens if I answer a question wrongly?
Usually nothing fatal. A wrong answer knocks your item down but does not remove it, so the genie often recovers within a few more questions. That is deliberate: several of the questions are judgement calls.
Why does it ask that question first?
Because it is the one that divides its world nearest to half. The first question is the most informative one available, and every question after it is chosen the same way against whatever is still in play.
Can I beat it?
Yes. Refuse each guess and it eventually runs out of ideas and says so. The easiest way is to pick something that sits between categories rather than something rare.
How many things does it know?
Sixty-odd, described by twenty-six yes/no traits. No two of them answer all twenty-six the same way, which is what makes every one of them findable.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The question sits in the middle of the screen with the three answer buttons under it, and the question log scrolls below that.