Play 20 Questions online with friends

What is 20 Questions?

20 Questions is an old parlor game that later became a radio and TV quiz, and it's still a favorite on car trips and at dinner tables. It needs no board and no cards, just curiosity. The fun is in the detective work: each answer cuts the possibilities down, until somebody suddenly knows.

Playing online fixes the parts that go wrong at home. The secret is typed in, so the person holding it can't quietly change their mind. Questions and answers are kept in a log everyone can see, and the clock and the scores take care of themselves.

How to play 20 Questions

1. An Answer Holder is chosen. The first one is picked at random, then the role passes to the next player each game, so everyone gets a turn.
2. The holder types a secret. They have 60 seconds to choose a person, place, object or idea, and only they can see it.
3. Everyone else asks questions. Type a yes-or-no question, like "Is it alive?". Guessers don't wait for turns: you can have one question waiting at a time, and ask the next as soon as it's answered.
4. The holder answers. Questions are answered in the order they were asked: Yes, No or Kinda. If a question names the secret, the holder taps Correct guess.
5. Guess when you know. Switch from Ask to Guess and type your answer.
6. Each question and each guess uses one of your 20.
7. The round ends when every guesser has found the secret or used all their questions, or when the game's time runs out. Then the secret is revealed.

The hints

As soon as the questions start, guessers (not the holder) see hints worked out by the server from the secret:

• Word count: for example "2 words".
• Word lengths: for example "Length: 6 + 5". Only letters count, so "T-Rex" has 4.
• Rare letters: whether the secret contains a Q, an X or a Z.
• Endings: whether the last word ends in -ing, -ed, -s, -es, -tion, -er or -or, -ness, -y, -ful or -less, or -able or -ible.

Guesses

• A guess has to match the secret exactly, apart from capitals, so spelling counts. If you're not sure how it's spelled, ask it as a question ("Is it the Eiffel Tower?") and the holder can mark it as a correct guess.
• A question that is exactly the secret (say you type just "Giraffe") counts as a correct guess straight away.
• A wrong guess doesn't knock you out. There are no strikes: it simply uses one of your 20 questions.

The holder's answer clock

The holder has 45 seconds to answer each question. If that time passes, the question is passed back to its asker and doesn't count against them, so a slow holder never costs you a question.

20 Questions settings

• Max time: 3 to 30 minutes for the whole game. The default is 10.
• No timer for first round: the opening game runs until every guesser has found the secret or run out of questions, so new players can learn at their own pace.

Every guesser always gets 20 questions. During a game the host can restart a stuck round, which sends the holder back to choose a new secret, or end the game.

Scoring on Ping44

• Find the secret: you score 10 points for every question you didn't use, plus a speed bonus of up to 50 points that shrinks as the game clock runs down. The correct guess counts as a question used.
• Example: you find it with your 8th question or guess, 2 minutes into a 10-minute game. That's 12 unused questions × 10 = 120, plus a speed bonus of 40: 160 points.
• Several players can find it. Each one scores on their own questions and time, and each one is credited with a win.
• Didn't find it: no points this time.

Points go to the guessers who find the secret, and room scores add up across games until the host resets them.

Tips and strategy

• Start broad. "Is it alive?", "Is it bigger than a car?", "Is it a real person?": questions that split everything in half are the fastest way in.
• Read the hints first. "2 words, Length: 6 + 5" rules out most guesses before you've asked a thing. An "Ends in -ing" or a Z hint narrows it even more.
• Use everyone's questions. Every question and answer is shown to all the guessers. Before you ask, check what's already been asked, and build on it.
• Don't guess too early. Each wrong guess costs a question, which is 10 points off your score if you find it later.
• Dig into a "Kinda". It means partly true, and that is often a strong clue.
• As the holder, be fair. Pick something the group could know, answer honestly, and keep up: each question has a 45-second clock.

How to start a game of 20 Questions on Ping44

1. Go to ping44.com, sign in with email or Google (free) and create a room. Friends can join as guests by just picking a name.
2. Share the invite link, the 6-character room code or the QR code.
3. In the lobby, choose 20 Questions and set the max time in Game settings.
4. Start once at least 2 players are in. When the round ends, play again and the next player holds the secret.

Why play 20 Questions on Ping44

• The secret stays secret. It's sent only to the holder until the round ends, so nobody can peek.
• Hints from the server. Word counts, lengths, rare letters and endings are worked out from the secret automatically.
• Nobody waits their turn. All the guessers ask at once, and the holder's 45-second answer clock keeps the game moving.
• Talk while you play. Built-in voice chat (the host turns it on when creating the room) and text chat with emote reactions.
• Free, no ads, no download. It runs in the browser on phones, tablets and computers, for 2 to 20 players plus spectators.
• More games in the same room. Switch to Word Chain, NOUN or Trivia without a new link. See all our word games.

Frequently asked questions