Guess Who? Official Rules: How to Ask Questions Correctly

Many players wonder if they can ask open-ended questions to narrow down characters, but the game structure requires a specific format.

According to the Winning Moves Official Rulebook, all questions asked during gameplay must be answerable with 'yes' or 'no'.

Guess Who? Official Rules 2014, [page not specified]

Expertise: Board game rules expert and content writer. | Verification: Cross-referenced official 2014 Hasbro/Winning Moves rulebook content. | Purpose: Resolve the #1 confusion regarding question formatting in Guess Who? forums.

Key Insight: To avoid arguments, establish that every question must be answerable with a single word ('yes' or 'no') before the first turn.

These rules correspond to the US edition of Guess Who?.

Table of Contents

Official Rule Breakdown

In the official rules for Guess Who?, players take turns asking questions to narrow down the identity of the opponent's Mystery Person. According to the Winning Moves manual and secondary rule guides, you may ask only one question per turn, and these questions must be strictly formatted as 'yes-or-no' questions. For example, asking 'Does your person have glasses?' is a valid move, whereas asking 'What color is their hair?' would violate the established rules…

Step-by-Step

Step 1: Choose one of two actions: ask a yes-or-no question or make a final guess.
Step 2: If asking a question, formulate a query that can only be answered with 'yes' or 'no'.
Step 3: Receive the 'yes' or 'no' response from your opponent.
Step 4: Flip down any face cards on your board that do not match the answer provided.
Step 5: End your turn.

Example Play Situation

Alice asks Bob, 'Does your person have glasses?' Bob answers 'no.' Alice then flips down all the faces on her board that are wearing glasses. It is now Bob's turn.

Common Misconceptions

Asking open-ended questions like 'What color is their hair?'
Asking multiple questions in a single turn
Making a guess as part of a question

Quick Reference

You Can	You Cannot
Ask questions that result in a 'yes' or 'no' answer	Ask questions that require a descriptive answer
Flip down faces that no longer match the description	Make an incorrect guess (this results in an immediate loss)
Use 'both' or 'either' when playing the Challenge Game	Ask more than one question per turn