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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 25, 2025 Fact Checked
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This article was reviewed by Ashton Wu and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 50K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 413,492 times.
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
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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.[1]XResearch source
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.[2]XResearch source
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 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.[3]XResearch source
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
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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:[4]XResearch source
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 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.[5]XResearch source
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 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.[6]XResearch source
Advertisement Section 3 of 3:
Winning the Game
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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.[7]XResearch source
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
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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 10 Helpful 32
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 31 Helpful 30
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 28 Helpful 21
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Reviewed by: Ashton Wu Board Game Expert This article was reviewed by Ashton Wu and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 50K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate. This article has been viewed 413,492 times. 17 votes - 66% Co-authors: 16Updated: March 25, 2025 Views: 413,492 Categories: Board Games for ChildrenArticle SummaryX
Guess Who is a fun 2-player board game where you have to guess your opponent’s character before they guess yours. To set up the game, sit opposite each other and flip all of the character tiles upright on your boards. Then, shuffle the character cards and place them face-down on the surface. After that, you'll both need to take a card and put in the card holder at the front of your board so only you can see it. You'll both try to guess each other's card. To narrow down the options, take turns asking each other yes or no questions about their character, like, “Are they a girl?” or “Do they have glasses?” You can then flip down any characters that don’t match your opponent’s description. The winner is the first player to correctly guess their opponent’s character. If you guess wrong, the other person wins the game. For more tips, including how to decide who goes first, read on!Did this summary help you?YesNo
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Download Article Try to guess your opponent’s character in this fun family game Co-authored by Hunter Rising Reviewed by Ashton Wu 
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Reviewed by: Ashton Wu Board Game Expert This article was reviewed by Ashton Wu and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 50K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate. This article has been viewed 413,492 times. 17 votes - 66% Co-authors: 16 Updated: March 25, 2025 Views: 413,492 Categories: Board Games for Children Article SummaryX
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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.[1] 
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.[3] 
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:[4] 
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.[5] 
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.[6] Advertisement 
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.[7] 
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 10 Helpful 32 
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 31 Helpful 30 
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 28 Helpful 21 
Advertisement If you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission.Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy.