How to Play the "Who Am I" Game

Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: July 30, 2024 References

If you're hosting a dinner or a party, the "Who Am I?" game can make for a pleasant icebreaker. It is a simple parlour game, comparable to "Charades", where players try to guess a name or thing they've been assigned. Although "Who Am I?" is extremely simple to organize and set up, you can customize it to be as challenging and competitive as you'd like. The trick to a great game of "Who Am I" ultimately lies in catering the game rules to the group you're playing with.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Planning the Game

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1
Lay down ground rules. ^{[1]
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Research source} The basic rules of "Who Am I?" are fairly simple. Each player writes down a name of a thing, based in an agreed-upon category, such as celebrities or historical figures. Once they have written a name, they hand it face down the player next to them. Next, all players place a post it note with a famous person or thing on their head without looking at the answer. Players ask the group questions about their assigned figure in hopes of deducing who or what it might be. This may be done one at a time revolving in a circle.. Finally, the player who guesses his answer correctly first wins the game.
- Customize the theme and rules to best suit the people you're with.
- Questions should only be answered by "Yes" or "No". Anything more complex risks spoiling the game's challenge.
- Unless you're playing in a competitive context, you should allow everyone a chance to figure out their answer.
- The "Who Am I" game doesn't have any mandatory rules you need to follow. Rather, it is meant to be customized according to the desires of the people playing.
2
Gather participants. "Who Am I?" is a party game, or something you'll play after dinner. The minimum number for a game of "Who Am I?" is 2, but 6 to 8 players is the recommended number of players. Generally speaking, the more people you get onboard, the more pleasantly chaotic your session will be.
- The game is meant as an ice breaker for upbeat socialization. It's a good way to start school or work sessions. If you have a choice of people, choose people you think will be able to make the session fun and enjoyable for the other players.
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3
Decide on a theme. Celebrities are a common theme for this game. ^{[2]
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Research source} Though unnecessary, themes help to give character and a sense of fairness to your game. Discuss some ideas amongst yourselves, or come up with a few ideas yourself if you're the host.
- You should pick a theme that will interest your group the most. Historical figures, countries and bands are all possible themes you can choose.
- There are a few well-known versions of this game. For instance, "Celebrity" focuses on guessing a popular celebrity. "Botticelli" is based exclusively on historical figures, and centers around more educated answers, such as "Did you paint a picture of Venus rising?"
- For example, if you're doing historical figures, a few names you might put on could be: Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Alexander the Great.
4
Write names on cards. In a lot of party sessions, cards will be made by having each of the players writing down an answer on a Post-It note and handing it facedown to someone nearby. ^{[3]
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Research source} If you're playing the game as well, this is preferable to writing up all the cards yourself.
- Make cards with someone else. That way, you won't have an unfair advantage by knowing all of the cards.
- You may write it on a regular piece of paper and attach it to someone's back as well. This is preferred if your party is standing up.
5
Distribute the game cards. Write down a name, place, thing or concept onto a card, and lie it facedown. You can make all of the cards in one go, or tell players to make cards to give to each other.
- Include some information on the name card. ^{[4]
  X
  Research source} Before delivering the cards to other players, it may be helpful to advise that some basic info be included on the card beside the name. If the players don't have much knowledge overlap, include a few words about what he, she, or it is on the card alongside the answer.
- The "Who Am I" game is so synonymous with Post-It notes that the Post-It note company features the rules on their official website. ^{[5]
  X
  Research source}

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Deducing Your Answer

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Place the note on your forehead with your eyes closed. Rub in the tab to make sure it sticks properly. Make sure you don't read the answer while you put it to your head. This will spoil the fun if you do. If you accidentally see the answer, get a different card and start again.
2
Start with broad answers. You will have a given number of questions you can ask about your answer. Because you technically start with an infinite number of choices, ask questions that will eliminate the widest amount. Big questions (like "Am I an animal?" or "Am I alive?") will get you to the point where you're able to steer your questions towards what you have confirmed so far about your answer.
- Most games of "Who Am I?" limit players to only asking yes or no questions. This process tends to result in the most interesting guesswork.
3
Form specific questions based on your running deduction. Narrow down your questions as the game goes on. Each subsequent question you make should be benefitted by the "Yes" answers you received earlier in the game. With that, you'll be able to divide whole categories into manageable sections.
- For example, if you received a "Yes" answer to "Am I an animal?" last round, you can break that answer down further, by saying "Am I a land animal?" or "Am I a mammal?"
4
State your answer. Regardless what your session's rules on guessing are, there will come a point where you'll have to put your theory to the test. When you are reasonably certain what your answer is, call it out. Don't give an answer unless you're confident with it. Even for rounds where there are no disqualification penalties for wrong guesses, being liberal with the number of answers will cheapen the sport of the game for everyone. ^{[6]
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Research source}
- At the same time, don't be too conservative with your guesses. In most cases, the stakes for a game of "Who Am I?" won't be too high. Stressing out over the certainty of an answer won't make the game more fun. If there's a competitive aspect to your session, hesitating with your answer may end up with someone beating you to the chase.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Answering Other Players' Questions

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Listen carefully to the other players, and give answers to the best of your knowledge. Whether you're playing one by one or trading turn as a group, there will be many points in the game where you have to answer questions they have about their card. If their card name isn't familiar to you and you don't know the specific answer they're looking for, allow another player to give the answer, or tell them to choose another question.
2
Keep your answers simple. If there's an element of competition in your game, you'll want the answers other players receive to be as unhelpful as possible. Although you always have to be forthcoming with information, certain versions of the game allow for more than "yes or no" answers. If this is the case, you should try to get by telling them as little as possible about their answer.
- This includes attempting to make a poker-face when it comes to revealing how close a player is for guessing correctly. You can still have lots of fun and laugh, just try not to make expressions directly based on the competition.
3
Stay honest. Be forthcoming with whatever answers you give. Honesty is the only way a game of "Who Am I?" can function. Even in the most competitive scenario, a single dishonest answer can skew someone's entire game. Give the other player the correct answer to every piece of information he's looking for.
- In certain silly circumstances, giving a player bad information may be seen as an amusing prank.
4
Play again. You and your group may choose to play again once the other players have finished guessing their answers. If this is the case, you should make a new set of cards for people to use. Reshuffling and swapping the cards you've already used is an option as well, but since people will have seen all of the cards, a second round offers players the possibility of deducing their answer simply by looking at the cards of other players.
- Sessions tend to get more enjoyable once people have warmed up and have a positive social momentum going.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Exploring Variations of the Game

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Addressing the rules will make it more interesting (or challenging) for the whole group. It can also be done to handicap players that are significantly better at the game than the rest.
2
Look into well-known variations of the game. Games like "Botticelli" are specialized by their theme (historical figures at least as famous as the Italian painter Sandro Botticelli) but invert some of the rules. In "Botticelli", players choose their own identities, and give other players the initial of their identities.
- Celebrity" is another permutation of the game. Players write the names of a bunch of different celebrities on slips of paper and put them into a hat. From there, a player will take a name out of the hat and offer clues to other players. So long as the clues do not make mention of the name directly, any statement is fine. The goal is to get other players to figure out your celebrity as fast as possible.
- There are many possible alternatives. If you don't like "Yes" and "No" answers, you should try experimenting with something different. Well-known game versions can be borrowed from when making your own rules as well.
In most games of "Who Am I?", people will ask one question each, going clockwise in a circle. Alternatively, the game can be done one person at a time, where a player can ask as many questions as he needs to before coming up with an answer. In fast-paced party environments, rules on asking order may be relaxed completely, resulting in a free-for-all of question asking and answering. Once you have the basics of the game down, you should experiment with these game orders.
If you want to temper the competitive element with aspects of team play, split your group into two halves. Each half can become a team. From there you score each half as a whole. This may have the effect of making other players taking a greater interest in the round that's currently occurring.

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Can you play in teams?

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Yes. The game can be easily customized to suit a team style of play.

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How many people can play?

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6-12 people can play the game.

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What if my friend gives up?

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Accept it. You won! However, if you are playing in a large group, you can continue playing with the remaining players.

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Tips

"Who Am I?" is also referred to as "The Name Game." ^{[7]
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If you're hosting a dinner party, you might consider playing multiple games in a night. There are countless other games to match the same circumstances as the "Who Am I?" game. ^{[8]
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Once you've played a few rounds of this game, you'll probably have fresh new ideas on how to spice up the game. Parlour games like this are meant to be customized, so feel free to play around with the rules or add new stakes.

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How to Play the "Who Am I" Game

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Planning the Game

Deducing Your Answer

Answering Other Players' Questions

Exploring Variations of the Game

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Community Q&A

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